The San Francisco 49ers will return to the field on Sunday in Week 9 to take on the Las Vegas Raiders after receiving much-needed rest in Week 8.

Before the 49ers can fully lock in against the Raiders, they must thank two teams that did them a huge favor in Week 8. Maybe even a gift is warranted.

Detroit Lions

The 49ers are sitting atop the NFC thanks to the Detroit Lions. They're the first team to hand the Minnesota Vikings their first loss of the season.

Minnesota is now tied with the 49ers at 6-1, but thanks to the strength of victory tiebreaker, the 49ers get the nod to sit atop the No. 1 seed.

The playoffs are still a long way off, and much can change. But the fact that the Lions disrupted the Vikings is huge for the 49ers.

I also think the Vikings' loss will be the beginning of a rough stretch for them. They might suffer losses in the next three games, as they take on the Buffalo Bills, Green Bay Packers, and finally the 49ers in Mexico City.

That can easily be three straight losses for the Vikings, who can't continue to hide behind their vaunted defense. The Lions may have started a snowball effect that the Vikings cannot overcome.

Chicago Bears

It's a bummer that the Los Angeles Rams won, but they're not that much of a threat to the 49ers. The Seattle Seahawks, on the other hand, are.

A win in Week 8 would've cut the 49ers' lead in the NFC West over them, but they suffered a brutal defeat at home on Monday night to the Chicago Bears.

The 49ers can thank the Bears for their service. Winning the division grows in likelihood for them with another Seattle loss. So long as the 49ers don't have an insane collapse, the NFC West will be theirs.

Similar to the Vikings, the Seahawks might face a snowball effect after losing to the Bears. Their offense can't move the ball efficiently outside of spamming targets to Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

Their defense is still elite and an issue for the 49ers, but their offense is a mess. The Bears, and even the 49ers, laid out the blueprint for disrupting the Seahawks' offense.

If they can't go on a run soon, the 49ers will run away with the division sooner than anyone anticipated. The only downside to this game is that the Bears are now fierce competition for the 49ers to clinch the No. 1 seed.

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