61. SAN FRANCISCO (12-8)
LAST SEASON: The Niners made it all the way to the NFC title game before falling to the eventual Super Bowl champion Rams. WR Deebo Samuel emerged as one of the top playmakers as both a runner and receiver to lead the offense, while a healthy season from edge rusher Nick Bosa helped the defense.
6. CAROLINA PANTHERS (5-12)
LAST SEASON: The Panthers suffered through another five-win season under Matt Rhule, leaving the third-year coach squarely on the hot seat. A major problem has been Carolina's inability to land a franchise quarterback.
Jimmy Garoppolo expects his shoulder to be ready for training camp — wherever that may be.
Garoppolo told the AP Pro Football Podcast on Thursday that his rehab is going well and it’s helping him deal with uncertainty surrounding his future with the San Francisco 49ers.
An underwhelming free agent class for quarterbacks is overshadowed by the possibility of multiple big names changing teams, most notably Aaron Rodgers.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers may need to rethink their plan for Jimmy Garoppolo now that the quarterback has had surgery on his throwing shoulder.
General manager John Lynch said Wednesday at the NFL's annual scouting combine that Garoppolo initially tried to avoid surgery by rehabilitating the shoulder he hurt during a wild-card win at Dallas.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Before Jimmy Garoppolo finished his 17-minute season-ending news conference, he wanted to deliver a message to the San Francisco 49ers fans who supported him the past five seasons.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers managed to turn around a season that looked lost halfway through the season.
After going from 3-5 to the NFC title game, the Niners fell one quarter short of a return to the Super Bowl when they failed to hold onto a 10-point lead and lost 20-17 to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Jaquiski Tartt made game-winning baskets and game-clinching interceptions in high school and college. What the San Francisco 49ers safety couldn't do was come up with the biggest play to get his team back to the Super Bowl.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Jimmy Garoppolo's playoff performance is all anyone would need to understand the decisions the San Francisco 49ers made last offseason at quarterback.
The lack of downfield throws and handful of bone-headed plays explain why the Niners felt the need to trade three first-round picks to draft Garoppolo's eventual replacement in Trey Lance third overall.
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Robbie Gould lived up to his name.
On a field littered with snow flurries, Gould made a 45-yard field goal Saturday night as time expired and the San Francisco 49ers knocked off the top-seeded Packers 13-10 and possibly ended Aaron Rodgers’ tenure in Green Bay.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is dealing with injuries to his right thumb and right shoulder as he prepares for Saturday's divisional round playoff game at Green Bay.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers sure aren't advancing the easy way.
A week after overcoming a 17-point deficit and then holding on at the end to get into the the playoffs, the Niners nearly blew a 16-point lead in the fourth quarter before holding on for a 23-17 win over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Versatile receiver Deebo Samuel ran 26 yards for a touchdown the play after an interception by Dak Prescott, and the San Francisco 49ers held on for a 23-17 wild-card victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys thought they were going to get one more snap, one more chance to avoid another playoff setback.
Prescott's spike at the end of a wild final sequence came too late.
Encores are tougher to pull off after receiving overwhelming acclaim for trying something new.
However, Nickelodeon and CBS Sports feel as if Sunday's kids-focused broadcast of an NFL playoff game will be better than last year.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Jimmy Garoppolo's long-term future as quarterback in San Francisco has been in doubt ever since the 49ers traded away three first-round picks in the spring to make Trey Lance the heir apparent at the position.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — When the San Francisco 49ers made the decision to bring Jimmy Garoppolo back this season even after trading away three first-round picks to draft Trey Lance as his replacement, it was because of moments such as the one they faced Sunday.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Daniel Carlson’s 47-yard field goal as time expired in overtime lifted the Las Vegas Raiders past the Los Angeles Chargers 35-32 on Sunday night for their first playoff berth since 2016.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is listed as questionable for the San Francisco 49ers in their crucial season finale against the Los Angeles Rams after missing last week's game with an injured right thumb.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Jimmy Garoppolo has resumed throwing for the San Francisco 49ers and took part in practice in a limited role Wednesday but that doesn't mean his sprained right thumb is close to fully recovered.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The playoff scenario for the San Francisco 49ers is pretty simple — a Week 18 win against the Rams or a loss by New Orleans will send the Niners to the postseason for the second time in five seasons under coach Kyle Shanahan.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Coach Kyle Shanahan got back into the locker room after the latest win by the San Francisco 49ers just in time to see New Orleans finish off its own win a couple thousand miles away.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is listed as doubtful this week because of a injured right thumb with rookie Trey Lance in line to get his second start.
Garoppolo hurt his thumb last Thursday night in a 20-17 loss at Tennessee and didn't practice this week as he tries to rest the thumb.
Jimmy Garoppolo won't need surgery on his injured right thumb despite a chip of the bone and a torn ligament.
It remains unclear if he will be able to start at quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers this week.
Jimmy Garoppolo injured his right thumb in San Francisco's loss at Tennessee last week and his status for the 49ers' game this week is in doubt.
Garoppolo missed practice Monday because of the injury suffered in the first half of last Thursday's loss at Tennessee and coach Kyle Shanahan said the team would have a better idea about his availability later in the week for Sunday's game against Houston.
Jimmy Garoppolo's stretch of avoiding the catastrophic mistakes that have plagued him throughout his career came to a crushing end.
Garoppolo threw a pair of interceptions to turn a game that San Francisco seemed to have under control into a 20-17 loss to the Tennessee Titans on Thursday night.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The lackluster first two months of the season are a distant memory for the San Francisco 49ers. Heading down the stretch, the Niners have hit their stride and put themselves in prime position for a playoff spot.
SCOREBOARD
Monday, Dec. 13
Los Angeles Rams at Arizona, 8:15 p.m. EST. The NFL-leading Cardinals (10-2) can really put the clamps on the NFC West with a win over Los Angeles. The Rams (8-4) are in solid shape for a playoff berth no matter what happens in this game, but their recent three-game losing streak didn't end until a matchup with Jacksonville showed up on the schedule.
CINCINNATI (AP) — The Cincinnati Bengals let another opportunity slip past.
After two straight defeats, including Sunday's error-filled 26-23 overtime loss to San Francisco, the Bengals remain a game behind Baltimore atop the AFC North.
CINCINNATI (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers took what the Bengals gave them and stayed in the playoff race.
Mistake-prone Cincinnati, however, made its path to the postseason more difficult.
Jimmy Garoppolo threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Aiyuk and the 49ers beat Cincinnati 26-23 in overtime Sunday.
CINCINNATI (AP) — The Bengals and 49ers are both hanging on the edge of the playoff picture with little room for error left.
The makes Sunday's matchup in Cincinnati critical.
Cincinnati (7-5) and San Francisco (6-6) are both coming off loses and wasted opportunities to make a move in the chaotic playoff chase.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The margin for error for the San Francisco 49ers is extremely thin — especially when they play the Seattle Seahawks.
So after a mistake-filled 30-23 loss on Sunday ended with Jimmy Garoppolo throwing back-to-back incomplete passes to Trent Sherfield following a 95-yard drive, the Niners can't afford many more slipups down the stretch.
SEATTLE (AP) — Jimmy Garoppolo believed the play was there. There likely was going to be an open target with all the attention focused on George Kittle.
But the pass never got to its intended target, deflected at the line of scrimmage by Carlos Dunlap.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The midseason skid that looked as though it could derail the San Francisco 49ers season is firmly in the past.
After getting back to a successful formula of dominating on the ground, the Niners have won three straight games and again look like a contender in the NFC.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers appeared to hit rock bottom when they were embarrassed at home two weeks ago by backup quarterback Colt McCoy and the Arizona Cardinals.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Making a cross-country trip following a short week that included their most impressive victory of the season, the San Francisco 49ers had the potential for a letdown against Jacksonville.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers turned back the clock in strategy and execution and showed off the formula they might need if they want to contend for the playoffs in the second half of the season.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — After a nearly two-month stretch that featured one win and far too many disappointments, the San Francisco 49ers were running out of time to establish an identity this season.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers came to similar conclusions in the offseason: It was time to upgrade over the quarterbacks who helped both franchises reach the Super Bowl in recent years.
SCOREBOARD
Monday, Nov. 8
Bears at Steelers, 8:15 p.m. EST. Rookie quarterback Justin Fields rushed for 103 yards last week for the Bears, but he's spent much of his time running for his life.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — There will be a decidedly different look to the game when the San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals meet for the second time in less than a month.
Jimmy Garoppolo will be back at quarterback for the Niners on Sunday after missing the game in Arizona four weeks ago for the 49ers (3-4) with a calf injury.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Jimmy Garoppolo and the San Francisco 49ers quieted all the talk about struggling offense and quarterback changes for at least another week.
Now the question going forward is was that an aberration or what the Niners can count on the rest of the season.
SCOREBOARD
Monday, Nov. 1
Giants at Chiefs, 8:15 p.m. EDT. The Chiefs have dominated the AFC the past few years, though at 3-4 they’re facing an uphill challenge to make the playoffs this season.
CHICAGO (AP) — Playing about 30 miles from where he grew up, Jimmy Garoppolo had no trouble making himself at home.
Garoppolo threw for 322 yards and ran for two touchdowns, and the San Francisco 49ers beat the short-handed Chicago Bears 33-22 Sunday to snap a four-game losing streak.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — When San Francisco traveled to Chicago four years ago, it was a memorable homecoming for quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who made his starting debut for the 49ers that day.
Now, as the Niners head back to the Windy City near where Garoppolo grew up, the excitement and promise of Garoppolo being the new franchise quarterback has been supplanted by time ticking down on his hold on the starting job in San Francisco with rookie Trey Lance waiting in the wings.