The 49ers and Seahawks will play the final regular-season game of the decade Sunday night, and the rest of the action wrapping up across the NFL means their playoff fates are officially set.
Here’s what the 49ers are facing with a win, loss or tie in Seattle:
A 49ers win means…
A win means an NFC West title and the No. 1 seed in the NFC for San Francisco. They’d get a first-round bye and hold home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. This didn’t change with Sunday’s games.
What did change was their second-round matchup. San Francisco’s first playoff game would be in the divisional round at home against the lowest-remaining seed. That means they’d host the Vikings, Seahawks or Eagles.
A 49ers loss means…
A loss means the 49ers finish second in the NFC West and grab the No. 5 seed in the NFC. Since the Eagles beat Dallas in Week 16, and downed the Giants 34-17 in Week 17, they earned the NFC East title and the No. 4 seed. The 49ers would travel to Philadelphia on wild card weekend. If they win that game, they’d either head to Green Bay or New Orleans in the divisional round depending on how the other games shake out.
A 49ers-Seahawks tie means…
A tie means the 49ers win the NFC West, but earn the No. 3 seed in the NFC. The third-place team doesn’t get a first-round bye, but they do get a home game on wild card weekend. In the event of a tie, San Francisco would host Minnesota at Levi’s Stadium in the wild card game. A win there would send them to New Orleans for the second round.
