The San Francisco 49ers have clinched the NFC West, ensuring they will open the postseason at Levi's Stadium. In fact, the worst they could do as far as seeding is to remain where they are now—in the No. 3 spot. The Niners are one of only two NFL teams (not just in the NFC) that have clinched a playoff spot. The other is the Philadelphia Eagles.
The No. 2 seed remains within their grasp. The Minnesota Vikings currently occupy that spot, but a Vikings misstep might hand it over to San Francisco. 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan was asked if the team will "go hard" for that No. 2 seed.
"Right now, I'm so excited to have a few days just to reflect," Shanahan responded. "That's the cool thing about Thursday games. We had a real good win on Sunday (against the Buccaneers). You don't have time to talk about it or think about it at all [as you] get ready for this. A big win tonight to be able to clinch the division and just have a couple of days we can relax a little bit.
"But there's no doubt about it; this isn't our final goal by any means. I'm very proud of our team and what we accomplished throughout the year to get to this. Our goal is to get in the tournament, and we accomplished that today, but now, it's all trying to set that up to be the best situation we can and hopefully get some of our guys back in the process."
For one newer 49ers player, celebrating with this locker room is special.
"It's hard to put into words," said running back Christian McCaffrey, who arrived with the 49ers via a trade in October. "It's been a wild rollercoaster, and obviously, we still have a lot more left. But it's nice to be able to celebrate this one with an amazing group of guys, and I'm just so fortunate to be a part of this team."
Given how tough it has been for the 49ers to win in Seattle, does clinching the division at Lumen Field, the same venue where they won the NFC West in 2019 before going on a Super Bowl run, mean more?
"Yeah, it does," defensive end Nick Bosa responded. "It's one of our rivals. It's just a great feeling to be in the mix."
Arik Armstead entered the NFL in 2015. This is only the second time the 49ers have won the NFC West since he has been in the league. Doing it against a division rival is even more satisfying.
"To do it against Seattle, we wouldn't want it any other way," Armstead told reporters. "A team that has been a thorn in our side ever since I've been here. To get it done against them definitely felt great."
Another 49ers player who has also learned how difficult it is to win your division is star linebacker Fred Warner.
"[This one is] really special," Warner shared. "Now, being in it for a little bit, my fifth year, I've gotten one division title, and then knowing that they don't come every year, and you've got to grind for it, knowing that we got it in this fashion, in this atmosphere, again, it means the world. A complete team win. We needed everybody, and I'm super proud of the group."
San Francisco has three more regular-season games before the team can start planning for the playoffs. The 49ers will host the Washington Commanders on Christmas Eve, then travel to Las Vegas to play the Raiders, and finally, close out the regular season by hosting the Arizona Cardinals.