THE 49ers are in a difficult situation.

They didn’t play this weekend, but every other team in their division did. And the Cardinals beat the Bears and the Rams beat the Seahawks. Which means the Cardinals are in first place in the NFC West, the Rams in second, the 49ers in third and the Seahawks in last.

Of course, the Cardinals only have one more win than the 49ers. But the Cardinals beat the 49ers head-to-head a few weeks ago, so they currently have the tiebreaker. And the Rams also beat the 49ers, which is why the Rams are ahead of them despite having the same record.

Plus, the Detroit Lions beat the Green Bay Packers today, so the 49ers can forget about getting the No. 1 seed. The Lions have been a juggernaut all season – they seem to be the class of the NFC, if not the entire league. They have the best offensive line, two excellent running backs, a terrific tight end, two explosive wide receivers and the most accurate quarterback in the NFL.

So even if Christian McCaffrey returns for the second half of the season, there is no guarantee the 49ers will return to the Super Bowl. The NFC and NFC West are much more competitive than they were a year ago and the 49ers have regressed. Their defense is ordinary and their special teams are horrible.

We’ll see if the 49ers can catch the Cardinals and Rams.