After eight straight weeks of alternating wins and losses, the San Francisco 49ers have finally won consecutive games for the first time since their 3-0 start to the season, taking a 20-9 victory over the Carolina Panthers to close out the Week 12 slate on Monday Night Football.
It certainly wasn't the prettiest game the Niners have played this year, at least on the offensive side of the football. Defensively, Robert Saleh's unit was absolutely outstanding, holding Carolina to just 230 total yards (161 passing, 69 rushing), matching the lowest figure San Francisco has surrendered this season (Week 1 vs. Seattle), and forcing a pair of turnovers, as third-year safety Ji'Ayir Brown twice intercepted Panthers quarterback Bryce Young.
Offensively, the Niners got off to a fantastic start, putting together a 15-play, 72-yard drive on the opening possession of the game that culminated with a 12-yard touchdown pass from Brock Purdy to Jauan Jennings.
But things took a bit of a turn from there, as each of the Niners' next three possessions ended with Purdy tossing an interception.
Thankfully for San Francisco, he played pick-free football the rest of the way, ultimately ending his evening having completed 23 of 32 passes for 193 yards and the aforementioned TD to Jennings.
The 49ers' only other touchdown of the night came from Christian McCaffrey, who had a typical CMC kind of a game in facing his former team for the first time, rushing for 89 yards and a touchdown while adding another 53 yards on seven receptions.
With the win, the Niners improved to 8-4 on the season, thus keeping themselves in the top seven of the NFC standings.
49ers remain in the final NFC Wild Card slot heading into Week 13
Here's a quick look at the overall NFC playoff picture as we flip the page to Week 13 of this wild 2025 NFL regular season.
Updated NFC playoff picture
Los Angeles Rams (9-2, 1st NFC West)
Philadelphia Eagles (8-3, 1st NFC East)
Chicago Bears (8-3, 1st NFC North)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-5, 1st NFC South)
Seattle Seahawks (8-3, 2nd NFC West)
Green Bay Packers (7-3-1, 2nd NFC North)
San Francisco 49ers (8-4, 3rd NFC West)
Detroit Lions (7-4, 3rd NFC North)
Carolina Panthers (6-6, 2nd NFC South)
Dallas Cowboys (5-5-1, 2nd NFC East)
Atlanta Falcons (4-7, 3rd NFC South)
Minnesota Vikings (4-7, 4th NFC North)
Arizona Cardinals (3-8, 4th NFC West)
Washington Commanders (3-8, 3rd NFC East)
New Orleans Saints (2-9, 4th NFC South)
New York Giants (2-10, 4th NFC East) -- Officially eliminated
As you can see, the 49ers sit in the No. 7 slot in the overall standings, which is precisely where they were when the week began.
And as you can also see, this victory was absolutely crucial, as a loss would have knocked San Francisco out of the top seven, as the Detroit Lions, who survived a scare from the New York Giants to improve to 7-4 with a 34-27 overtime victory, would've moved into that final Wild Card position.
The win was also important for the 49ers in regard to the race for the NFC West, as they kept pace with the Seattle Seahawks, who improved to 8-3 with a 30-24 win over the Tennessee Titans, and the division-leading Los Angeles Rams, who upped their record to 9-2 with a dominant 34-7 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday Night Football. Los Angeles now also leads the entire conference, taking sole possession of the No. 1 spot due to the Philadelphia Eagles dropping to 8-3 after blowing a 21-point lead in a 24-21 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.
San Francisco will now be rooting for Carolina in Week 13, as the Panthers will host the Rams this upcoming Sunday afternoon and will also be cheering on the Minnesota Vikings, who will travel to the Pacific Northwest to take on Sam Darnold and the Seahawks.
As for the Niners, they'll now look to avoid the dreaded "trap game" situation, as they had east for a date with the three-win Cleveland Browns.