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The Las Vegas Raiders were surely hoping to avoid joining the list of teams which have fallen per week after facing the San Francisco 49ers. Teams that had faced the 49ers this season were a staggering 0-14 the week after playing them entering Week 18. The Raiders became the fifteenth victim after falling to the Chiefs on Saturday.
The one team to win their next game after playing the 49ers was the Kansas City Chiefs, but that they had a bye week in between their Week 7 win over San Francisco and their Week 9 victory against Tennessee.
“It could possibly be a coincidence, but we prefer to think not,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan recently said of the streak, via ESPN.
Shanahan’s team definitely has something to do with it. Arguably the NFC’s top team, the 49ers have been a considerably tough squad to beat since acquiring running back Christian McCaffrey just before the trade deadline. After losing its first game with McCaffrey (a 44-23 loss to the Chiefs in Week 7), San Francisco has won nine straight games entering Sunday’s matchup with Arizona.
McCaffrey has been an enormous reason for the 49ers’ success. The previous All-Pro has amassed 1,131 all-purpose yards and nine total touchdowns since coming to the Bay Area. The 49ers have also benefitted from the surprising play of quarterback Brock Purdy, who won each of his first 4 starts.
The winning streak has catapulted the 49ers into the No. 2 seed within the NFC playoff standings. The 49ers can capture the No. 1 seed with a win and an Eagles loss to the Giants.
