For the San Francisco 49ers, it’s been a while between drinks when it comes to the playoff race and where they factor in.
Not since 2014 in what turned out to be the final years of the Jim Harbaugh era has the team featured in the postseason, ending in a heartbreaking loss in the NFC Championship game.
With patience, good drafting and some savvy trades and free agency signings, the Niners finally have a team that looks like they could at least match that 2012 season.
General manager John Lynch deserves hefty praise for how relatively quickly he has pieced this team together.