49ers GM John Lynch on the NFC playoffs: ‘It’s anyone’s championship out there’

The San Francisco 49ers are 9-4 with a bye week in Week 14. During an interview on KNBR, general manager John Lynch said he called the Baltimore Ravens, who have had a Week 14 bye multiple times in previous years, to gauge how they felt about having one so late in the season. Lynch said they loved it because they were a healthy team, and it allowed the Ravens to get a fresh start going into December.

As head coach Kyle Shanahan said on Monday, the bye week will allow the Niners to get back their kicker, a rotational defensive lineman, and maybe even Sam Okauyinonu and Tatum Bethune without missing another game. Kyle Juszczyk has a fractured rib but might not miss a game.

The bye allows the 49ers to take a step back and entertain the idea of how far the 49ers can go this season, according to Lynch:

The bye does give you some time to look at the big picture, and you guys are right. Who would have thought, after we played Carolina, that they’d go beat the Rams? Well, they did. I think what it shows is, this year it’s anyone’s championship out there. I think it’s going to come down to who can have some good fortune, in terms of being healthy at the right time.

But are you getting better each week? And that’s one thing that I’m really proud of our team, and I think Kyle has done an incredible job leading us. We’re finding a way in each phase to get a little bit better each week. Regardless of what’s happening in terms of injuries and whatnot, we’re focused on, can we get a little bit better each week?

And when you do that, we’ve got enough in our locker room, I believe, to contend. I love the position we’re at, because I don’t think anyone can say, ‘This is the team to beat right now.’ There are a lot of teams in that mix.

We’ve gone through all kinds of playoff scenarios and the 49ers’ current postseason probabilities. Barring a loss to the Titans, it looks like San Francisco will get into the tournament. Once you’re in, anything goes.