© Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Sunday’s trip to Foxborough, Massachusetts isn’t a divisional game. It’s not a conference game. Its greatest immediate significance is the storyline of Jimmy Garoppolo returning to face New England for the first time since being traded from the Patriots to San Francisco.
But according to ESPN data, the playoff implications are substantial. There’s a general, obvious feeling you get about playoff chances for a 4-3 team compared to a 3-4 team, but the chart below makes it clear that the feeling is legitimate.
Per ESPN’s NFL Football Power Index, the 49ers currently have a 43.7 percent chance to make the playoffs. If they were to win on Sunday against New England, that number would improve by 18 percent, making them more than 50 percent likely to make the playoffs. A loss, though, would drop their chances to less than 40 percent.
Playoff leverage going into week 7. pic.twitter.com/t4LCP3jS3L
— Brian Burke (@bburkeESPN) October 22, 2020
If the Patriots were to win, their playoff odds would increase by 20 percent, but still less than 50 percent.