49ers news: Niners now No. 1 seed, Taybor Pepper trash talk, Jason Verrett returns
- San Francisco is the top seed in the NFC now.
- Taybor Pepper trash-talks DK Metcalf after Seahawks game.
- Jason Verrett is back again.
By Peter Panacy
It's an eventful Monday for the 49ers, who overtook the top seed in the NFC after Sunday's win over the Seahawks paired with an Eagles loss.
For a few hours on Sunday evening, every San Francisco 49ers player, coach and fan was doing the unthinkable.
Rooting for the Dallas Cowboys.
Yet that's what it would take for the Niners, who already hold a tiebreaker over Dallas, to move into the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoff picture over the Philadephia Eagles, whom San Francisco beat a week ago for another tiebreaker and who was also playing the Cowboys on Sunday Night Football.
The 49ers handled their own business, moving to 10-3 on the season after defeating the Seattle Seahawks 28-16.
All the Niners then needed was for Dallas to handle its business.
Cowboys beat Eagles, 49ers move into top seed in NFC playoff picture
There are now three teams in the NFC playoff race with 10-3 records: San Francisco, Dallas and Philadelphia, yet the 49ers have beaten the other two. So, if the 49ers end up finishing with the same regular-season record as either the Cowboys or Eagles, it'd be the Niners who would get the better seed.
After Sunday's action, San Francisco has just that and is now No. 1 in the NFC playoff outlook:
- San Francisco 49ers (10-3)*
- Dallas Cowboys (10-3)*
- Detroit Lions (9-4)*
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-7)*
- Philadelphia Eagles (10-3)
- Minnesota Vikings (7-6)
- Green Bay Packers (6-6)+
*denotes division leader
+playing Monday night
With four more weeks to go before the postseason, the 49ers now control their own destiny. Winning out would guarantee retainment of the No. 1 seed, homefield advantage throughout the playoffs and a first-round bye during the Wild Card round.
"For us, if we handle business and take it one week at a time," quarterback Brock Purdy said after the game. "Obviously, who doesn't want to play as the first seed with home-field advantage?"
Meanwhile, after having lost control of the NFC East, Philly drops from the top seed down to No. 5 as a Wild Card team.
Quite the dramatic shift.
But, wait... there's more.