The 49ers aren’t playing this weekend, but they’re still set to move up in the NFC playoff standings.
With plenty of conference action taking place while San Francisco enjoys its Week 14 bye, Brock Purdy and Co. will advance to at least the No. 6 playoff seed and could jump as high as No. 2 if some wacky scenarios play out, as outlined by Reddit user SoKrat3s earlier this week.
No matter who wins Sunday’s matinee between the Chicago Bears (9-3) and Green Bay Packers (8-3) at Lambeau Field, the 49ers (9-4), who currently are the No. 7 seed, will move into the No. 6 seed. San Francisco will pass Chicago if Green Bay wins the game, and will pass Green Bay if Chicago emerges from the NFC North clash victorious.
Even if the Bears-Packers matchup ends in a tie, the 49ers would own a better NFC record than the Packers and still pass them for the No. 6 seed.
Things could get even better for the 49ers in Week 14, too, but it depends on how their top two NFC West rivals perform. If the Seattle Seahawks (9-3) lose to the Atlanta Falcons (4-8) or the Los Angeles Rams (9-3) fall to the Arizona Cardinals (3-9), San Francisco would go up to the No. 5 seed. And if both teams lose, the 49ers will leap all the way into the No. 2 seed.
While those scenarios including the Seahawks and Rams aren’t likely, you know what they say in the NFL — any given Sunday. And despite all of San Francisco’s injuries during the 2025 NFL season, things aren’t nearly as bleak as they should be. In fact, the 49ers are sitting pretty even after all of their setbacks.
When all is said and done, the 49ers could benefit greatly this weekend without having to do much work.
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