The San Francisco 49ers couldn't have asked for a better Week 16 outcome: the Seattle Seahawks beating the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night before the Niners took care of their own affairs by upending the Indianapolis Colts on Monday Night Football.
That gives San Francisco an increased shot at not only the NFC West title, especially with a regular-season finale looming against the Hawks, but also the No. 1 overall seed in the conference for the playoffs.
Considering February's Super Bowl is to be held at Levi's Stadium, there's a chance the 49ers won't have to take to the road again if they're able to make it to that point.
Currently, Seattle holds that top spot in the NFC, whereas the Niners are in the top Wild Card spot, the No. 5 seed overall, which means a road game against one of the coneference's division winners.
If the status quo remains, San Francisco likely wouldn't complain about the current matchup.
49ers (currently) have ideal Wild Card opponent on the docket
If the 2026 NFL playoffs started today (they don't), here's how the seeding would look:
- Seattle Seahawks (12-3*, 1st NFC West)
- Chicago Bears (11-4*, 1st NFC North)
- Philadelphia Eagles (10-5**, 1st NFC East)
- Carolina Panthers (8-7, 1st NFC South)
- San Francisco 49ers (11-4*, 2nd NFC West)
- Los Angeles Rams (11-4*, 3rd NFC West)
- Green Bay Packers (9-5-1, 2nd NFC North)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-8, 2nd NFC South)
Related story: 4 things the Niners would like to have happen in Week 17 (besides beating Bears)
Aside from seeding, the only remaining postseason spot available is for the winner of the NFC South, a bout between the current division leaders, the Panthers, and the floundering Bucs. And with a Carolina-Tampa Bay showdown scheduled for Week 18, the NFC South's outcome is far from determined.
As it stands now, though, the 49ers would travel to Bank of America Stadium to face Carolina if the postseason was to start this weekend.
So, not only would the Niners get to face off against the conference's worst team in the playoffs (in terms of wins and losses), but they'd also get to reinforce the outcome of Week 12's win over the Panthers, even if it involved three interceptions thrown by quarterback Brock Purdy.
On top of those factors, San Francisco would avoid trips to cold-weather cities like Green Bay, Philadelphia and Chicago to kick off its postseason campaign, which is ideal enough. And while the 49ers already beat the Seahawks in Seattle at the very beginning of the regular season, a Wild Card showdown in the Pacific Northwest would be a different creature.
The playoffs don't begin this weekend. But, if they did, the Niners would be set up nicely.