The 49ers have slim chances of reaching the 2024 NFL playoffs at 6-7, but their 38-13 win over the Chicago Bears on Sunday seemingly reinvigorated San Francisco and its Faithful.

Nevertheless, if the 49ers were to go dancing, it would mean the team reached a gear yet to be seen and intimidating to opponents; in essence, San Francisco must repeat its Week 14 performance from here on out.

In the latest episode of “Hitner’s Hot Take,” NBC Sports Bay Area’s Donte Whitner explained why no team would want to face the 49ers in the NFC playoffs — if they were to earn a spot.

“It was all led by their soon-to-be $60-million quarterback Brock Purdy, who was very efficient,” Whitner said about San Francisco’s win over Chicago. “If Brock Purdy plays the way that he played versus the Chicago Bears, dishing the ball all around — [Jauan] Jennings, [George] Kittle — creating explosive plays, the 49ers will be the hottest team to enter the playoffs.

“And no team wants to play the 49ers.”

The 49ers can be that team that scares even the most dominant Super Bowl contenders. San Francisco, as echoed internally and externally all season, definitely has the talent to put fear into rivals.

But there is no telling what the 49ers’ ceiling is if Purdy emulates his game against the Bears on a week-to-week basis. Against Chicago, he completed 20 of 25 passes for 325 yards and two touchdowns with zero turnovers; San Francisco needs that version of Purdy, every week.

Regardless, just four games remain on the 49ers’ tough schedule. There is no tomorrow. Now is the time for San Francisco to prove it still is that contender of a season ago. Starting with a “Thursday Night Football” game against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 15, the 49ers can choose how their story ends.

One thing, though, is certain: losing isn’t an option. And if San Francisco can embrace that realization — and mentality — no team, as Whitner said, will want to play them when it matters most.

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