SANTA CLARA — All four NFC West teams have a shot at the division title, which the 49ers have won four of the past five years.
Four games remain for each team, starting with the 49ers (6-7) hosting the Los Angeles Rams (7-6) on Thursday night.
Currently, the 49ers have a 3% chance of reaching the playoffs, and even if they win out, that bumps up to 55% overall and just 38% to win a third straight NFC West title, according to the New York Times’ simulator.
In honor of this final-four foray, here are four combinations that must pay dividends for the 49ers’ playoff hopes:
1. WARNER AND GREENLAW
Fred Warner, with all due respect for soldiering through a Week 4 lower-leg fracture, is clearly missing long-time wingman Dre Greenlaw this season. That should change Thursday night when Greenlaw is projected to make his season debut after 10 months of steady rehabilitation and now two weeks of practice.
“I’ve been waiting for that moment the entire season,” Warner said postgame Sunday. “So to potentially have him out there again with me, it means everything.”
It’s not set in stone, however. Coach Kyle Shanahan would only go so far Monday to say there is “a chance” of Greenlaw’s return this week, that it depends on how he fares in walk-through sessions Tuesday and Wednesday, which shouldn’t be taxing. If Greenlaw is delayed, De’Vondre Campbell is coming off a season-high six solo tackles Sunday.
Warner had only three tackles in Sunday’s 38-13 rout of Chicago, giving him 16 over the last four games combined in the scarcest stretch of his esteemed career. Counting wins is more important than counting tackles now.
“We knew we had a great opportunity this week to come out at home, right those wrongs and get back to playing our style and doing what we do best,” Warner said. “It was complimentary football all the way through. … We just have to build on this win.”
2. KITTLE AND JENNINGS
Brock Purdy touts a 138.3 passer rating when targeting George Kittle and Jauan Jennings this season, and just a 72.6 mark when throwing to anyone else, the Associated Press’ Josh Dubow reports.
The Kittle/Jennings connection is saving a 49ers’ passing game that has been out of sync without the injured tandem of Brandon Aiyuk and Christian McCaffrey, who combined for 520 yards and no scores this season — as opposed to 1,906 yards and 14 touchdowns last year.
Kittle racked up 151 yards Sunday to raise his season total to 800 yards on 56 catches (eight touchdowns). Jennings’ numbers are similar: 57 catches for 774 yards and six touchdowns, including Sunday’s 90 yards and two first-half touchdowns.
Kittle said of his connection with Purdy: “He’s very comfortable in this offense now, and I’ve been in it eight years, so it’s fun to be back there and know, ‘Hey in this coverage, I’m getting the ball no matter what, so when I turn my head, the ball is in my chest.’ We’re pretty much in sync right now.”
Purdy, in turn, called it a “pretty sweet thing” to watch Kittle rack up yards after catches with an explosive nature “for where he’s at in his career.” Last week, Purdy credited Jennings’ big-body ability to create separation and use “underrated speed” as an easy, trustworthy target.
Jennings replaced Aiyuk at split end the past two months, and he recently said of his Purdy bromance: “Brock is a great quarterback and it’s about me being distinctive with my routes. That helps Brock get more comfortable and throw you the ball on time.”
3. BOSA AND FLOYD
The 49ers need Nick Bosa back from a three-game absence, but Shanahan didn’t guarantee that comeback is imminent. Tough challenges await with Matthew Stafford (Rams), Tua Tagovailoa (Dolphins), Jared Goff (Lions) and Kyler Murray (Cardinals). Leonard Floyd’s two sacks Sunday put him in the 49ers’ season lead with 8 ½, nudging him past Bosa’s seven.
“I have to finish the job,” Floyd said of the team’s sack title. “Because you know when Bosa gets back, it’s going to be hard to keep it.” Floyd led the Bills last season (10.5 sacks) and the Rams in 2022 (nine sacks).
Bosa led the 49ers’ sack count each of the previous three seasons: 15.5 in 2021, 18.5 in 2022 (NFL-high), and 10.5 last season. What if Bosa stays sidelined? Yetur Gross-Matos stepped up with three sacks Sunday, but that only gave him four on the season; Sam Okuayinonu has three sacks; Fred Warner’s Week 2 sack is the 49ers’ only one outside of the d-line.
The 49ers’ seven sacks Sunday against rookie Caleb Williams won’t be replicated but it helps their push. “The goal is that we are going to carry that into Thursday and for the rest of our games,” Floyd said. “We have to build off of that.”
4. HUFANGA AND MUSTAPHA
Safety Talanoa Hufanga, returning from a two-month layoff and playing in only his third game this season, enjoyed Sunday’s pairing with rookie Malik Mustapha, who Shanahan praised for his “high level” of play the past month.
“Very aggressive player. Very smart, instinctual, physical. I love playing with him,” Hufanga said of Mustapha. “He’s one of my favorites for sure. It’s exciting to see him out there the way he’s stepped up this year; I wouldn’t even say ‘stepped up. That’s just his style of ball.”
Mustapha’s full-speed, old-school hits have flashed this season along with a sneaky coverage ability. That likely kept him in the lineup ahead of Ji’Ayir Brown, who the 49ers tapped to replace Hufanga upon the latter’s knee injury a year ago.
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Mustapha emphasized how Hufanga’s communication prowess benefits the secondary. “Every play we’re not missing a beat. We’re talking about everything we see,” Mustapha said. “When we’re not talking, that’s when explosives and miscues happen. Seeing a guy like him being an All-Pro and leader, getting guys in the right spot, we’re operating very sound.”
They’re certain to be tested by Stafford, the victim of a Hufanga pick-six en route to 2022 All-Pro honors. “He wants to outsmart you and play his style of ball,” Hufanga said. “It’s going to be a good chess game for us, we just have to move some pieces around.”
Stafford lost five straight regular-season starts against the 49ers before September’s fourth-quarter comeback. “We let them get that easy one earlier in the year, so we have to come back with a vengeance for sure,” Mustapha said.
