SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- The San Francisco 49ers (9-4) would have preferred not to take a week off during a three-game winning streak. But last week's bye was an exception to the idea that downtime can be harmful to a team that is rolling.
A Week 14 bye is the latest a team can have in NFL scheduling terms, and the Niners hadn't enjoyed any sort of notable downtime since a couple of days they got following a Week 5 win against the Los Angeles Rams. But while players were away, San Francisco gained ground -- jumping from the No. 7 seed to No. 6 -- in an increasingly tight and up-for-grabs NFC playoff picture.
When the 49ers returned for work Monday, coach Kyle Shanahan told them, "It's the first day of school again," a message intended to drive home the point that if they can lock in and keep finding ways to win, there are some golden opportunities still within reach.
"It's super exciting," receiver Jauan Jennings said. "Just knowing where we are and knowing what we have to accomplish as a team and knowing that it's all right there in front of us to do it."
Indeed all things remain possible, including a No. 1 seed in the NFC that would open a path for the 49ers to play every postseason game -- including the Super Bowl -- at Levi's Stadium.
As far-fetched as that may sound for a team that underwent a massive offseason roster overhaul and has been decimated by injury this season, including the losses of star linebacker Fred Warner (ankle) and end Nick Bosa (knee), it's one of the scenarios in play down the home stretch.
San Francisco will begin its closing push Sunday against the 2-11 Tennessee Titans (4:25 p.m. ET, Fox) followed by a trip to face the Indianapolis Colts, who lost starting quarterback Daniel Jones to a torn Achilles on Sunday.
From there, the Niners finish with two tough games at home against fellow NFC playoff contenders with a Sunday night showdown against the Chicago Bears (9-4) in Week 17 and the season finale against the Seattle Seahawks (10-3).
Winning all those games is a daunting task, but do it and the Niners only need a modicum of help to secure the top seed. Although other paths exist, the simplest one for the Niners is this: win their remaining four games, root for a Rams loss against either of their remaining division opponents (at Seattle in Week 16 or home against Arizona in Week 18) and any Green Bay Packers (9-3-1) loss.
In that scenario, the Niners would win the NFC West tiebreak by virtue of a 5-1 record in the division, putting them above the Rams and Seahawks despite all three teams having a 13-4 record.
While the Niners aren't spending their time thinking about all those machinations this week, they know a finishing flourish could put them in a position few would have guessed just a month ago.
"It is motivating," McKivitz said. "There's an opportunity to be the one seed ... And if we do, another bye week in four weeks sounds pretty awesome. We've been there before and enjoyed that. We take care of our business and know that's a possibility."
As it stands, ESPN's Football Power Index gives the 49ers a 93.4% chance to make the postseason. A win Sunday against Tennessee boosts that to 96.1% while a loss would drop it to 80.2%.
Perhaps more intriguing is the battle for the NFC West. In the division that has been arguably the best in football this season, the Rams, Seahawks and 49ers all have a realistic chance to walk away with the crown and snatch the top spot in the NFC.
The Rams hold the edge right now with FPI giving them a 44% chance to claim the No. 1 seed in the NFC with Seattle right behind at 22.6%. The 49ers are a bit further back at 11.5% -- but the Week 16 Thursday night showdown between the Rams and Seahawks figures to shed plenty of light on the situation.
All three teams also are well-positioned to make the playoffs as the NFC West is only the second division (along with last year's NFC North) since 2002's realignment to have three teams at 9-4 or better through 13 games.
But for the Niners to emerge from that cluster, they understand they can't look too far ahead.
Which is why many of them did their best to get away for the weekend. McKivitz spent time hunting in a duck blind with his phone tuned into games positioned just so he could see what was going on around the league. Multiple players also took smaller trips to get away, with stops in Napa wine country or Lake Tahoe. Rookie cornerback Upton Stout stayed home and spent time watching four games of each of the Niners' next four opponents.
"I feel like last week was probably the only week I really looked ahead," Stout said. "Other than that, during the season, I'm really, whatever game it is, that's what I'm focused on, just focused on that moment."
It's that team-wide approach -- along with a beneficial schedule -- that has allowed the 49ers to keep their name affixed to the NFC playoff picture.
And though some players are accustomed to being the favorites, these Niners are quietly embracing the role of underdog and using it as motivation to prove to the rest of the league that they won't go down easily at the most important time of the season.
"That mindset, we can't lose it," quarterback Brock Purdy said. "Every game matters. It's huge. This is the most important time of the year for sure, but we just have to take it one day at a time, one game at time, and keep building our momentum."