San Francisco holds onto the No. 1 spot, for now, thanks to its record against NFC opponents. The Saints' two losses this season both came against conference opponents.
The 49ers and Saints will face each other next weekend in New Orleans, so that game becomes a significant NFC matchup.
Another impactful game will be Monday night's game between the Seattle Seahawks and Minnesota Vikings. The 49ers' loss on Sunday and a Seahawks win on Monday would drop San Francisco to the No. 5 seed because of the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Below is how the NFC playoff picture looks following the 49ers' Week 13 loss, and the seeding if the season ended right now. The teams' records are shown in parenthesis.
NFC division leaders with bye weeks
1 Seed: San Francisco 49ers (10-2)
2 Seed: New Orleans Saints (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: Seattle Seahawks (9-2)
6 Seed: Minnesota Vikings (8-3)
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