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This was clearly not the 49ers’ year. We don’t need to rehash it, but the onslaught of injuries from Week 2 on made any conceivable goal of a playoff run untenable. Next year, though, provides a chance to rekindle that optimism that was alive in 2019.
If anything is made clear by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ trip to the Super Bowl, it’s that the NFC is wide open. Sure, the Kansas City Chiefs will probably go every year for the next decade for the AFC, but hey, the 49ers nearly stopped that juggernaut last year.
As far as oddsmakers see it, the 49ers are still clear contenders. And by finishing last in the NFC West, they’ll also get to face a couple other last-place teams, and potentially the Cincinnati Bengals (if the NFL goes to a 17-game slate in 2021), easing their schedule.
Per sportsbook William Hill, the 49ers are tied for the sixth-best odds to make it to the 2022 Super Bowl. Below are the full odds:
- Kansas City: +550
- Green Bay: +900
- Tampa Bay: +1000
- Buffalo: +1100
- Baltimore: +1200
- San Francisco: +1600
- Seattle: +1600
- New Orleans: +1600
- Los Angeles Rams: +2000
- Cleveland Browns: +2000