After seven straight weeks of alternating wins and losses following their 3-0 start to this 2025 season, the San Francisco 49ers have once again reeled off three consecutive victories, first completing the season sweep of the Arizona Cardinals in Week 11, then knocking off the Carolina Panthers in Week 12, and following up with a Week 13 win over the Cleveland Browns.
With the 26-8 victory over the Browns, the Niners improved to 9-4 on the season and now sit just a half-game back of both the Los Angeles Rams and the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC West race, with the Rams falling to 9-3 this past Sunday in a loss to the Carolina Panthers, while the Seahawks improved to 9-3 with a shutout victory over the Minnesota Vikings.
Los Angeles currently owns the first-place tiebreaker, thanks to a 21-19 win over Seattle in Week 11, with the two clubs set for their second matchup in Week 16 on Thursday Night Football.
San Francisco presently owns the No. 7 slot in the overall conference standings, sitting behind the Seahawks and Green Bay Packers in the Wild Card race and ahead of the Detroit Lions, Dallas Cowboys, and Carolina Panthers.
Here's a quick look at the NFC playoff picture as it stands heading into Week 14. You'll notice that only 13 teams are listed, as the Arizona Cardinals (3-9), New Orleans Saints (2-10), and New York Giants (2-11) have already been officially eliminated:
- Chicago Bears (9-3, 1st NFC North)
- Los Angeles Rams (9-3, 1st NFC West)
- Philadelphia Eagles (8-4, 1st NFC East)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-5, 1st NFC South)
- Seattle Seahawks (9-3, 2nd NFC West)
- Green Bay Packers (8-3-1, 2nd NFC North)
- San Francisco 49ers (9-4, 3rd NFC West)
- Detroit Lions (7-5, 3rd NFC North)
- Dallas Cowboys (6-5-1, 2nd NFC East)
- Carolina Panthers (7-6, 2nd NFC South)
- Atlanta Falcons (4-8, 3rd NFC South)
- Minnesota Vikings (4-8, 4th NFC North)
- Washington Commanders (3-9, 3rd NFC East)
The 49ers, of course, are finally taking their long-awaited bye this week, but they'll obviously be monitoring the Week 14 action very closely. With that in mind, let's have a look at the specific games they'll be watching that could impact their push toward the postseason.
One team they won't be watching is the Panthers, who are also on their bye this week.
Dallas Cowboys at Detroit Lions
The Week 14 slate kicks off Thursday night with an interesting matchup between the Cowboys and Lions, both of whom can't afford to lose too many more games coming down the stretch.
The Lions are in the midst of a 49ers-like stretch, having alternated wins and losses over their past seven games, most recently falling to the Packers on Thanksgiving Day. Detroit is still very much in the mix in a highly competitive NFC North, sitting just two games back of first-place Chicago and only two games back of San Francisco in the win column in the Wild Card race. But again, time is running out, and a loss here would be devastating.
But the same can be said for the Cowboys, who have made things really interesting with three consecutive victories to get to 6-5-1. They're back in the NFC East race, which nobody thought was possible a month ago, and are hanging around in the Wild Card race as well. The Niners would probably be best served with a Dallas win, as Detroit is currently closer in the standings, but there's really no benefit for San Francisco in this game unless there's a tie.
Seattle Seahawks at Atlanta Falcons
This is a no-brainer, as the Niners will obviously be rooting for the Falcons to pull off an upset here. But that's a tall order for which to ask, as Atlanta just lost this past Sunday to the New York Jets.
New Orleans Saints at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
We included this one simply because San Francisco could end up fighting the Buccaneers for seeding as a division winner or a Wild Ccard team, as Tampa Bay is in a battle with the Panthers in the NFC South, holding just a half-game lead.
The Niners would obviously prefer not to get into a tiebreaker situation with the Bucs, as they took that head-to-head loss to Baker Mayfield and Co. back in Week 6. Of course, they'd have no problem with a tiebreaker with Carolina. They'll be pulling for the Saints in this one.
Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers
This is the most high-stakes matchup of the entire week in the conference, as first place in the NFC North is on the line. If the Bears win, they stay in first place and keep the No. 1 seed for another week. If the Packers win, they take over first place in the division and could also take over the No. 1 seed if the Rams and Seahawks both lose.
With the Niners still having a great shot at the No. 1 seed themselves, they'll probably be pulling for the Packers here, as they shouldn't really want anyone getting to 10 wins this week.
Los Angeles Rams at Arizona Cardinals
Do we really need to go into much detail on why the 49ers will be rooting for the Cardinals here? No? Didn't think so.
Philadelphia Eagles at Los Angeles Chargers
While the Cowboys are making the NFC East interesting, the Eagles are still the favorites there. But with the Birds not looking great in losing their last two, you just never know.
Nevertheless, San Francisco could be fighting Philly for seeding somewhere, so the hope is that Justin Herbert will recover quickly from the surgery he underwent this past Monday to repair a broken bone in his non-throwing hand and be on the field this upcoming Monday to lead the Bolts to a victory. If Herbert can't go, none other than Trey Lance will be under center for the Chargers.
We'll see how things stand when the 49ers get back to work next week to prepare for their Week 15 matchup with the Tennessee Titans.