With three weeks left in the regular season, the San Francisco 49ers are right in the thick of the NFC playoff picture - and they’ve got a real shot at locking up both the NFC West and the No. 1 seed. Thanks to the Rams’ Thursday night loss to the Seahawks, the door is wide open. Now, it’s up to the 49ers to walk through it.
If both San Francisco and Seattle take care of business over the next two weeks, their Week 18 clash could be for all the marbles - division title, top seed, and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. That’s the kind of drama the NFL loves to showcase in primetime, and this game is shaping up to be exactly that.
Right now, the Week 18 schedule is filled with “TBD” designations for kickoff times, as the league waits to see which matchups will carry the most playoff weight. The 49ers-Seahawks game is very much in the mix for the Sunday night spotlight, but it’s not the only contender.
A few other games - like Ravens vs. Steelers, Colts vs.
Texans, Lions vs. Bears, and Buccaneers vs.
Panthers - are also under consideration, depending on how the next two weeks shake out.
Let’s break it down.
Ravens vs. Steelers has all the makings of a classic AFC North brawl, but Baltimore’s upcoming matchups against the Packers and Patriots are already slated for national TV. That would make three straight primetime games for the Ravens - and while the league has no official cap on consecutive appearances, it’s rare to see a team featured that heavily down the stretch.
Colts vs. Texans could be a sneaky-good game if the AFC South stays tight.
But with Jacksonville still leading the division and holding key tiebreakers, this one might end up being a battle for a wild-card spot rather than the division crown. And with the Jaguars facing both the Broncos and Colts in the coming weeks, there’s a good chance they’ll wrap things up before Week 18 even kicks off.
Buccaneers vs. Panthers is a matchup of two 7-7 teams that still have a path to the postseason, but it’s a narrow one.
They’ll face off this weekend and then again in Week 18, which means there’s a chance both could be sitting at 8-8 by the time that second game rolls around. It’s not the sexiest matchup on paper, but we’ve seen 8-8 teams deliver fireworks before - just ask Packers and Lions fans from a few years back.
Lions vs. Bears is another intriguing option, especially if the Bears can continue their late-season surge.
If the 49ers were to stumble against Chicago in Week 17 and the Seahawks handle the Panthers, this game could carry significant weight in the NFC playoff race. But if San Francisco and Seattle both win out, it’s hard to imagine any matchup more meaningful - or more compelling - than 49ers vs.
Seahawks.
And that brings us back to the main event.
These two teams have a history of turning season finales into instant classics. The last time they met in Week 17 with everything on the line was back in 2019 - a game that came down to the final inches.
In that one, Dre Greenlaw etched his name into 49ers lore with a goal-line stop that sealed the win and the No. 1 seed. It was a defining moment in a season that ended with San Francisco in the Super Bowl.
This time around, the stakes could be just as high. The 49ers still have to get through the Colts on Monday night and then take on a tough Bears squad that currently leads the NFC North.
Neither of those are cakewalks. But if they handle their business, Week 18 at Levi’s Stadium could be a winner-take-all showdown for the top spot in the NFC.
And the NFL knows it.
Unlike the typical flex scheduling that requires advance notice, Week 18 is a different animal. The league waits until all Week 17 games are in the books before locking in the final slate, ensuring that the primetime slot gets the most meaningful matchup possible. That flexibility is exactly why 49ers-Seahawks is emerging as the frontrunner.
It’s got everything: playoff implications, a divisional rivalry, star power, and recent history that fans still talk about. If both teams keep winning, it’s hard to imagine the NFL passing up the chance to put this one under the bright lights.
So buckle up. The road to the NFC’s top seed could come down to one final showdown - and if it looks anything like 2019, we’re in for a wild finish.