Here’s one very realistic outcome, if the Seahawks beat the Rams on Thursday night. With a 4-1 record in the division and a split with the Rams, the 49ers would win any tiebreakers with the Rams or Seattle (which the 49ers beat in Week 1).

Philip Rivers and the Indianapolis Colts take on the San Francisco 49ers for Monday Night Football at Lucas Oil Stadium.

If these two things happen, the 49ers would finish 13-4 and win the NFC West over a 13-4 Rams team based on the division record tiebreaker. If the Seahawks also finish 13-4 in this scenario, the 49ers would have swept them, so they'd win any tiebreaker with Seattle. At 7-to-1 odds to win the NFC West, the 49ers feel like a steal.

Obviously, the one seed is what the 49ers are aspiring for. It gets you a bye week, and the team that may want a bye week the most is the 49ers. If they can get a little more rested for some of their injured defenders and Ricky Pearsall, it would go a long way. They draw the bottom seed the rest of the way, which helps as well.

It may go against every bone in the bodies of San Francisco 49ers fans, but on Thursday night, fans will have to cheer for the Seattle Seahawks when they take on the Los Angeles Rams with all sorts of playoff implications on the line.

The biggest winner in the NFC besides the Seahawks is the 49ers. Besides finally having another NFC contender share in their injury misery, San Francisco's surprising path to the top seed in the NFC just got intriguing. The 49ers are 10-4 and will be the top seed in the conference if they win out and the Seahawks beat the Rams on Thursday.

This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/49ers/onsi as How Brock Purdy's Return Has Shifted the 49ers' Locker Room Dynamic. San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy’s return after an extended absence due to turf toe has sparked widespread debate.