SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Under normal circumstances, the San Francisco 49ers' 4-0 run through the past month would make them a favorite to do some serious damage in the postseason.

After all, teams playing their best football at this time of year are often the ones who advance the furthest. Alas, nothing about this season has been normal for the Niners.

An 0-9 start saw San Francisco set an NFL record by losing five consecutive games by three points or fewer. Veteran quarterback Brian Hoyer was benched in favor of rookie C.J. Beathard. Franchise stalwart NaVorro Bowman had his role reduced, requested a trade and was subsequently released. And, on a weekly basis, key player after key player seemed to suffer a season-ending injury.

Given all of that, a win or two in the first year under coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch seemed like a reasonable goal for what figured to be a massive rebuild.

My, how things have changed. On Halloween, the Niners officially completed the trade for quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, sending their second-round pick to the Patriots in exchange for the promising backup to Tom Brady. After a few weeks spent getting familiar with Shanahan's system, Garoppolo was installed as the starter four games ago.

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All that has happened since is that the Niners have won four straight games. For most 5-10 teams going into the final week of the season, tee times are being made and vacations are being booked. That's not the case in Santa Clara.

"It's a new beginning, a new start," linebacker Reuben Foster said.

It's a reset that has the Niners clamoring to play more games than the allotted 16. This is a team that doesn't want this season to end because it believes it could legitimately do some damage were it allowed to participate in the playoffs. And the crazy thing is, they're not necessarily wrong.

Sure, there was some trepidation about what was happening with the Niners when they beat the likes of the New York Giants, Chicago Bears and Houston Texans. Before a three-game stretch to close the season against Tennessee, Jacksonville and the Los Angeles Rams, Shanahan challenged his team to treat the final trio of games as the Niners' own personal playoffs.

Shanahan's squad promptly went out and beat the Titans and Jaguars, two teams that would be in the AFC playoffs were they to begin today. The 49ers have long since been eliminated from playoff contention but are they playing like a team that could be one soon?

"That's hard to say," Shanahan said. "I know we played one [Sunday] and I know today it seemed like we were the better team. I thought we played at a high level versus a very good team. I think we've gotten better each week. I know we've won a number in a row, but I think what's been the coolest thing about it, I think we've gotten better in each game since Chicago. From Chicago to Houston to Tennessee to this. I feel like all three phases have gotten better. I want us to finish strong next week and really counting on that to lead us into next year.”

The turnaround over the past month has been dramatic. Sure, Garoppolo has led the charge but there have been major contributions up and down the roster. Rookies like Foster, tight end George Kittle, receiver Trent Taylor, running back Matt Breida, free safety Adrian Colbert and cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon have played key roles. Free-agent additions like fullback Kyle Juszczyk and receiver Marquise Goodwin have emerged as go-to targets in the offense.

The numbers wrought by those performances speak for themselves. In the past four weeks, the Niners are the only undefeated team in the league. They're sixth in points scored, yards per game and offensive efficiency, fifth in total yards and giveaways, second in time of possession and third in passing yards per game and third-down efficiency.

With their winning streak at four, the Niners have strung together that many wins for the first time since 2013 and their per game offensive output is their best in a four-game stretch since 1998.

"I've just watched the games with Jimmy Garoppolo playing," Jaguars coach Doug Marrone said. "I thought they did a great job, and I thought the defense was starting to gel. They're doing a nice job communication-wise, and special teams is playing well. I saw a team that is really a strong football team. Obviously they got after us. I have a lot of respect for them."

That respect, of course, has to be earned but the Niners seem to be doing so quickly. The win against Jacksonville had running back Carlos Hyde (seemingly jokingly) talking about going to the Super Bowl after next season and Hyde and fellow upcoming free agent Eric Reid talking about how much they want to stay in San Francisco to see this rebuild through.

"They need to put some respect on our name across the league," Hyde said. "We weren't getting no respect. Now, after that game we should have opened up some eyes, a lot more eyes so they should definitely put some more respect on our name after that."

In most cases, the idea of carrying momentum from one season to the next seems like folly. Each season is unique and every team has its own identity. But rare is the case where a team adds a potential franchise quarterback in the middle of the season and experiences similar results. In fact, you'd be hard-pressed to ever find a similar situation play out.

That's why the buzz by the Bay is rapidly increasing and might just keep building all the way into next season.

"I have been a part of one five-win team in my career and I can tell you it didn't feel like this," Juszczyk said. "It definitely didn't feel like this."

That's not to say the Niners believe they have arrived. There's plenty of work to do in the offseason and a number of holes on the roster that need plugging. But for as pleased as Shanahan was with how his team stuck together through adversity, he has to be equally happy with how it's handling success. Those are lessons that can be drawn upon moving forward.

"It's all potential so we have to go out there and have a great offseason and be very focused and all that stuff," left tackle Joe Staley said. "But also, it's not a crime to have a little confidence too. So we're feeling good. ... I thought when it was a 10-game losing streak or whatever it was, no one was pointing fingers, I've been a part of that. I've been a part of that where we've had bad seasons and guys have started pointing fingers, this is your fault, it's your fault. There was none of that. It's an exciting time right now. I'm just happy to be a part of it."