I'm just being realistic. They've lost 4 defensive linemen for the year now that Ansah, our replacement for Bosa is done. We have zero starting CBs for the next 3-4 games at least. Dee ford is already on IR and Dre Greenlaw might be going on IR today. It's ridiculous.
I am focusing on defense because that is what got SF to the one seed and the SB last year. They don't have the pieces to compete with LA, Seattle and Green Bay defensively and will struggle against Arizona because they always do and they haven't quite figured out how to defend a mobile QB who has legitimate QB skills and that was pre injury plague. I don't see them being as good as NO can be (they seem to be a mess now, but don't count them out) and I wouldn't bet on them haveing a better record than TB.
I think they can still have a winning season. This year I could definitely see a 10-6 team missing the playoffs, though. But it is an uphill battle for a healthy team. We'll see what their offense can do once healthy. I can see them being a high scoring offense once the QB and RBs are at full strength.
If I were to guess, which I like to do early every year. I would pick these teams in the NFC.
1. Seattle Sick
2. Green Bay
3. TB
4. Dallas
5. NO
6. LA
Don’t forget that there’s a 7th playoff team in each conference this year.