What a difference a couple of days makes. The San Francisco 49ers entered Week 13 as the leader in the NFC but have fallen to the No. 5 seed after losing to the Baltimore Ravens and coupled with the Seattle Seahawks beating the Minnesota Vikings 37-30 on Monday night.
Both San Francisco and Seattle own matching 10-2 records, but the Seahawks have already beaten the 49ers and win the tiebreaker. The team to the north takes over the top spot in the NFC West from San Francisco.
If the season ended today, the 49ers would be the strongest Wild-Card team and would play the weakest division-winner, which will likely be whoever emerges from the struggling NFC East.
The Saints take over the top spot in the conference courtesy of their Week 3 win over the Seahawks.
The good news, for 49ers fans, is that the season doesn't end today, and there are still four more weeks of football left. A lot can happen before the end of the season. Should San Francisco win out, including a win this weekend against the New Orleans Saints and a Week 17 victory over the Seahawks, it could reclaim the top spot in the conference and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
Another slip up could make things increasingly difficult for the 49ers.
After San Francisco's road matchup against the Saints, the 49ers will host the Atlanta Falcons and Los Angeles Rams before closing out the season in Seattle.
The Seahawks will travel to Los Angeles for a Week 14 matchup against the Rams.
Below is how the NFC playoff picture looks following Week 13, and the seeding if the season ended today. The teams' records are displayed in parenthesis.
NFC division leaders with bye weeks
1 Seed: New Orleans Saints (10-2)
2 Seed: Seattle Seahawks (10-2)
NFC division leaders in the Wild Card round
3 Seed: Green Bay Packers (9-3)
4 Seed: Dallas Cowboys (6-6)
NFC Wild Cards
5 Seed: San Francisco 49ers (10-2)
6 Seed: Minnesota Vikings (8-4)