Sunday afternoon proved to be a big day for the San Francisco 49ers’ playoff hopes, and it partially came from a most unusual source.

The first major outcome, of course, was the Niners grabbing their first victory in Cleveland since Nov. 11, 1984, pushing their record to 9-4 heading into next week’s bye. The Seattle Seahawk’s win over the Minnesota Vikings later in the afternoon pulled the Hawks into a tie for first place with the Los Angeles Rams, leaving the Niners a half game behind both teams.

And that was all made possible by the Carolina Panthers, who thankfully, didn’t hold a grudge against the 49ers after Monday night. In fact, the Panthers got the Niners a lovely gift on Sunday by way of a 31-28 win over the Rams at Bank of America Stadium.

LA’s loss kept the door slightly open for San Francisco in the NFC West race, at least ensuring that the final few weeks of the season will have some impact on how the division will shake out.

Carolina did the job by doing what almost no other team has been able to do this season: forcing Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford into mistakes.

Stafford hadn’t thrown an interception in over 300 pass attempts and set an NFL record by tossing 28 touchdowns without throwing a pick since his last turnover in Week 3 against the Philadelphia Eagles. He proceeded to throw two in three pass attempts, although the first, to be fair, bounced off the helmet of Panthers defensive tackle Derrick Brown before landing in the arms of safety Nick Scott.

Carolina was also exceptional on fourth-down conversion attempts, finishing the game 3-of-3 on fourth down, including two 30-plus-yard touchdown throws by quarterback Bryce Young. These are the types of things a team needs to happen in order to complete an upset, and head coach Dave Canales and his Panthers were aggressive when they needed to be.

Carolina’s win doesn’t ensure anything for the 49ers, but it does keep the Niners in a race that many thought was a foregone conclusion. The Rams could also not lose again based on the rest of their schedule, making the loss in Charlotte a blip on the radar en route to a 14-3 season.

But, given the nature of the Niners’ injury-riddled campaign, any discussions about even the possibility of a division title feels crazy.

So if nothing else, thanks for the Panthers for a little bit of hope.