The up-and-down ride that is the San Francisco 49ers' season rolls on.
Since opening the year with three straight victories, the Niners have neither won consecutive games nor lost consecutive games over the past seven weeks, a stretch that started in Week 4 with a 26-23 overtime victory over the Los Angeles Rams and continued on Sunday with an embarrassing 42-26 defeat at Levi's Stadium to those very same Rams.
While Mac Jones had a solid afternoon, completing 33 of 39 passes for 319 yards with three touchdowns against one interception, thus earning a 115.7 passer rating, the 49ers once again struggled to establish any sort of rushing attack, gaining just 74 yards on 21 carries.
And the San Francisco defense could do absolutely nothing to slow down the Rams' offensive attack. Matthew Stafford, whose MVP case is getting stronger by the week, completed 24 of 36 passes for 280 yards with four touchdowns and zero interceptions, thus becoming the first in NFL history to throw at least four touchdowns and no picks in three consecutive games. Los Angeles added another 126 yards on the ground, with Kyren Williams leading the way with 73 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries.
With the loss, the 49ers dropped to 6-4 on the year and now find themselves in a position they've yet to be in this season, that being on the outside looking in as it pertains to the NFC playoff picture.
The 49ers head into Week 11 holding the No. 8 spot in the NFC standings
Here's a quick look at the overall NFC standings heading into Week 11.
Updated NFC playoff picture
Philadelphia Eagles (7-2, 1st NFC East)
Seattle Seahawks (7-2, 1st NFC West)
Detroit Lions (6-3, 1st NFC North)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-3, 1st NFC South)
Los Angeles Rams (7-2, 2nd NFC West)
Chicago Bears (6-3, 2nd NFC North)
Green Bay Packers (5-3-1, 3rd NFC North)
San Francisco 49ers (6-4, 3rd NFC West)
Carolina Panthers (5-5, 2nd NFC South)
Minnesota Vikings (4-5, 4th NFC North)
Dallas Cowboys (3-5-1, 2nd NFC East)
Arizona Cardinals (3-6, 4th NFC West)
Atlanta Falcons (3-6, 3rd NFC South)
Washington Commanders (3-7, 3rd NFC East)
New Orleans Saints (2-8, 4th NFC South)
New York Giants (2-8, 4th NFC East)
With the win, the Rams improved to 7-2 to keep pace with the Seattle Seahawks, who also improved to 7-2 on Sunday with an easy 44-22 blowout victory over the Arizona Cardinals and maintained their position atop the NFC West. The reason the Seahawks sit in first place is that they have a better record within the division at 2-1 (.667), with a pair of wins over Arizona and a loss to San Francisco. The Rams, meanwhile, are 1-1 (.500), with one win and one loss to the Niners.
The good news for the 49ers here is that the Seahawks and Rams still have two games against one another, with the first set for this Sunday in Los Angeles and the second scheduled for Week 16 in Seattle. It also bodes well that this was San Francisco's first loss in the division, with a second contest with the Cards this Sunday and then the regular-season finale against the Seahawks in Santa Clara in Week 18. So, the dream of a division title is still very much alive.
In regard to a wild-card spot, the 49ers, despite dropping into the No. 8 position, are still in decent shape there as well, as they're mere percentage points behind the Packers for the No. 7 slot and just a half-game behind the Chicago Bears for the No. 6 slot. San Francisco actually squares off with Chicago in Week 17, a game that could obviously prove to be incredibly important if a head-to-head tiebreaker comes into play.
The same could be said of San Francisco's Week 12 matchup with the Carolina Panthers, who sit just one game back of the Niners in the No. 9 slot at 5-5.