Reevaluating the 49ers' strength of schedule this season

This is mostly led by the defenses that they have faced. Only three teams have faced tougher defenses throughout the season. This makes sense when you figure that the Colts, Jaguars, and Texans all had better defenses than expected before the season. 

More than that, the Seattle defense lived up to expectations, and the Rams defense was every strong as well. Carolina does not have a great defense, but it is better than it was last year, and the Browns' defense is elite as well. Overall, the offense did great against one of the toughest defensive schedules in the NFL, making you think that they could continue to thrive in the playoffs. 

However, the defense did not often face the toughest offenses in the NFL. The offenses that they faced were slightly below average compared to the rest of the NFL.

This is what most were expecting, and it really ended up playing into the 49ers' favor. The 49ers have an elite offense, but their defense is a major issue.

So, the offense was tested often but continued to perform well. However, the defense was a problem when they had to step up in class, but that did not happen enough to be an actual problem. 

This could end up being a concern, though. The 49ers were 4-3 against top ten defenses based on Expected Points added. However, two of the wins were against the Browns and Saints, while all three of the losses were against playoff-worthy offenses.

Meanwhile, in the three games they played against top ten offenses, they allowed 38, 42, and 23 points. The 23 points were with Fred Warner on the field. The team scored 17, 26, 21, 26, 15, 26, and 26 in their seven games against top defenses. 

So, when they get the teams that can score, but also have good enough defenses, it is going to be harder to see them going blow-for-blow and winning big playoff games.