Kurtenbach: The 49ers have a path to the top of the NFC. Will they take it?

Anyone with a functioning pair of corneas can see that the San Francisco 49ers are currently looking up at the Seattle Seahawks and the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC West pecking order.

If the division were a high school cafeteria, the Niners are currently sitting near the trash cans while Sean McVay and Mike Macdonald hold court at the cool kids’ table.

But if you think San Francisco is entirely out of the mix to win the NFC next year, you’re mistaking a temporary, in-many-ways-planned setback for a permanent residency.