{"id":375714,"date":"2025-12-28T09:14:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-28T09:14:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/375714\/"},"modified":"2025-12-28T09:14:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-28T09:14:08","slug":"nfc-playoff-standings-explained-how-seahawks-bears-others-can-clinch-no-1-seed-in-week-17","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/375714\/","title":{"rendered":"NFC playoff standings, explained: How Seahawks, Bears, others can clinch No. 1 seed in Week 17"},"content":{"rendered":"

Which NFC side is the fairest of them all?<\/p>\n

Through 16 weeks, it\u2019s been hard to tell. The Seahawks<\/a>, Bears<\/a>, Eagles<\/a>, 49ers<\/a>, and Rams<\/a> have all shown flashes of brilliance, but inconsistencies and injuries have kept each from pulling away.<\/p>\n

No team has clearly separated itself from the pack. With the No. 1 seed still up for grabs, the race promises an exciting finish.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what you need to know about the NFC playoff picture heading into Week 17, including the scenarios for Seattle, Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles to claim the conference\u2019s top spot.<\/p>\n

MORE:\u00a0How DK Metcalf’s suspension could cost him $45 million<\/a><\/p>\n

NFC playoff picture<\/p>\n

Here’s a look at how the NFC’s playoff race is shaping up in Week 17.<\/p>\n

RankTeamRecord1.x-Seattle Seahawks12-32.z-Chicago Bears11-43.z-Philadelphia Eagles10-54.Carolina Panthers8-75.x-San Francisco 49ers11-46.x-Los Angeles Rams11-47.x-Green Bay Packers9-6-18.Minnesota Vikings (ELIMINATED)8-89.Detroit Lions (ELIMINATED)8-810.Tampa Bay Buccaneers7-8How Seahawks can clinch No. 1 seed<\/p>\n

Seattle sits in the driver’s seat for the NFC’s No. 1 seed, one game ahead of the second-place Bears. The simplest path to securing the top spot is to keep winning. Victories in their final two games would guarantee Seattle the NFC\u2019s top seed.<\/p>\n

Mike McDonald\u2019s team could clinch No. 1 as early as this weekend, but it would need help. The Seahawks need the Panthers<\/a> to win and the Rams to lose or tie against the Falcons<\/a>. Even that wouldn\u2019t be enough on its own\u2014they\u2019d also need the 49ers-Bears Week 17 matchup to end in a tie.<\/p>\n

While all three outcomes are possible, a San Francisco-Chicago tie seems unlikely. Assuming one team wins Sunday night, the No. 1 seed would remain up for grabs. Seattle then faces San Francisco in Week 18, setting up a potential division- and conference-deciding showdown between two of the NFC West\u2019s top teams.<\/p>\n

MORE:\u00a0What to know about Lions fan that Steelers WR DK Metcalf punched<\/a><\/p>\n

How Bears can clinch No. 1 seed<\/p>\n

The Bears will need some assistance to secure their first No. 1 seed since 2006. Chicago needs wins against the 49ers and Lions<\/a> to give themselves a chance at the crown jewel of the NFC’s regular-season slate. It will also need the Seahawks to drop one of their final two matches to leapfrog the star-laden unit.<\/p>\n

Going unbeaten won’t be the easiest of tasks for Ben Johnson’s side. San Francisco is in the mix for the No. 1 seed \u2014 more on that later \u2014 while Detroit’s postseason hopes haven’t yet disappeared.<\/p>\n

Still, to be the best, you have to be the best. The Bears have looked a formidable threat to the conference’s best sides throughout the 2025 season. Can they offer similar displays in their final two regular season games? Only time will tell.<\/p>\n

How 49ers can clinch No. 1 seed<\/p>\n

San Francisco sits one game outside first place in the NFC. The 49ers currently hold the tiebreaker advantage over both Seattle and Los Angeles, having beaten the Seahawks in Week 1 and holding a better divisional record than the Rams.<\/p>\n

The clearest path for San Francisco to clinch the No. 1 seed is to keep winning. Victories over Chicago and Seattle in Weeks 17 and 18 would secure the top spot in the NFC bracket. No team faces a tougher final two-game stretch than Kyle Shanahan\u2019s squad, as the Bears and Seahawks have a combined 23-7 record (.767). Still, it would be hard to question San Francisco\u2019s legitimacy if they were to defeat back-to-back NFC heavyweights.<\/p>\n

How Rams can clinch No. 1 seed<\/p>\n

At present, the Rams are the least likely of our four protagonists to collect the No. 1 seed. Their path to top billing in the NFC is a convoluted one that requires them to win each of their final two games against the Falcons and Cardinals<\/a>. They’ll also need help \u2014 if the Seahawks and 49ers drop games down the stretch and Los Angeles goes unbeaten, Sean McVay’s side will scale the mountaintop, at least as far as the playoff race is concerned.<\/p>\n

The Rams have by far the easiest run-in before the end of the season. Neither Atlanta nor Arizona finished all that close to postseason play. One of Seattle and San Francisco is all but certain to lose in Week 18. But without the other side suffering defeat in Week 17, Los Angeles won’t be able to land the No. 1 seed.<\/p>\n

Let the games begin…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Which NFC side is the fairest of them all? Through 16 weeks, it\u2019s been hard to tell. The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":375715,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[559],"tags":[64,63,593,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-375714","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-nfl","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375714","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=375714"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375714\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/375715"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=375714"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=375714"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=375714"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}