Not done: What Seahawks, 49ers, Rams need to win division + the NFC’s top seed
Even after the huge, unforgettable division win over Rams, the Seahawks still have plenty of work to do to win the NFC West.
The San Francisco 49ers underlined that on Monday night. They ran and passed all over the Colts to beat them 48-27 in Indianapolis — the same Colts team with the same, 44-year-old grandfather quarterback Philip Rivers starting that the Seahawks beat 18-16 in Seattle the previous week.
San Francisco’s fifth straight win improves the Niners to 11-4. They are in second place in the NFC West over Los Angeles (11-4) with two games remaining in the regular season, because of a better division record. The 49ers have lost only once in five division games, to the Rams. L.A. has lost twice inside the West, to the 49ers and to the Seahawks. The Seahawks, 49ers and Rams have all clinched playoff spots with two weeks remaining in the regular season.
Seattle is atop the division at 12-3 after its 38-37 win over L.A., rallying from 16 points down in the fourth quarter. If the Seahawks win at Carolina (8-7) Sunday and at the 49ers in Santa Clara in week 18 the first weekend of January, Seattle will win the NFC West for the first time since 2020. The Seahawks would also with two more wins be the conference’s top seed, earning the NFC’s lone bye plus home field for the divisional round and, if they won in that, the conference championship game.
“There’s a new schedule of football. It’s over with,” Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones said 20 minutes after their win over the Rams.
“We’re ready to go play the Panthers.”
The 49ers have had key injuries to All-Pros Nick Bosa, Fred Warner and others on defense this season, plus to quarterback Brock Purdy. Yet the Niners are in the same situation as the Seahawks. If San Francisco wins its last two games of the regular season the 49ers will win the West and have the NFC’s top seed.
If the Niners beat Chicago (11-4) in Santa Clara, California, Sunday night (5:20 p.m., NBC, KING-5 in Seattle) and the Seahawks beat the Panthers Sunday (10 a.m., FOX television, channel 13 locally), the Seahawks-Niners game in week 18 will be for the division championship and the NFC’s no.-1 playoff seed.
If so, it would likely be a Sunday night showcase on Jan. 4, the final game of the NFL regular season on NBC. Despite losing in Seattle the Rams remain right there to seize back the division if 49ers and Seahawks lose one game. Los Angeles has the easiest final two games: at Atlanta (6-9) and home against Arizona (3-12).
If the Rams win both those games as they should while the Seahawks and 49ers each lose one remaining game, a 13-4 L.A. wins the West over a 13-4 Seattle. L.A. would have a better record in common games (10-2 for the Rams to 9-3 for the Seahawks).
Whichever two of the three division rivals that don’t win the West fall to the fifth and sixth conference seeds, the NFC’s top two wild cards. The five and six seeds would need to win three road playoff games on consecutive weekends to reach the Super Bowl.
Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald knew all this when he gathered his roaring players around him in the locker room at Lumen Field following their epic overtime win over the Rams last Thursday.
Veteran defensive tackle Jarran Reed said Macdonald had a simple message for the team:
“We’ve got more work to do.”
