The San Francisco 49ers managed to pull off a thrilling 34-31 home win in Week 16 over the visiting Los Angeles Rams, ensuring their NFC West division rivals will miss the 2020 postseason after representing the conference in the Super Bowl a little less than a year ago.
And while the victory wasn't perfect, the Niners closing out another rival's season does make a statement. It's something head coach Kyle Shanahan and Co. haven't exactly had a lot of opportunities to do in recent years.
The 49ers won't be in position to eliminate the Seattle Seahawks, whom they face at CenturyLink Field next week in a crucial Week 17 bout. But the Niners can rip away Seattle's chance for the NFC West crown, while also ensuring it drops down in the NFC playoff seeding.
Simply put, Week 17 is going to be as hyped as many thought it would be when the 2019 regular-season schedule was announced many months ago.
"That is what you play football for," fullback Kyle Juszczyk said Saturday when asked about facing the Seahawks in a week. "These are the kind of games that you dream about when you are a kid. We are really looking forward to that, and it would mean a lot to get the W."
Seattle will look to tie San Francisco's 12-3 record on Sunday when it hosts the 4-9-1 Arizona Cardinals, who could do the Niners a big favor with an upset win over the Seahawks.
But the 49ers are solely focused on handling business themselves, not relying on outside help.
"It was definitely a game we needed to win," defensive lineman Arik Armstead said of Saturday night's victory measured up against Week 17 versus the Seahawks. "This Seattle game we need to win as well, and I know we're going to be up for it. Looking forward to it. It's going to be a huge game, division game just like this one, and I know we can't wait."
If the Seahawks win on Sunday over the Cardinals, both teams enter Week 17 with identical 12-3 records. Seattle owns the current tiebreaker, thanks to its previous win over the 49ers at Levi's Stadium. But the breakdown of other tiebreakers, should both the Niners and Seahawks win, won't matter now if Shanahan's squad wins the final week of the regular season.
And clinches both the top seed and NFC West crown in the process.
Peter Panacy has been writing about the 49ers since 2011 for outlets like Bleacher Report, Niner Noise, 49ers Webzone, and is occasionally heard as a guest on San Francisco's 95.7 FM The Game and the Niners' flagship station, KNBR 680. Feel free to follow him, or direct any inquiries to his Twitter account.
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