The San Francisco 49ers moved into first place on their bye last week, and this week they took control of the NFC with a convincing win. The Minnesota Vikings play Monday night and can tie the 49ers at 7-1, but San Francisco will stay in first place thanks to their strength-of-victory tiebreaker.

Elsewhere in the NFC West, the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks won to move to 5-4. Seattle beat the Arizona Cardinals.

San Francisco 49ers (7-1)

2. Minnesota Vikings (6-1) Monday Night Football

3. New York Giants (5-2-1)

4. Carolina Panthers (3-5, 3-3 NFC) (Wins tiebreaker over Saints based on best win percentage in division games

5. Chicago Bears (7-2, 4-2 NFC)

6. Detroit Lions (6-2, 4-1 NFC)

7. Green Bay Packers (6-3)

8. Seattle Seahawks (5-4) (Wins tiebreaker over Rams based on best win percentage in division games)

9. Los Angeles Rams (5-4)

11. New Orleans Saints (3-5, 1-3 NFC)

12. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-6, wins over ATL+CAR)

13. Atlanta Falcons (3-6)

14. Arizona Cardinals (3-6)

15. Washington Commanders (2-5-1)

15. Philadelphia Eagles (2-7)

We’re a couple of weeks away from the top two teams in the NFC going head-to-head. The Vikings may not be long for the No. 2 seed, though. They host the Bills on Monday night, then travel to Lambeau Field before facing the Niners in their international matchup.

The Seahawks and Rams have yet to meet. But Seattle is 2-1 in the NFC West, while Sean McVay’s squad lost to the Cardinals. If the preseason Super Bowl favorites miss the playoffs because they lost to a quarterback who was benched…

It feels like every year, there are arguments about letting teams with the best records get into the playoffs, not a division champ with a sub-.500 record. Judging by the NFC South, it’s tough to disagree with those sentiments. With that said, the 3-5 Panthers are why the Seahawks and Rams are out of the playoffs, as it stands.

The entire NFC North is in the playoffs after nine weeks. They may cannibalize each other down the stretch, but it’s an impressive feat midway through the season.

The NFC East is closer to the NFC South than the other two divisions in the conference. It still feels like the Cowboys will win the division. The Giants averaged 3.8 yards per play against the Eagles in Week 9. J.J. McCarthy took five sacks.