The bye week could’ve gone better or worse for the 49ers, but in reality, it didn’t change much in terms of the equation. While the team did move up in playoff seeding thanks to the Packers’ late win over the Bears, almost any result would’ve seen an improvement in standing, ranging from the definite (any result in the Packers-Bears game changed the standings) to the unlikely (the Rams losing to the Cardinals, which didn’t even come close to happening).

Very little has changed, though. Here’s the state of things as we get back to action this week.

My Hottest Take: Four weeks will decide the season

The challenge for the 49ers remains the same: four games, and in all likelihood, the team will need (at least) three wins out of the four. The good news? All four games are eminently winnable ... if the 49ers play somewhere near their best.

First up is the Titans this Sunday. Is it strange that I’m slightly more worried about this game than the others? On paper, it’s by far the easiest game of the four, as the Titans have been terrible this season, but they’re coming off their best performance of the year, and it’d be very 49ers-like to lay an egg in the easiest game. Start fast, start strong, and bring home the W, and things will look a lot rosier.

We follow that with a trip to Indianapolis that loomed large a few weeks ago, but that pathmighthave got a little easier with the news of Daniel Jones’ season-ending injury on Sunday. Facing Anthony Richardson or Riley Leonard is unlikely to strike fear in the 49ers, but then, I’ve grown up watching us lose to Colt McCoy and Ryan Lindley, so who knows. We’ll have to nail our 10am hoodoo for this one, but it feels more likely than it did.

Then it’s a home-stand against the Bears, and that might be the hardest game of the four, or possibly the most consequential. Neither my blood pressure nor the 49ers likely want to go into Week 18 needing to beat the Seahawks, so winning this game could end up being the difference between elation and devastation. We didn’t handle Ben Johnson’s offense so well last year when he was with the Lions, but this is a less beat-down defensive unit and team, and Kyle Shanahan often brings his best for the big occasions. This is a Sunday Night Football game and could well be a classic.

Finally, as always, it’s the Seahawks. It feels like the 49ers have to have a consequential season finale against either the Seahawks or the Rams every year. There’s not much else to say about that game. It always means something and always brings the best out of both sides. Here’s hoping for another Dre Greenlaw moment.

Either way, I’ve gone back and forth how I feel about it over the last few weeks, but I think it’s great overall. No one expected us to be here; most wrote us off in March. Yet weeks later, with some emotional wins, all options are open to us, and it’s in our hands. Let’s try and enjoy it.

What you need to know: Here comes the cavalry…maybe?

Bye weeks are never fun, but one coming so late in the season seems even stranger. That said, the rest week in an injury-ravaged year is certainly not to be sniffed at. At the time of writing, the 49ers could get the following players back at practice this week:

• Kicker Eddy Pineiro - While Matt Gay has done a fine job in his absence, dinero Pineiro would be a morale-boosting return.

• Linebacker Tatum Bethune – Fred Warner’s understudy was just coming into his own in the middle of the defense prior to his high-ankle sprain, and getting him back would put sticking plasters on the middle of a defense that’s been slightly abused in recent weeks.

• Defensive linemen Yetur Gross-Matos and Sam Okuayinonu – Getting either one of these back would be a huge boon to the 49ers’ beleaguered defensive line. Matos might be the bigger return of the two if it happens, as he’s been productive rushing the passer, an area the team badly needs a shot in the arm.

The team are unlikely to get all four back, but anything is a bonus ahead of four huge games. Let’s see what happens throughout the week.

Before You Go: Put Roger Craig in the Hall Of Fame

Finally, I’m going to use my tiny-but-growing platform for good and urge the Pro Football Hall Of Fame to elect Roger Craig in its seniors class this year. Craig was announced as one of several semi-finalists in recent weeks.

In an era where we are lauding players, including current 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey’s, dual-threat potential as a runner and receiver, it’s astonishing to me that a player who had a 1000/1000 season in rushing and receiving yards barely seems to incur a shred of outrage when he misses the Hall of Fame. He also led the NFL in scrimmage yards in 1988 with 2036.

Essentially, Craig walked so the likes of McCaffrey, Marshall Faulk and others could run. He was a cornerstone of two Super Bowl teams and an integral part of the 49ers dynasty. I’m astonished he’s not in, and even more astonished that he’s still fighting to get in in crowded seniors classes.

It’s his time. Get it right this time, voters.