The San Francisco 49ers look to close out the regular season with two more wins. The team will travel to Allegiant Stadium for a New Year's Day matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders before hosting the Arizona Cardinals at Levi's Stadium.
San Francisco has now won eight consecutive games, improving its record to 11-4. Unfortunately, the Minnesota Vikings continue to find ways to edge out opponents and hold onto the coveted No. 2 seed. The Niners need to keep winning and hope for the Vikings to stumble down the stretch to capture the better playoff spot. Minnesota closes out the season with road games against the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears.
Rookie quarterback Brock Purdy has helped the 49ers win the last four games and has won each of his first three NFL starts while playing impressive football and showing veteran savvy. Purdy has completed nearly 69 percent of his passes for 846 yards, eight touchdowns, and two interceptions while earning a passer rating of 110.0 over the past four games.
The 49ers, armed with the No. 1 defense in the NFL, will be a formidable postseason foe for any opponent. If the season ended today, they would be preparing to host the New York Giants at Levi's Stadium as the No. 3 seed in the first round of the playoffs. San Francisco has come out on top in two of its last three matchups against the Giants, including the last meeting between the two teams, a 36-9 victory in 2020.
Below are the current NFC playoff standings.
- * Philadelphia Eagles (13-2)
- * Minnesota Vikings (12-3)
- * San Francisco 49ers (11-4)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-8)
- * Dallas Cowboys (11-4)
- New York Giants (8-6-1)
- Washington Commanders (7-7-1)
* Clinched playoff spot
Division leaders in bold
Below are the teams that would be on the outside looking in if the season ended today.
- Seattle Seahawks (7-8)
- Detroit Lions (7-8)
- Green Bay Packers (7-8)
- Carolina Panthers (6-9)
- New Orleans Saints (6-9)
Below are the Wildcard matchups if the season ended today. The Eagles would await the weakest-seeded winner to emerge from the first round of games.
- Washington Commanders at Minnesota Vikings
- New York Giants at San Francisco 49ers
- Dallas Cowboys at Tampa Bay Buccaneers