The playoff-clinching scenario for the 49ers isn’t complicated in Week 15. They can punch their first ticket to the postseason since 2013 with a victory Sunday over the Falcons at Levi’s Stadium.
A Rams loss also clinches it for the 49ers, as does combined losses by the Packers and Vikings.
Those other scenarios don’t matter though if the 49ers take down a 4-9 Atlanta club.
The last time the 49ers went to the playoffs, they clinched with a home win over the Falcons in the final game at Candlestick Park.
Playoff seeding seems to be the bigger factor for the 49ers heading into Week 15 though. A win over the Falcons would clinch a playoff berth, but they’re not out of the woods from a seeding standpoint.
The Seattle Seahawks sit just one game behind them for the NFC West lead and a possible first-round bye. The team that doesn’t win the division will play on the road on Wild Card Weekend. The NFC West winner has a chance to earn home-field advantage and a first-round bye.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan isn’t worried about seeding just yet since three wins to close the season means the 49ers get the NFC’s top seed.
“I mean, everyone knows that it always is great, but I don’t feel any different this week than I did last week,” Shanahan said. “I mean, it’s not like all these seeds and stuff are make-believe. We’re all right there. I mean, it’s going to come down to the last week I’m sure of it. It’s one week at a time and right now, it’s not just us, it’s a number of teams that you feel like you’ve got to win every one to be where you want to be. We’ll see how that is and how it goes, but right now we’re in the same situation this week as we were last week and as we were the week before we played Baltimore. Nothing changed. I know we’ve just got to keep winning.”
The 49ers close their season with consecutive home games against the Falcons and Rams before heading to Seattle for the final game of the year. They can win Sunday and secure a playoff spot. They can secure the top seed if they win all three.