The San Francisco 49ers clinched a playoff spot while winning the NFC West title in the Week 15 victory over the Seattle Seahawks, becoming the first division champ in the 2022 season.
With one week left, the 49ers are locked into a top-three seed, but still have a variety of possibilities concerning where they'll end up, as well as potential opponents.
Let's do a full dive into the playoff possibilities for the 49ers.
Path to No. 1 seed
The 49ers' path to the No.1 seed is relatively simple: A win at home against the Arizona Cardinals and a loss by the Philadelphia Eagles to the New York Giants.
Currently, both the Eagles and 49ers are heavily favored to win their respective matchups, with each team projected to win by 14 points by oddsmakers.
That may be indicative of the New York Giants' strategy, as they've already locked up the sixth seed in the NFC and cannot move up or down in the playoff seeding.
Who would they play?
If the 49ers earned the No. 1 seed in the NFC, they'd receive a first-round bye and wouldn't play in the Wild Card round.
In the Divisional round, the 49ers would play the worst of the remaining seeds. If the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds win, San Francisco would face the winner of the matchup between the NFC East division runner-up (Cowboys or Eagles) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
As stated earlier, in order for the 49ers to earn the No. 1 seed, the Eagles must lose to the Giants.
If the Dallas Cowboys win their Week 18 matchup against the Washington Commanders and the Eagles lose, the former would win the division and the latter would be the No. 5 seed.
Therefore, if the 49ers earn the No.1 seed, there's a good chance they would face the Eagles in the divisional round (assuming a victory over Tampa Bay in the Wild Card round).
Path to No. 2 seed
The 49ers are currently the No. 2 seed in the NFC, which they earned after a 37-34 win over the Las Vegas Raiders and the Minnesota Vikings loss to the Green Bay Packers last weekend.
The 49ers will remain as the two seed if they win against the Cardinals this weekend and the Eagles win over the Bears.
Who would they play?
If the 49ers earn the No. 2 seed in the NFC, there are three possibilities for their first matchup: the Green Bay Packers, Seattle Seahawks, or Detroit Lions.
The Packers and Lions play against each other on Sunday Night Football, while the Seattle Seahawks face the Los Angeles Rams.
If the Packers win, they earn the No. 7 seed.
If the Seahawks win, they'll need the Lions to beat the Packers to earn the No. 7 seed.
The Lions can only make the playoffs as the No. 7 seed if they beat the Packers and the Seahawks lose to the Rams.
Path to No. 3 seed
The less ideal situation for the 49ers would be earning the No. 3 seed.
To do so, they'll need to lose against the Cardinals and the Vikings would need to beat the Bears, who they're currently favored by 7.5 against.
While that currently seems unlikely, especially with the Cardinals missing star wideout DeAndre Hopkins while also starting David Blough at quarterback, it still remains a possibility.
Who would they play?
In the case that the 49ers earn the No. 3 seed, they have a clear opponent: the New York Giants, who are locked into the No. 6 seed.
Some may believe that this path would provide the easiest playoff outcome for the 49ers, but they would miss out on potentially hosting two playoff games, assuming the No. 2 seed and No. 1 seed continue to win.
It all comes down to this Sunday, where the NFC could experience a significant shakeup, both in who makes the playoffs and in the seeding.
