The San Francisco 49ers watched Christian McCaffrey hit a Marshall Faulk accolade on Sunday . But more important, S.F. witnessed its playoff hopes ascend after thrashing the Cleveland Browns.

The Niners once saw themselves behind the rival Los Angeles Rams in two areas: The NFC West and the conference's top seed . But the Carolina Panthers shook both up to benefit the 49ers — stunning the Rams in Charlotte.

Now the Rams sit at 9-3 and no longer sitting comfortably in both the top seed and division title race. San Francisco is beginning to breathe down L.A.'s neck once again with a 9-4 record.

And looking ahead, the schedule is setting up fiercely for the 49ers to make a late charge into the NFL Playoffs .

FTN Fantasy DVOA

Here, DVOA comes into the picture for the 49ers.

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