The 49ers are going to make the playoffs next season. There, I said it, and even better (or more foolishly), I’m saying it right now as they sit at 4-11 and with every expectation of finishing up 2018 with one more loss.



Still, I’m making the call after their 14-9 loss to the Bears at Levi’s Stadium: The 49ers will more than double this year’s victory total next year, they will push around the bad teams and more than hold their own against the good ones — and they are going to make the playoffs next season.



That’s not a guarantee, it’s just a prediction, but I say all this in a very specific context and with a very specific timetable in mind. The 49ers will make the playoffs next season because it’ll be Year 3 of the Kyle Shanahan/John Lynch regime, which means this is all coming due. It’ll be time.



If the 49ers can’t make the playoffs next season, then maybe Shanahan and Lynch are not fated to get...