Most were ready to write off the defending NFC champion San Francisco 49ers, especially if Kyle Shanahan's squad suffered its second consecutive embarrassing defeat. That didn't happen, though, and the 49ers emerged victorious from Sunday night's NFC West clash against the Los Angeles Rams.
The game made a statement for the Niners. The injury-plagued team isn't ready to concede the season and still deserves your respect.
"If I'm a fan of an NFC frontrunner, whether it be the Seahawks or the Bucs or the Saints or whoever it may be, I want the Niners out of the equation," Brandt explained on NFL Network's Good Morning Football. "I don't want them in the mix. Kick them down. I want the Rams to win last night.
"When you tuned in last night, and you see (George) Kittle doing his thing, and Deebo (Samuel), and (Raheem) Mostert, and we've got new defensive players now that are stepping up with guys like Nick Bosa gone, you're like, 'I don't want to deal with the Niners in December. I don't want them to get hot. They're a team that I want completely irrelevant because I know how good their coaching is and I know how good their talent it.'"
The 49ers will travel to Foxborough this weekend to face the struggling but always-dangerous New England Patriots. Then it will be another division bout with the rival Seattle Seahawks before facing two more NFC squads in the Green Bay Packers and New Orleans Saints.
The 49ers keep their hopes alive, and the team feels that it is starting to find its identity.
"We're definitely moving in the right direction," quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo said after Sunday's win. "I wouldn't say we're totally there yet. There's still a lot of football left in the season, but how we finished this game, it felt a lot like last year, just how we were controlling the clock at the end of the game, running the ball, converting third downs."
The Good Morning Football host feels that could be very dangerous for the rest of the conference. San Francisco may sit at .500, but Sunday night's victory was a significant boost.
"This was a scary thing about them," Brandt added. "They're still alive. And listen, they might not be alive a month from now, but I want them out of the equation, so I don't have to play them. I'm sorry for everybody else with a good record in the NFC; they're not out of the equation. They're going to be a tough kill, and last night was not a good night if you're a fan of an NFC frontrunner to see these guys doing these things."