The 49ers and Seahawks will play for all the marbles on national TV in Week 17. Their game, originally slated for the normal 1:00 pm PST kickoff, was flexed to the primetime Sunday Night Football slot on NBC. It will be the final regular season game of the NFL season.
San Francisco’s Week 16 win over the Rams ensured a winner-take-all faceoff with Seattle for the NFC West crown the following week. If Seattle also wins in Week 16, the matchup will also decide the No. 1 seed in the NFC.
It’s the most logical choice for the Sunday night game since it’ll be the only game that will directly decide a division. It’ll also decide which team gets a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, and which team goes on the road on Wild Card Weekend.
The 49ers haven’t won in Seattle since the Week 16 of the 2011 season. The Seahawks won their first meeting in Santa Clara this year 27-24 in overtime back in Week 10.
If the rivalry wasn’t officially back, it will be Sunday night, and football fans across the country will get to experience it.