Seahawks control their own destiny after huge win over Rams on TNF
USA TODAY Sports’ Tyler Dragon breaks down the Seahawk’s thrilling win over the Rams that out them at the top of the NFC.
Sports Pulse
Before the San Francisco 49ers even started their Week 16 game, the Seattle Seahawks had given them control of their own destiny, and the Pittsburgh Steelers‘ win on Dec. 21 had clinched them a playoff berth.
Seattle’s win over the Los Angeles Rams in a game-of-the-year contender on “Thursday Night Football” didn’t just put the 49ers in control of their destiny in the NFC West race. San Francisco entered gameday on Dec. 22 knowing it could swipe the NFC’s No. 1 seed if it won out.
It all began with the 49ers’ matchup with the Indianapolis Colts on “Monday Night Football,” a team fighting for its playoff life in the AFC wild-card race. A win in that game on the road, then two more at home against two NFC playoff teams – including the Seahawks – would give San Francisco the first-round bye to begin the postseason.
Here’s a full look at the 49ers’ playoff picture as Week 16 wraps:
49ers playoff odds
The 49ers already clinched a spot in the postseason this week thanks to the Steelers’ win over the Detroit Lions in the late afternoon slate on Sunday, Dec. 21.
Entering Week 16, San Francisco had two realistic scenarios to secure a playoff spot. Either the 49ers beat the Colts on “Monday Night Football,” or the Steelers beat the Lions on Dec. 21. San Francisco also could have clinched a postseason spot if both its game and the Steelers-Lions game ended in ties.
Now that they’ve already made the playoffs, if the season ended before the 49ers kicked off their Week 16 game, they’d have to travel to Philadelphia to play the Eagles in the wild-card round. After San Francisco’s win bumped the team up ahead of the Rams to the No. 5 seed, it’s now in position to play the NFC South division winner.
The 49ers will still be pushing for the NFC’s No. 1 seed over the final two weeks of the regular season.
49ers remaining schedule
San Francisco is lucky to have already clinched a playoff spot in Week 16, because it has one of the hardest remaining schedules in the NFL for the final two weeks of the season. The 49ers’ two remaining opponents also would hold the top two seeds in the NFC playoff picture if the season ended after Dec. 22.
Tankathon uses cumulative records of upcoming opponents to grade the difficulty of a team’s remaining schedule, ranking the 49ers fourth-hardest league-wide. Here’s who the NFC West contenders still need to play:
NFC West standings
The 49ers sit in second place after their win over the Colts on “Monday Night Football.” They split the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Rams already this year, but they hold the advantage in divisional record with a 4-1 mark against NFC West opponents.
Here’s a look at the current NFC West standings:
Seattle Seahawks: 12-3, 3-2 NFC WestSan Francisco 49ers: 11-4, 4-1Los Angeles Rams: 11-4, 3-2Arizona Cardinals: 3-12, 0-5
All three of the top three teams in the NFC West have already clinched postseason berths. All that remains to be determined is their seeding.
NFC playoff pictureSeattle Seahawks (12-3; NFC West leaders)*Chicago Bears (11-4; NFC North leaders)*Philadelphia Eagles (10-5; NFC East leaders)*Carolina Panthers (8-7; NFC South leaders)San Francisco 49ers (11-4; wild card No. 1)*Los Angeles Rams (11-4; wild card No. 2)*Green Bay Packers (9-5-1; wild card No. 3)
In the hunt: Detroit Lions (8-7); Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-8)
Asterisk (*) denotes teams that have clinched a playoff berth.
Eliminated:Â Minnesota Vikings (7-8); Dallas Cowboys (6-8-1); Atlanta Falcons (6-9); New Orleans Saints (5-10); Washington Commanders (4-11); Arizona Cardinals (3-12); New York Giants (2-13)