NFC Standings – Syndication Server

NFC wild-card rooting guide for Seahawks’ Week 10 bye

The Seattle Seahawks enter Sunday’s Week 10 bye at 4-5. They currently sit outside the playoff picture in both the NFC West and a tight-knit race for the conference’s three wild-card positions. With the Seahawks enjoying some down-time, here’s your NFC wild-card playoff rooting guide for the weekend.

Jacksonville Jaguars over Minnesota Vikings

The 6-2 Minnesota Vikings currently own the conference’s top wild card spot, because they trail the 7-1 Detroit Lions in the NFC North. The Vikings are heavy favorites over the 2-7 Jacksonville Jaguars this weekend. The Jaguars would be doing the Seahawks (and the entire NFC) a massive favor by upsetting Minnesota on Sunday.

Dallas Cowboys over Philadelphia Eagles

The 6-2 Philadelphia Eagles own the NFC’s No. 2 wild-card spot because they trail the shocking Washington Commanders in the NFC East. The Eagles have a divisional showdown versus the Dallas Cowboys, who lost starting quarterback Dak Prescott to a multi-week injury. We’re not holding our breath on this hopeful upset.

New England Patriots over Chicago Bears

The 4-4 Chicago Bears are slightly ahead of the Seahawks in the postseason race despite also being outside the playoffs as things stand. Caleb Williams’ Bears host Drake Maye’s New England Patriots in an exciting rookie-vs-rookie matchup. A Patriots upset would be helpful, but qualifies as unlikely.

Miami Dolphins over Los Angeles Rams

The Seahawks trail the Los Angeles Rams in both the NFC West and in the heated wild-card race. A Miami Dolphins victory over the Rams on Monday Night Football would be especially helpful. Dolphins starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa recently returned from a lengthy stint on the sidelines.

A San Francisco 49ers-Tampa Bay Buccaneers tie?

It’s difficult to choose between the San Francisco 49ers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, because the Seahawks trail both in the current postseason picture. When in doubt, root for the non-divisional option. A Buccaneers victory would be the preferred outcome if a tie feels unrealistic.

New York Jets over Arizona Cardinals

The 5-4 Arizona Cardinals sit atop Seattle’s division at 5-4. Should the Cardinals lose to Aaron Rodgers’ New York Jets on Sunday, they’ll fall back into the wild-card hunt. Regardless, a Jets victory would enhance Seattle’s postseason chances.

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NFL standings: 49ers back out of playoff picture after Week 7 action

The 49ers are in a bad spot when it comes to the playoff hunt.

What a difference a week makes.

The San Francisco 49ers were riding high after a Week 6 road win over the Seattle Seahawks that launched them from the No. 14 seed in the NFC to the No. 4 seed thanks to their new lead in the NFC West.

Then came Week 7.

In Week 7 not only did the 49ers lose, they were the only NFC West team that didn’t win. Instead of sitting atop the division and holding onto a playoff spot, San Francisco now finds itself in survival mode just trying to get back into the playoff picture.

Seattle leads the NFC West at 4-3. The Arizona Cardinals are in second place at 3-4 thanks to their head-to-head tiebreaker over the 3-4 49ers.

It’s imperative to note there are still 11 weeks of football to go and the NFC West doesn’t have a dominant force the 49ers can’t overcome. However, there are a slew of teams ahead of San Francisco that are just playing better football through seven weeks.

The No. 1 seed Detroit Lions have hit their stride, as has virtually the entire NFC North. Minnesota, Green Bay and Chicago hold seed Nos. 5-7 to round out the playoff picture. Washington is the No. 2 seed and looks unstoppable on offense. NFC West leader Seattle is in the No. 3 spot, and the Falcons are the No. 4 seed as the NFC South leaders.

We can scrap thoughts of the No. 1 seed for the 49ers. It feels out of reach even if San Francisco wins out. They just need to start stringing together some wins to get back into the playoff picture to begin with and separating themselves from some of the NFC’s bottom dwellers.

Once they do that we can start to worry about seeding. For now, they just need to get into that conversation.

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49ers skyrocket into NFC playoff picture after Week 6

The NFC playoff picture once again features the 49ers.

Week 6 may mark a turning point in the 2024 season for the San Francisco 49ers.

After stumbling through the first five weeks, the 49ers righted the ship with a 36-24 victory over the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday Night Football. The win put San Francisco in first place in the NFC West by way of head-to-head tiebreaker over the Seahawks.

With the Arizona Cardinals loss to the Green Bay Packers, the 49ers were guaranteed to end Week 6 with a share of first place in their division. They also skyrocketed up the NFC standings and firmly into the playoff picture.

The 49ers entered Week 6 at No. 14 out of 16 teams in the NFC thanks to a putrid 0-3 record in the conference that dropped them below other 2-3 teams because of tiebreakers.

After Week 6 the 49ers now find themselves in position to host a home playoff game. Here’s what the playoff picture looks like entering Week 7:

1. Vikings (5-0)
2. Falcons (4-2)
3. Commanders (4-2)
4. 49ers (3-3)
5. Lions (4-1)
6. Bears (4-2)
7. Buccaneers (4-2)

Step 1 for the 49ers was getting themselves back into the playoff picture after starting the year on the outside looking in. A third of the way through the year they’re in a better spot and their path ahead is clear.

San Francisco’s goal is obtaining the No. 1 seed. That still seems a ways off since they’re 2.5 games back of the Vikings for that spot and Minnesota holds the head-to-head tiebreaker.

The more immediate focus should just be climbing the standings and trying to gain some separation from their NFC West rivals.

Moving ahead isn’t going to be easy for the 49ers. They host the Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys before their bye week. Those games won’t be easy, but thanks to Week 6, San Francisco is in a position to perhaps get as high as No. 2 in the NFC before getting a much-needed week off where reinforcements could be coming off of IR.

Week 6 was big for the 49ers, but it only put them back on track. Every game moving forward will be even bigger if they’re going to re-assert their dominance in the NFC.

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How the 49ers got a win without playing Sunday of Week 6

The 49ers didn’t play Sunday, but they managed to find a win thanks to the Packers.

The San Francisco 49ers got to kick their feet up Sunday after playing Thursday night to kick off Week 6 of the regular season.

Despite not suiting up while most of the rest of the NFL was in action, the 49ers still managed to find a win via the Green Bay Packers.

Green Bay blew out the Arizona Cardinals 34-13 at Lambeau Field on Sunday morning West Coast time. That dropped the Cardinals to 2-4 and ensured the 49ers would enter Week 7 with the lead in the NFC West.

Had the Cardinals won, they would’ve been 3-3 and tied with the 49ers and Seahawks. By way of tiebreakers the 49ers would have been knocked out of the top of the division. Instead, the 49ers will be in first since they’re tied with the Seahawks and hold the head-to-head tiebreaker thanks to their Thursday night victory at Lumen Field in Seattle.

Here is what the division standings look like after Sunday’s action:

1. 49ers (3-3)
2. Seahawks (3-3)
3. Cardinals (2-4)
4. Rams (1-4)

The Rams were idle with a Week 6 bye, so they didn’t get a chance to keep up with the rest of the division.

Leading the division by tiebreaker isn’t where the 49ers want to be after six weeks. It’s certainly better than where they were entering the week — a third-place team in desperate need of a victory.

They still need to start stringing together wins, but they’ve now put themselves in position to play from ahead. They control their own destiny starting Week 7 against the Kansas City Chiefs at home.

Thanks to Week 6’s results, if the 49ers start playing better football, they’ll be able to separate themselves from the rest of the division and turn their sights toward the No. 1 seed in the NFC.

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49ers win over Seahawks puts them in 1st place NFC West

The San Francisco 49ers are your new division leader.

What a difference a win makes!

The San Francisco 49ers were in an apparent spiral entering their game against the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday night. They’d lost three straight, including two to division opponents where San Francisco held 10-point leads in the fourth quarter, and they sat at 14th out of 16 in the NFC standings.

A win was a necessity at Lumen Field, and the 49ers came through even with some bumps in the road.

While San Francisco needed a win for some stability early in this season, they also had an opportunity to leap into the playoff picture by overtaking the Seahawks in the NFC West.

The 49ers’ 36-24 victory over Seattle launched them into a tie with the Seahawks at 3-3 overall, but placed San Francisco at No. 1 in the division by virtue of the head-to-head tiebreaker they now hold over the Seahawks.

Here’s what the standings look like entering Sunday:

1. 49ers (3-3)
2. Seahawks (3-3)
3. Cardinals (2-3)
4. Rams (1-4)

It’s still too early to start schedule-watching, but the 49ers’ margin for error is slim enough that any ground they can make up in the race for a playoff berth is significant.

The Cardinals do play the Packers on Sunday in Green Bay. A win by them would push the 49ers down to second in the standings. A loss would ensure San Francisco holds the NFC West lead heading into Week 7.

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NFC standings: Week 6 vs. Seahawks is virtual ‘must win’ for 49ers

Week 6 is basically a must-win for the 49ers, and the standings show why.

The NFL standings don’t generally matter much after five weeks.

In an 18-week season injuries are prevalent, trades happen, and teams either hit their stride or fall off throughout the year, and the picture painted with the final standings rarely reflects what we see after a sample size of five games.

On the other hand, this year’s standings in the NFC put into perspective just how poorly the San Francisco 49ers’ season has gone, and the climb they have to get back into the postseason picture.

San Francisco after five weeks is sitting at No. 14 out of 16 NFC teams. The only teams behind them are the Los Angeles Rams and Carolina Panthers. Both of those teams are 1-4, and the Rams’ lone win came against the 49ers at SoFi Stadium in Week 3.

It’s been an abject disaster to start the year for the 49ers, and while the standings paint a bleak picture now, there are some silver linings.

Typically under Kyle Shanahan the 49ers have played their best football in November, December and January. They’re one of five NFC teams with two wins, and a win over the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday night would put them atop the NFC West and into the No. 4 seed in the standings. That fact is why there’s no reason to hit the panic button just yet.

On the other hand, a loss to Seattle might be reason to panic. Dropping to 2-4 overall, 0-4 in the conference and 0-3 in the division with games against the undefeated Chiefs and the 3-2 Cowboys looming would put the 49ers in a bind that virtually eliminated their margin for error while they simultaneously try and right a rapidly sinking ship.

The standings through five weeks don’t tell the story of the entire season, but they paint a pretty clear picture of what’s at stake for the 49ers when they visit Seattle on Thursday.

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NFC Playoff Picture: Updated standings after Week 10

Here’s what the NFC playoff race looks like right now.

The Seattle Seahawks squeaked out a win against the Washington Commanders this past week, giving a massive boost to their odds of making the playoffs. The win puts their chances at 82%, wheres a loss would have dropped them to 52%. While the schedule is about to get a whole lot tougher, it would now come as a surprise if Seattle did not make the postseason this year. Let’s see where they are compared to the rest of the conference.

Here’s what the NFC playoff race looks like right now.

1. Philadelphia Eagles (8-1)

2. Detroit Lions (7-2)

3. San Francisco 49ers (6-3)

4. New Orleans Saints (5-5)

5. Seattle Seahawks (6-3)

6. Dallas Cowboys (6-3)

7. Minnesota Vikings (6-4)

8. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-5)

9. Washington Commanders (4-6)

10. Atlanta Falcons (4-6)

11. Green Bay Packers (3-6)

12. Los Angeles Rams (3-6)

13. Chicago Bears (3-7)

14. New York Giants (2-8)

15. Arizona Cardinals (2-8)

16. Carolina Panthers (1-8)

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Where 49ers stack up in NFC playoff picture coming out of bye week

Reset! Here’s where the #49ers sit in the NFC playoff picture heading into Week 10.

The bye week was kind to the 49ers in their quest to secure at least one home playoff game this postseason. San Francisco jumped from the No. 6 seed up to the No. 3 spot after the Seahawks’ loss to the Ravens.

While an Eagles victory only put the No. 1 seed further out of reach, the 49ers are in a good spot to make a push for that top spot entering the second half of the year. Here’s what the NFC playoff picture looks like moving into Week 10:

1. Philadelphia Eagles (8-1)
2. Detroit Lions (6-2)
3. San Francisco 49ers (5-3)
4. New Orleans Saints (5-4)
5. Seattle Seahawks (5-3)
6. Dallas Cowboys (5-3)
7. Minnesota Vikings (5-4)

8. Washington Commanders (4-5)
9. Atlanta Falcons (4-5)

The good news for the 49ers is they face the Seahawks twice down the stretch. That puts their destiny in their own hands where they could effectively wrap up the division by knocking off Seattle in both contests if they enter the game with the same record. Winning the division secures at least a top-four seed.

If San Francisco does find itself battling for one of the final three seeds, they have a tiebreaker over the Cowboys which could prove helpful.

Ideally for the 49ers though, they’re not going to be in the weeds of the 5-7 seeds. They’re constructed to win a division and fight for the No. 1 seed where they’d secure a first-round bye and home field advantage throughout the postseason.

They’re two games back of the Eagles, but they have a game in Philadelphia in Week 13 that could pull them to within one and give them the head-to-head tiebreaker. That Eagles game will be crucial, but only if the 49ers right their once mighty ship that’s now threatening to capsize.

If they can do that, the hunt for the top seed in the NFC with Detroit and Philadelphia is on. If they stumble out of the gate though, the focus will turn to just surviving to hold onto the division and a home playoff game.

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NFC Playoff Race: Seahawks in line for No. 4 seed going into Week 8

All of the sudden the NFC playoff picture looks much more wide open than it did at the beginning of the season.

Brock Purdy has imploded earlier than we expected, which has been a major factor in the 49ers losing two games in a row. All of the sudden the NFC playoff picture looks much more wide open than it did at the beginning of the season. Despite an ongoing rash of injuries to key players, the Seahawks look stronger than they have been since the 2015 season thanks to a resurgent defense.

Let’s see where all 16 teams stand after Week 7’s games. Here’s what the NFC standings look like heading into Week 8.

1. Philadelphia Eagles (6-1)

2. Detroit Lions (5-2)

3. San Francisco 49ers (5-2)

4. Seattle Seahawks (4-2)

5. Dallas Cowboys (4-2)

6. Atlanta Falcons (4-3)

7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-3)

8. Minnesota Vikings (3-4)

9. Los Angeles Rams (3-4)

10. Washington Commanders (3-4)

11. New Orleans Saints (3-4)

12. Green Bay Packers (2-4)

13. New York Giants (2-5)

14. Chicago Bears (2-5)

15. Arizona Cardinals (1-6)

16. Carolina Panthers (0-6)

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NFC standings: 49ers fall to 3rd place in conference after loss to Vikings

Here’s where the #49ers now sit in the NFC standings after Monday’s loss:

The 49ers only had a decent Sunday had they taken care of business Monday in Minnesota. Instead they fell 22-17 to the Vikings and gave themselves an uphill climb back to the No. 1 seed in the NFC.

Here’s what the updated standings look like now that the dust has settled on Week 7:

1. Eagles (6-1)
2. Lions (5-2)
3. 49ers (5-2)
4. Falcons (4-3)
5. Seahawks (4-2)
6. Cowboys (4-2)
7. Buccaneers (3-3)

San Francisco was always going to drop in the standings after Philadelphia beat the previously 5-1 Dolphins. The tiebreaker at the top would’ve come down to strength of victory and Philly’s is now very good thanks to a huge win over a good team.

Losing to Minnesota put the 49ers in a tie with the Lions for the No. 2 seed, but Detroit holds that tiebreaker over San Francisco. Since those clubs don’t have a head-to-head matchup or common opponents and their conference records are the same, the tiebreaker goes to strength of victory.

The teams Detroit beat have a combined win percentage of .469, while San Francisco’s wins have been against teams with a combined .424 win percentage.

There’s a lot of football to go, but the climb just became much steeper for the 49ers if they’re still going to get the No. 1 seed in the NFC.

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