The 49ers have started a season 3-0 for the first time since 1998 thanks to Sunday's 24-20 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers at Levi's Stadium, and history is on their side in pursuit of a playoff spot.
Since the NFL merger in 1970, 163 of the 217 -- or, just over 75 percent -- teams that opened the season 3-0 ultimately made the playoffs and won an average of 11 games. Of course, the league has not always had the same playoff format, so it's nice news for the 49ers that 69.5 percent of teams that started a season 3-0 have made the postseason since the NFL expanded to 32 teams.
The 49ers have not made the playoffs since Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Co. led San Francisco to the 2013 NFC Championship Game. It's an absence of five years going on six, and the 49ers have the NFL's fourth-longest active playoff drought. Their hot start bodes well for a return to the postseason, but they need not look back all that far to realize a punched ticket is no sure thing.
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The Miami Dolphins opened last season with wins over the Tennessee Titans, New York Jets and Raiders. Miami improved to 4-2 after beating Khalil Mack and the Chicago Bears in overtime, but proceeded to lose seven of its remaining nine games. It didn't help the Dolphins to have to play against star quarterbacks Matthew Stafford, Deshaun Watson, Aaron Rodgers, (then-active) Andrew Luck and Tom Brady in a span of seven weeks, but the 49ers will have to traverse a similar path this season.
Beginning when the 49ers return from the bye on "Monday Night Football" against the Cleveland Browns in Week 5, they will play Baker Mayfield, Jared Goff (twice), Kyler Murray (twice), Russell Wilson (twice), Aaron Rodgers, Lamar Jackson, Drew Brees (if healthy) and Matt Ryan. Murray's Arizona Cardinals and Ryan's Atlanta Falcons might not have much to play for when they match up with the 49ers In Weeks 9, 11 and 15, respectively, but San Francisco will have to face a healthy mix of the NFL's elite QBs and its up-and-coming stars.
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In a league defined by its quarterbacks, that kind of a stretch can throw a wrench into the best-laid postseason plans. Considering the 49ers' first three opponents boast a combined 1-8 record after three weeks, it'd be difficult for them to face an easier schedule after the bye than the one with which they started the 2019 season. Their post-bye slate will be a much truer litmus test of the team's postseason-worthiness.
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But the 49ers have put themselves in an advantageous position in order to end their playoff drought, and their best start in two decades means a spot in the postseason is a real possibility.