The San Francisco 49ers host the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday evening. The winner will earn a coveted bye week as the No. 1 seed in the playoff picture. The loser travels to Tampa Bay. Or Carolina. Perhaps Chicago. Maybe even Philadelphia.
Despite what happens Saturday night, it would not be a surprise to see the 49ers make a deep playoff run and play at Levi’s Stadium in the Super Bowl. Nor would it shock anybody to see them lose the first game. The same is true for every team in what feels like the most wide-open playoff field in a long time.
Here’s a look at the division standings as we head into Week 18. Many are of the mindset that the three best teams in the NFC all play in the same division.
NFC West standings
Seattle Seahawks 13-3
San Francisco 49ers 12-4
Los Angeles Rams 11-5
Arizona Cardinals 3-13
Updated NFC playoff picture
- Seattle Seahawks 13-3
- Chicago Bears 11-5
- Philadelphia Eagles 11-5
- Carolina Panthers 8-8
- San Francisco 49ers 12-4
- Los Angeles Rams 11-5
- Green Bay Packers 9-6-1
If the 49ers win, they are the No. 1 seed.
If the 49ers lose and the Rams beat the Cardinals, Los Angeles gets the fifth seed. Both teams will have the same number of victories in the division. Since they split the head-to-head matchup, and the division games are even, the next tiebreaker is the win-loss record in common games.
The NFC West played the AFC and the NFC South. Each team beat the Titans, Colts, and Saints. The Rams lost to the Falcons and Panthers — two teams the 49ers beat. The Niners lost to the Texans and the Buccaneers — two teams the Rams beat. That leaves the Jaguars, who beat the 49ers but lost to the Rams.
The 49ers would need the Rams to lose to be the fifth seed if they fall to Seattle. Once we update this post tonight, we’ll lay out the scenarios of what Sunday means, if anything at all.
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