What NFL playoffs tell 49ers about their window to contend

The 49ers did not even come close to earning an NFL playoff spot this season, but everyone can take whatever they want from the first two rounds of the postseason.The Detroit Lions easily were the NFC's best team throughout the 2024 regular season. But they stumbled badly in their postseason opener.The 49ers were shut out of the playoffs for the first time since the 2020 season after letting three second-half leads get away in losses to the Los Angeles Rams, Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks within the first 10 games of the season.Coach Kyle Shanahan said after the season that those were three games the 49ers should have won — if not for mistakes in every phase."Which means we would've been 8-2 going into Week 11," Shanahan said. "And that was the hardest thing. Then we hit some real bad injuries which were going to be tough. But that's what made it steamroll to where we didn't have a chance to make the playoffs."The 49ers stumbled down the stretch, losing seven of their final eight games to finish at 6-11 on the season.Perhaps, the 49ers' most encouraging signs for the future came when they stepped back and observed what happened during the early rounds of the NFC...