With a 27-10 victory over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday afternoon, the Seattle Seahawks upped their record to 13-3 and kept control of their own destiny in both the NFC West race and the race for the No. 1 seed in the conference.
And just a few hours later on Sunday Night Football, the San Francisco 49ers did the same, improving to 12-4 with a hard-fought 42-38 victory over the Chicago Bears, thus setting up a winner-take-all showdown with Seattle in Week 18.
In other NFC West news, the Los Angeles Rams dropped to 11-5 on Monday Night Football with a 27-24 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, but we'll circle back to that in just a moment.
First, however, let's have a look at the full NFC playoff picture heading into Week 18. (* --Clinched Playoff Berth,** --Clinched Division)
- Seattle Seahawks (13-3*, 1st NFC West)
- Chicago Bears (11-5**, 1st NFC North)
- Philadelphia Eagles (11-5**, 1st NFC East)
- Carolina Panthers (8-8, 1st NFC South)
- San Francisco 49ers (12-4*, 2nd NFC West)
- Los Angeles Rams (11-5*, 3rd NFC West)
- Green Bay Packers (9-6-1*, 2nd NFC North)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-9, 2nd NFC South)
So, here's how things break down for San Francisco.
With a win over the Seahawks on Saturday night, of course, the Niners would complete the season sweep of Seattle (thus winning the head-to-head tiebreaker) to take the division crown and the No. 1 seed, which would give them a bye in the Wild Card Round and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
If they happen to make it through the NFC portion of the playoff bracket, Super Bowl 60 will be contested at none other than Levi's Stadium. So, it's legit home-field advantage the entire way, even if the AFC representative would technically be the home team, given that this is an even-numbered title game. But you get the point.
But we also have to consider what happens if San Francisco loses, as the Seahawks, like the Niners, come into this contest riding a six-game winning streak and have averaged 29.3 points per game during that stretch. So, they're certainly the real deal, which is why they're favored by 1.5 points at the time of this writing.
Playoff scenarios for the 49ers if they lose to the Seahawks in Week 18
At 9-6-1, the Green Bay Packers are locked into the No. 7 seed no matter what they do on Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings. So, if the Niners do take a defeat to the Seahawks, they'll be either the No. 5 seed or the No. 6 seed, depending on what happens with the aforementioned Rams in their Week 18 matchup with the Arizona Cardinals.
No. 5 seed
lf the 49ers lose to the Seahawks on Sunday, their record falls to 12-5. As such, as long as the Rams lose to the Cardinals to drop to 11-6, which now seems a lot more possible than it did a week ago, San Francisco claims the No. 5 seed and a first-round date with the No. 4 seed, which is reserved for either the Carolina Panthers or the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
No. 6 seed
On the flip side, if San Francisco loses to Seattle and Los Angeles takes down Arizona, giving the two clubs matching 12-5 records, the Rams would take the No. 5 seed, with the Niners falling to No. 6 under NFL tiebreaker rules.
The first tiebreaker is head-to-head, which doesn't apply, as they split the season series. The second is best record within the division, which would also be a wash, as both would be 4-2. From there, it goes to best record against common opponents, and that's where the Rams would hold a 9-3 to 8-4 edge.
The No. 6 seed, of course, would take on the No. 3 seed in the Wild Card Round, which will go to either the Bears or the Eagles.