San Francisco 49ers looking to rebound after losing top seat in NFC

San Francisco 49ers are looking to regroup after losing the No. 1 seat in the NFC but it won’t be easy against another competitive NFC foe.

The San Francisco 49ers left Baltimore disappointed, coming up three points short after a hard-fought game. What made matters tougher was watching their division rival, the Seattle Seahawks, come out on top on Monday Night Football, dropping the 49ers from the top of the NFC West and into a Wild Card spot.

The 49ers now look ahead to the last four weeks of the regular season and their rematch with the new NFC West leader on Week 17. But before that, they must complete the final leg of a three-game gauntlet against possible Super Bowl contenders.

San Francisco didn’t roll over in Week 13 against the Ravens but, as it has been for most other teams, stopping Lamar Jackson turned out to be too much of a challenge. The fourth-down plays when Jackson was able to slip through for a fresh set of downs turned out to be a big piece of what propelled Baltimore to victory.

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Still, the 49ers shouldn’t hang their heads after making Jackson punt for the first time since Week 9 as well as running back Raheem Mostert putting up 146 rushing yards and a touchdown.

Now the 49ers continue their road trip as they head to the Big Easy to face off against another explosive offense, this one led by Drew Brees. The 10-2 New Orleans Saints are coming off their Thanksgiving victory, meaning they have had a few extra days off, which may come to their advantage.

The Saints just clinched the NFC South in Week 13, so locking up the bye in the playoffs is the next item on their postseason agenda. Brees presents a different challenge than Jackson as he’s not a mobile threat. However, the Saints have an explosive passing offense with Michael Thomas as the focal point. And with Richard Sherman listed as questionable, the 49ers secondary could be in for a tough day at the office.

Look for Nick Bosa and Arik Armstead, two components of the resurgent San Francisco defensive line, to be the key pieces to the 49ers bounce back. The Saints have endured some offensive line injury issues and Bosa and Armstead must take advantage and apply heavy pressure.

Brees isn’t going to be able to escape very often. Thus, getting after him could lead to throwaways and some big sacks. The 49ers will need to keep Brees in third-and-long situations so that X-factor weapon Taysom Hill will not become a major factor in Sean Payton‘s gameplan.

Jimmy Garoppolo and the offense will build off their defense’s success, especially when provided good field position. Playing in the Superdome after trudging through bad weather in Baltimore, Garoppolo should look to find guys like George Kittle and Emmanuel Sanders on quick slant plays to move the ball with chunk-yardage plays but also to negate pressure from the likes of Cameron Jordan.

Week 13 was surely difficult to swallow for the 49ers but a victory in New Orleans would be a great momentum boost as they get ready for their matchups at home against the Atlanta Falcons and Los Angeles Rams in Weeks 15 and 16.

If both the 49ers and Seahawks can stay even leading up to their Week 17 rematch, the battle in Seattle would be huge. It wouldn’t only be for the NFC West crown, but possibly home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. That all starts with San Francisco picking up a road win in New Orleans, however.