Coming off that less-than-ideal loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday at Levi's Stadium, you could forgive San Francisco 49ers fans for having a sense that the season is closing in on itself.
But any reasonable fan would also recognize the gap between the two teams at the moment, especially given the Niners' injury situation, and splitting the season series against their division foes is not a terrible outcome.
The 49ers also have a rather favorable schedule going forward, with the next four games coming against teams they should beat, even if the injury situation does not improve. Nothing is guaranteed in the NFL, that's to be sure, but the Niners are still in control of their own destiny if they want to be a playoff team in 2025.
So, with seven total games left to play (and a bye week smushed in the middle somewhere), let's take a look at which of those games are the most important for the 49ers as they look to secure one of those tournament bids in the NFC.
No. 3: Sunday, Nov. 16 at Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are very clearly the bottom feeders of the NFC West, and the Niners already beat them in a weird Week 3 game at Levi's Stadium that featured a safety on a holding penalty in the end zone and a game-winning field goal from Eddy Pineiro.
Arizona is struggling with its own injury problems, as quarterback Kyler Murray has already missed four games due to a foot sprain and was placed on IR heading into its loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, and running back James Conner was lost for the season during the last matchup against San Francisco.
Still, it's a division game the 49ers cannot afford to lose if they have playoff aspirations, since division record is the second tiebreaker when it comes to seeding or even making the playoffs at all.
The Rams loss was the Niners' first division defeat, and going 5-1 is going to be tough given how well the Seahawks are playing.
So taking care of business against Arizona on Sunday will be vital.
No. 2: Sunday, Dec. 28 vs. Chicago Bears
Speaking of potential tiebreaking scenarios, the Chicago Bears currently hold the No. 6 seed in the NFC, with the 49ers on the outside, looking in as the No. 8 seed.
It's always possible the Green Bay Packers keep falling, and so this game won't matter as much, but beating teams who are around you in the playoff picture is generally a good idea.
The Bears are improving a lot on offense under new head coach Ben Johnson, but their defense has been a problem, so this game has a real chance to be a shootout featuring two teams with the ability to score while the defenses get run over.
It will be Sunday Night Football at home, and if the Niners have real intentions to overcome all their injuries and get into the playoffs, this feels like a game they have to win to control the terms should it come down to a tie in record.
No. 1: Jan. 3 OR Jan. 4 vs. Seattle Seahawks
Just like with the Cardinals, winning those division games is important for any team that wants to get into the playoffs. On top of that, there's a decent chance the Seahawks will need to win this game in order to secure as high a seed as possible (they're currently No. 2 in the NFC).
It isn't often that a team opens and closes the season against the same team, but the 49ers will get the chance to complete the season sweep of Seattle after a hard-fought win in the Pacific Northwest in Week 1.
They'll also be debuting their Rivalry uniforms in that matchup, the one and only time they'll be seen in a game.
But the most important element here is the Niners could have a chance to finish 2025 with a 5-1 record in the division, something that should bode well for possible playoff chances, provided the rest of the games don't go completely south.
Maybe this isn't a Super Bowl team, but getting into the playoffs this season under the circumstances would be quite an accomplishment.
Winning these three games would go a long way in helping San Francisco do just that.