For those who find it repulsive to actively root for the 49ers to lose games for draft positioning, even if they’re hard-fought and close, solace can be taken in a most successful bye week. Coming into this week, the 49ers were squarely behind the one-win Oakland Raiders, in a murky tie with the two-win New York Giants, and half a game ahead of the two-win (against us) Arizona Cardinals due to their early bye week. Well, the 49ers profited quite a bit this week, without even having taken the field.
The Raiders pulled off a victory against the Cardinals, and the Giants pulled off a big win against the struggling Tampa Bay Buccaneers.