NFC standings: Week 6 vs. Seahawks is virtual 'must win' for 49ers

The NFL standings don’t generally matter much after five weeks.

In an 18-week season injuries are prevalent, trades happen, and teams either hit their stride or fall off throughout the year, and the picture painted with the final standings rarely reflects what we see after a sample size of five games.

On the other hand, this year’s standings in the NFC put into perspective just how poorly the San Francisco 49ers’ season has gone, and the climb they have to get back into the postseason picture.

San Francisco after five weeks is sitting at No. 14 out of 16 NFC teams. The only teams behind them are the Los Angeles Rams and Carolina Panthers. Both of those teams are 1-4, and the Rams’ lone win came against the 49ers at SoFi Stadium in Week 3.

It’s been an abject disaster to start the year for the 49ers, and while the standings paint a bleak picture now, there are some silver linings.

Typically under Kyle Shanahan the 49ers have played their best football in November, December and January. They’re one of five NFC teams with two wins, and a win over the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday night would put them atop the NFC West and into the No. 4 seed in the standings. That fact is why there’s no reason to hit the panic button just yet.

On the other hand, a loss to Seattle might be reason to panic. Dropping to 2-4 overall, 0-4 in the conference and 0-3 in the division with games against the undefeated Chiefs and the 3-2 Cowboys looming would put the 49ers in a bind that virtually eliminated their margin for error while they simultaneously try and right a rapidly sinking ship.

The standings through five weeks don’t tell the story of the entire season, but they paint a pretty clear picture of what’s at stake for the 49ers when they visit Seattle on Thursday.