It all worked out for the 49ers.
The Kyle Shanahan’s team didn’t have to sacrifice their principles. They didn’t eschew their intrinsic goals. They didn’t listen to the calls to roll over and end the 2018 season with a defeated whimper.
Instead, they fought until the end (ok, until the second half of Week 17) and strung together a couple of strong, momentum-building performances in the final month of the season.
And because of that, the 49ers are sitting pretty heading into the 2019 season. Real pretty.
Of course it would have been convenient if the Arizona Cardinals had beaten the Seahawks Sunday (they lost 27-24), to give the Niners the No.