49ers’ first playoff matchup depends on today’s NFL Wild Card games
By Chris Wilson
The San Francisco 49ers will play their first playoff game at Levi’s Stadium next Saturday. Today’s two NFL Wild Card games will determine the Niners’ first opponent.
After six years of NFL regular season football at Levi’s Stadium, the San Francisco 49ers’ not-so-new home in Santa Clara, CA will finally feature playoff football next Saturday, as the No. 1 seed in the NFC will host one of three teams playing in today’s Wild Card round of the 2020 NFL playoffs.
Technically, Levi’s Stadium did host Super Bowl 50 between the Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers, but the five-win Niners were far from playoff contention — and their state-of-the-art stadium — when the game took place in early 2016. After a handful of sub par seasons, the 49ers finally clicked in 2019, and thanks to last week’s last-second victory over the Seattle Seahawks, earned a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
The 49ers’ first playoff opponent will be determined during today’s Wild Card matchups between two pairs of NFC contenders. The No. 3 seed New Orleans Saints host the No. 6 seed Minnesota Vikings at 1:05 p.m. ET, and the No. 4 seed Philadelphia Eagles then host the No. 5 seed Seahawks at 4:40 p.m. ET.
San Francisco will play the lowest-seeded team that wins today. If the Saints are victorious, they will travel to play the Green Bay Packers next weekend, but the other three teams are in the running for a trip to the Bay Area next Saturday.
If Minnesota knocks off New Orleans, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan and his favorite quarterback — Vikings QB Kirk Cousins — will face off next weekend. Otherwise, the winner of today’s late game between the Eagles and Seahawks will travel to Santa Clara to face the top team in the NFC.
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Who do you want the San Francisco 49ers to face in the divisional round of the playoffs next weekend? A resilient Eagles team, a solid Vikings squad, or the Niners’ biggest rival — the Seahawks? Sound off in the comments section!