Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Where do the New Orleans Saints stand in the NFL playoff picture after Week 12? Another loss has them on the outside looking in:
Yikes. The New Orleans Saints came out of their bye week and took a loss to the Atlanta Falcons which didn’t just shuffle the NFC South standings — it also dropped the Saints down past several conference rivals in the NFL playoff picture.
Here is how the Saints stack up among their peers:
Updated NFC playoff standings: The #49ers want to avoid landing in a playoff tiebreaker scenario at all costs.
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The 49ers can still get into the playoffs if they lose to the Rams, but they’ll need some help from the Atlanta Falcons to avoid a tiebreaker scenario that leaves San Francisco on the outside of the playoff picture.
Before diving into the scenarios for Sunday, here’s what the NFC playoff standings look like going into the final week:
1. Packers (13-3)
2. Rams (12-4)
3. Buccaneers (12-4)
4. Cowboys (11-5)
5. Cardinals (11-5)
6. 49ers (9-7)
7. Eagles (9-7)
8. Saints (8-8)
The 49ers are the only team inside the playoff picture, including the Eagles, that hasn’t clinched yet.
It’s pretty simple for the 49ers. They clinch the No. 6 seed with a win over the Rams. They also clinch a playoff spot if the Saints lose to the Falcons.
Things get hairy if the 49ers lose and the Saints win in Atlanta.
In any scenario where they tie with New Orleans, the tiebreaker skips over head-to-head and goes directly to conference record since they didn’t face each other in the 2021 regular season.
A 49ers loss would put them at 9-8 overall with a 6-6 record in the NFC. The Saints by winning would go to 9-8 overall with a 7-5 record in the NFC, lifting them into the 49ers’ playoff spot and leaving San Francisco out of the postseason for a second-consecutive year.
This same scenario goes for a three-way tie where the 49ers and Eagles lose and the Saints win. San Francisco’s head-to-head tiebreak over Philadelphia goes by the wayside because the trio of teams didn’t all face each other. In that case, the Eagles and Saints would both have 7-5 conference records while the 49ers sat at 6-6.
The good news for San Francisco is despite the nightmare tiebreak situations, they still control their own destiny. If they beat the Rams they’re in with no tiebreakers necessary. That’s what’ll matter most come Sunday.
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The #49ers didn’t clinch a playoff spot Sunday since the Panthers couldn’t swing an upset over the Saints.
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The 49ers did their part Sunday. They beat the Texans 23-7 to put themselves in line to clinch one of the final two playoff spots available in the NFC. All they needed was the Panthers to upset the Saints in New Orleans. Carolina couldn’t take care of business.
While the Panthers jumped out to a 10-3 second-quarter lead, the Saints started chipping away with four field goals to make it 12-10 by the end of the third quarter. They tacked on a touchdown for good measure and their defense got a stop to secure an 18-10 win.
While the 49ers didn’t clinch Sunday, they still control their own destiny going into the final week of the year. If they beat the Rams in Los Angeles, they’re in the playoffs. If they lose, they’ll need a little bit of help.
On the bright side, it would’ve been a disaster had San Francisco lost to Houston. Then they’d not control their own destiny and they’d need a win with help to clinch in Week 18.
The 49ers and Rams are set to kick off from SoFi Stadium on Sunday at 1:25 pm PT.
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Here are the two ways the #49ers can clinch a playoff spot this week.
The 49ers got a little help in Week 16 when the Dolphins knocked off the Saints. That loss for New Orleans puts San Francisco in a position to clinch a playoff spot this week with two scenarios.
Their first clinching scenario is very simple. They need to beat Houston, and the Saints need a loss or tie vs. the Carolina Panthers.
Then there’s the more convoluted scenario where the 49ers and Texans tie. In that case San Francisco can clinch with a Vikings loss or tie vs. the Packers, a Saints loss to the Panthers, and a Falcons loss or tie vs. the Bills.
Overall the 49ers can win their next two games and get in regardless of what the teams around them do. It’d be ideal for them though to get it done as soon as possible to take some of the pressure off in Week 18 when they visit the Rams.
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The NFC playoff standings are updated and the #49ers can clinch as early as this week with some help.
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The 49ers got help Monday night from the Miami Dolphins who knocked off the New Orleans Saints and put the 49ers’ playoff hopes back into their own hands.
With the Saints dropping to 7-8 for the season, San Francisco stayed in the No. 6 seed with two games left, and put the 49ers in a spot where they control their own destiny and can clinch as early as Week 17.
Here are the updated playoff standings:
1. Packers (12-3)
2. Cowboys (11-4)
3. Rams (11-4)
4. Buccaneers (11-4)
5. Cardinals (10-5)
6. 49ers (8-7)
7. Eagles (8-7)
8. Vikings (7-8)
9. Falcons (7-8)
10. Saints (7-8)
If the 49ers beat the Texans on Sunday, and the Saints fall to the Carolina Panthers, it will clinch a playoff berth for San Francisco thanks to their head-to-head tiebreakers over the Eagles, Vikings and Falcons.
Additionally, the Saints loss to Miami puts a win-and-in scenario back on the table for the 49ers. If San Francisco wins their final two games to finish 10-7, they’ll clinch outright with no need for a tiebreaker.
The biggest key for the 49ers is to beat the Texans in Week 17. That opens the door to a bevy of possibilities where they clinch, where a loss puts them in a spot to potentially need a win and help in the final week.
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The #49ers are still the No. 6 seed with a little bit of breathing room, but the NFC West crown and a top-four seed is still on the table.
After COVID-19 forced the NFL to push a pair of games to Tuesday, Week 15 is finally in the books. Tuesday’s games both had an impact for the 49ers’ playoff seeding, but only one went their way.
The Eagles’ victory over Washington helped because it pushed Washington down in the playoff race and the 49ers hold a tiebreaker over the Eagles thanks to their Week 2 victory over them in Philadelphia.
The Rams’ win over the Seahawks effectively eliminated Seattle from the race, but it kept Los Angeles two games ahead of San Francisco for the No. 5 seed in the NFC with three games to play.
Here’s what the playoff standings look like after 15 full weeks:
1. Packers (11-3)
2. Cowboys (10-4)
3. Buccaneers (10-4)
4. Cardinals (10-4)
5. Rams (10-4)
6. 49ers (8-6)
7. Vikings (7-7)
8. Eagles (7-7)
9. Saints (7-7)
10. Washington (6-8)
11. Atlanta (6-8)
It still looks like nine wins will do the trick for the 49ers to clinch an NFC playoff spot thanks to tiebreakers over Minnesota, Philadelphia and Atlanta. They’ll still need a little help though for nine wins to do it. 10 would put them in a more comfortable position and with games coming up against the scuffling Titans and the lowly Texans, a path to 10 victories is easy to chart.
There’s also this: the NFC West crown is still up for grabs. If Arizona loses their next three at home vs. the Colts, on the road vs. the Cowboys and home vs. the Seahawks, and the Rams lose either in Minnesota or in Baltimore, the 49ers would need to win their next two to set up a winner-take-all game between San Francisco and LA for the NFC West title and a home playoff game in the first round.
That scenario isn’t likely, but it’s impossible to rule out anything given how up and down this NFL season has been.
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There was movement in the NFC playoff race, but the important game for the #49ers happens Tuesday. Updated playoff standings:
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The 49ers seem determined not to fall back below the No. 6 seed in the NFC playoff race. They skated to a 31-13 win over the Falcons on Sunday to move to 8-6 and maintain their place in the postseason pecking order. There was other movement in the NFC playoff picture though with potentially more to come with games slated for Monday and Tuesday.
After Sunday’s games though this is what the NFC playoff picture looks like:
1. Packers (11-3)
2. Cowboys (10-4)
3. Buccaneers (10-4)
4. Cardinals (10-4)
5. Rams (9-4)
6. 49ers (8-6)
7. Saints (7-7)
8. Washington (6-7)
9. Vikings (6-7)
10. Eagles (6-7)
Losses by the Cardinals and Buccaneers led to movement at the top with the Packers grabbing the No. 1 seed, the Cowboys jumping up to No. 2 and the Bucs and Cardinals both falling.
In the wild card race the Saints got a win vs. Tampa Bay that vaulted them to 7-7 and above Washington, Minnesota and Philadelphia for now. Washington and Philly play Tuesday afternoon. The Rams will host the Seahawks on Tuesday as well.
That Rams-Seahawks game will be interesting for San Francisco because a Los Angeles loss means the 49ers would be just one game back of the No. 5 seed.
One thing that jumps out though is 9-8 is looking more and more like the necessary record for a playoff spot. The 49ers need just one win in their final three games to reach that mark, and they hold tiebreakers over two of the four teams behind them thanks to their wins over the Eagles and Vikings.
The best news for San Francisco moving forward is they control their own destiny. What happens behind them doesn’t matter as long as they keep on winning.
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