49ers news: Niners now No. 1 seed, Taybor Pepper trash talk, Jason Verrett returns

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:

1. San Francisco 49ers (10-3)*
2. Dallas Cowboys (10-3)*
3. Detroit Lions (9-4)*
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-7)*
5. Philadelphia Eagles (10-3)
6. Minnesota Vikings (7-6)
7. 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.

Taybor Pepper trash-talks DK Metcalf on social media after 49ers beat Seahawks

San Francisco's win over Philadelphia involved no shortage of trash-talk leading up to the game, and there was a decent bit of it thereafter.

Not surprisingly, there was a bit of trash-talk after the 49ers beat the Seahawks, too. Given the two teams' longstanding rivalry within the NFC West, coupled with a late-game fight that involved Hawks star receiver DK Metcalf, there certainly had to be some words postgame, right?

Involving long-snapper Taybor Pepper, though?

It is kind of cool that Metcalf has chosen to use American Sign Language to celebrate his touchdowns, and he did so during his lone score against the 49ers on Sunday.

However, after getting involved in that fight that led to both his ejection, along with cornerback Deommodore Lenoir, it appears as if Pepper wanted to deliver a last word.

Well played, Taybor. Well played.

49ers sign veteran corner Jason Verrett to practice squad

There was talk of this happening several weeks ago, but for whatever the reasons, the Niners didn't re-sign veteran cornerback Jason Verrett in any capacity, to the 53-man roster or practice squad.

Well, that's changed now.

Verrett, whose first successful year with San Francisco was back in 2020 and suffered serious injuries in 2021 (torn ACL) and in 2022 (torn Achilles), is coming back but to the 49ers practice squad, according to a report on Sunday from NBC Sports Bay Area's Matt Maiocco.

At 32 years old, Verrett might provide some insurance for the Niners, who could potentially be without No. 1 cornerback Charvarius Ward, who suffered a groin injury during San Francisco's victory over Seattle.

At the very least, the 49ers will have some experience with their depth, knowing that Verrett is capable of playing at a high level when healthy.

He just hasn't been healthy much at all over his career.

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