NFL playoff picture: Where 49ers stand in NFC after loss to Cowboys

49ers on brink of elimination after ugly loss to Cowboys originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea

The 49ers are on the brink of missing the NFC playoffs a year after representing the conference in the Super Bowl.

San Francisco fell to the Dallas Cowboys 41-33 on Sunday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and now are an Arizona Cardinals win away from officially being eliminated from playoff contention.

The loss drops the 49ers to 5-9 on the season with two games remaining. The Cardinals are 7-6 and are playing the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.

The 2020 season has been a disappointing one for the 49ers. They had hopes of avenging their Super Bowl loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, but injuries have decimated the roster, making it hard to compete on a week-to-week basis.

In order to have a chance to make the playoffs, the 49ers would need a lot of things to go their way. They would absolutely need the Eagles to beat the Cardinals on Sunday. Then they would need to beat those same Cardinals next Saturday and knock off the Seattle Seahawks in the season finale. And San Francisco would need the Los Angeles Rams to beat the Cardinals in Week 17.

Plus, they would need a lot more help along the way.

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So the odds are stacked against the 49ers returning to the postseason.

Here's how the NFC standings look after the early Week 15 Sunday games:

1. Green Bay Packers -- Clinched division

2. New Orleans Saints -- Clinched playoff berth

3. Seattle Seahawks -- Clinched playoff berth

4. Washington Football Team

5. Los Angeles Rams

6. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

7. Arizona Cardinals

8. Chicago Bears

9. Minnesota Vikings

10. New York Giants

11. Detroit Lions

12. Dallas Cowboys

13. San Francisco 49ers

14. Philadelphia Eagles

Eliminated from playoff contention: Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers