Here's how the 49ers can still make the playoffs despite a tough road ahead

This was as close to a nightmare season as it could have been for the San Francisco 49ers. Injuries, off-the-field issues, unexpected losses. So it's pretty impressive that the team is reaching Week 16 of the regular season and they are not officially eliminated from contention.

Well, kind of.

In practicality, it's basically impossible. Theoretically, though, the 49ers can still win the NFC West and reach the playoffs as the fourth seed in the NFC. According to The New York Times playoff projections, it's a smaller than 1% chance.

So, let's start with the remaining schedule for each NFC West team:

San Francisco 49ers schedule:

• @ Miami Dolphins
• vs Detroit Lions
• @ Arizona Cardinals

Los Angeles Rams schedule:

• @ New York Jets
• vs Arizona Cardinals
• vs Seattle Seahawks

Seattle Seahawks schedule:

• vs Minnesota Vikings
• @ Chicago Bears
• @ Los Angeles Rams

Arizona Cardinals schedule:

• @ Carolina Panthers
• @ Los Angeles Rams
• vs San Francisco 49ers

This is what needs to happen for the 49ers to make the playoffs:

1. The 49ers need to win out.
2. The Cardinals need to lose or tie with the Panthers and beat the Rams.
3. The Rams need to lose to the Jets and Cardinals.
4. The Seahawks need to lose to the Vikings and Bears.
5. There needs to be a tie between the Rams and Seahawks in Week 18.

The most unlikely factor is the tie between Rams and Seahawks, because if anyone wins that game, even if everything else goes right, wins the division at that point.

Obviously, there are other difficult factors, like the 49ers beating the Lions, the Cardinals not beating the Panthers, and the Seahawks losing to the Bears. That's why it's almost impossible.

More likely, the 49ers' season will end in three weeks, and there will be a lot of time to regroup and think about 2025.