The 49ers moved into the NFC’s No. 6 playoff seed during their bye week, but former All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman has his sights set on even loftier goals for San Francisco.

Sitting at 9-4 with four games remaining, the 49ers currently are third in the NFC West behind the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks, who both hold identical 10-3 records.

During a recent episode of the “Richard Sherman Podcast,” the five-time All-Pro defensive back detailed why he believes San Francisco’s final stretch of the 2025 NFL season places the 49ers in prime position to leapfrog the Rams and Seahawks.

“I feel really good about them, and I’m sure the San Francisco 49ers Faithful feel really good based off what happened in this week,” Sherman said. “And you look at the unfortunate things that happened. The Colts lose their quarterback to an injury. Now you’re facing an entirely different offense without Daniel Jones at the helm. Obviously they still have Jonathan Taylor, incredibly effective, but that changes the way you game plan for him. You’re going to force the young rookie quarterback to beat you in that game. Sauce Gardner is out for that team. So a number of things have happened that just changed the dynamics of some of these games.

“Again, I think they can beat the Tennessee Titans. I think it’s going to be a great game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks at the end of the season. I believe they play the Chicago Bears as well. Another game that’s going to be a dog fight for this team. So yeah, there’s every possibility in the world for this team to win this division, but it’s unpredictable, and anybody that thinks they can predict this, I I’d love to see the method to their madness because it’s simply madness right now in the National Football League.”

Sherman pointed to the ongoing surprise results in the league as a huge reason why fans should expect the unexpected rather than attempting to telegraph an NFC West winner with a handful of games remaining.

“A ton of parity. Unexpected things are happening every week. You never expect the Carolina Panthers to beat the LA Rams the way they did,” Sherman explained. “You don’t expect so many things to happen that are consistently happening this season. So, it’s anybody’s guess who wins this division. There’s a huge game next week obviously, between the Rams and the Lions, then the Rams and the Seahawks. The results of those games will have a huge impact on the overall standings at the end.”

The 49ers and Seahawks also have a Week 18 matchup at Levi’s Stadium that could ultimately decide the division winner if the cards fall in the right place, particularly for San Francisco, which has three games it likely will be favored in leading up to that season finale in Santa Clara.

“So, I can’t say, ‘Oh man, I know the Rams are going to win this or the Seahawks are going to win this and then this is going to happen.’ You just never know,” Sherman said. “And if the San Francisco 49ers can beat the Titans and then beat the Colts and then if they find a way to beat the Bears, whoa Nelly, you know?

“You’re looking at an incredible season and I mean you got to be looking at Kyle Shanahan for coach of the year. I know there’s no way you don’t give it to Mike Vrabel, but the circumstances are so unique this season for the San Francisco 49ers, it’s hard not to keep looking at this team, especially  if you look up and they’re one of the top three seeds in the NFC, you’re like, how did you do that without some of your best players in uniform?

“You got some of the best players in the National Football League on crutches and on the sideline and in the stands watching this team play, and you’re still able to win football games. So, I think there’s something to be said there, but it’s going to be a great finish. It’s going to be a photo finish for sure.”

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