The San Francisco 49ers haven’t even taken the field for their Monday Night Football showdown with the Indianapolis Colts, and already Week 16 is shaping up exactly how they’d hoped. A few key dominoes fell across the NFL landscape this weekend, and now the Niners find themselves in a prime position-not just to clinch the NFC West, but to potentially lock down the No. 1 seed in the conference.
Let’s start with Thursday night, where the 49ers got their first dose of good news. The NFC West battle between the Rams and Seahawks had major implications for San Francisco.
A Seattle win would help clear the path to a division title, and that’s exactly what happened. The Seahawks edged out the Rams in a wild 38-37 overtime thriller, giving the Niners a bit more breathing room atop the division.
With that result, the math got a lot simpler. If the 49ers can take care of business in their final three games-against the Colts on Monday, the Bears in Week 17, and the Seahawks in Week 18-they won’t just win the division.
They’ll own the top seed in the NFC and the coveted first-round bye that comes with it. That’s the kind of control every team hopes to have in late December.
But then came Sunday, and things got even better.
Coming into the weekend, San Francisco had two realistic paths to clinch a playoff berth before even taking the field. One was straightforward: beat the Colts on Monday night.
The other? Hope the Detroit Lions lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
And sure enough, that’s how it played out.
Steelers Hand Lions a Crushing Loss, 49ers Clinch Playoff Spot
Over at Ford Field, the Lions were looking to make a move in the NFC playoff picture. At 8-6, Detroit was eyeing a jump after the Packers dropped to 9-5-1 following a loss to the Bears.
Meanwhile, Pittsburgh was trying to keep pace in a tight AFC North race with Baltimore. Both teams came in with plenty on the line.
It was a tight one early-tied 10-10 at halftime-but the Steelers came out firing in the second half. They rattled off 12 unanswered points to go up 22-10 early in the fourth quarter, thanks in part to some big plays from running back Jaylen Warren. Warren was electric, finishing with 143 rushing yards and two touchdowns on just 14 carries, including a 45-yard score that gave Pittsburgh a 29-17 lead with under five minutes to play.
Detroit wasn’t done, though. Jared Goff and rookie running back Jahmyr Gibbs connected on a 4-yard touchdown to pull within five points, and after a missed field goal by Pittsburgh’s Chris Boswell, the Lions had one last shot to steal a win. And they nearly did-twice.
In a chaotic final drive, Detroit got all the way to the Steelers’ 1-yard line. They actually scored two touchdowns in the final seconds, but both were wiped off the board by offensive pass interference.
The first came on a 1-yard TD pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown, nullified by a pick play from Isaac Teslaa.
Then came a wild sequence on fourth down: Goff hit St. Brown just shy of the goal line, and as he was going down, St.
Brown lateraled the ball back to Goff, who dove into the end zone. It looked like a miracle finish-until the flag came out.
St. Brown was called for pushing off Jalen Ramsey to get open, and with the clock at zero, the game ended right there.
It was a heartbreaking loss for Detroit, but for the 49ers, it was the final piece of the playoff puzzle. With that result, San Francisco officially punched its ticket to the postseason.
Looking Ahead: 49ers Still Have Plenty to Play For
While clinching a playoff berth is a big step-especially after missing the postseason last year-the 49ers aren’t done yet. This team has bigger goals in sight, and it all starts with Monday night’s matchup against the Colts.
Win that one, and the Niners are two steps away from securing the NFC’s top seed. That would mean home-field advantage throughout the playoffs and a week off to rest and reset. In December, that’s as valuable as it gets.
So yes, Sunday was a great day in the Bay Area, but Monday night is where the real work begins.