On Thursday night, the San Francisco 49ers fell to 8-7 after their 20-17 loss to the Tennessee Titans. Kyle Shanahan's squad didn't hurt their playoff position, but it assured it wouldn't move up in the seeding during the final two weeks of action.
The Los Angeles Rams have taken the top spot in the NFC West after beating the Minnesota Vikings 30-23 and seeing the Arizona Cardinals drop three straight, including Christmas Day's 22-16 loss to the Indianapolis Colts.
The 49ers won't be able to overtake either and must end their season on a solid note to prevent another team from overtaking them for the sixth seed. San Francisco can't catch up to the Rams, and the Cardinals own the head-to-head tiebreaker. The Niners will finish in third place in the NFC West, a division that could have three playoff-bound teams.
Below is a breakdown of the current playoff picture in the NFC, with the first four teams listed being the current division leaders. The first five have clinched a playoff berth.
- Green Bay Packers, 12-3
- Dallas Cowboys, 11-4
- Los Angeles Rams, 11-4
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 11-4
- Arizona Cardinals, 10-5
- San Francisco 49ers, 8-7
- Philadelphia Eagles, 8-7
Below are the top three teams in the hunt to make their way into the playoff picture.
- New Orleans Saints, 7-7
- Minnesota Vikings, 7-8
- Atlanta Falcons, 7-8
Note: This article was updated after the Sunday night Cowboys-Washington game.
San Francisco owns the head-to-head tiebreakers against the Eagles, Vikings, and Falcons. The Saints host the Miami Dolphins on Monday night.
If the season ended right now, the 49ers would travel to play the Rams in the Wild Card round.
Update: Article corrected to state that the Niners own the head-to-head tiebreaker against the Falcons. Initially mistakenly wrote "Saints."