The Seattle Seahawks' rooting interests for the Sunday Night Football showdown between the Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers were all over the map. A tie was probably the true preferred outcome, though only 30 regular-season games have ended in a draw since 1974, when sudden-death overtime was established.
Alas, the Seahawks got the greater evil; the 49ers prevailed. San Francisco's thrilling 42-38 primetime victory over the Bears keeps the NFC West crown in play, and therefore the No. 1 seed in the conference.
Suddenly, life will be much harder for Seattle when they travel to Santa Clara to face the 49ers in Week 18. These two teams are set to go toe-to-toe in a high-stakes clash that will alter the NFC title race and NFL playoff picture at large.
49ers' win vs. Bears ratchets up the pressure on Seahawks in updated NFC playoff picture
- Seattle Seahawks (13-3, first in NFC West)
- Chicago Bears (11-5, first in NFC North)
- Philadelphia Eagles (11-5, first in NFC East)
- Carolina Panthers (8-8, first in NFC South)
- San Francisco 49ers (12-4, second in NFC West)
- Los Angeles Rams (11-4, third in NFC West)
- Green Bay Packers (9-6-1, second in NFC North)
- Minnesota Vikings (8-8, third in NFC North)
- Detroit Lions (8-8, fourth in NFC North)
- Dallas Cowboys (7-8-1, second in NFC East)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-9, second in NFC South)
- Atlanta Falcons (6-9, third in NFC South)
- New Orleans Saints (6-10, fourth in NFC South)
- Washington Commanders (4-12, third in NFC East)
- Arizona Cardinals (3-13, fourth in NFC West)
- New York Giants (3-13, fourth in NFC East)
Seattle's in first place entering their must-win bout with the 49ers, though that can change quite drastically at the drop of a hat. The Seahawks can finish as low as the No. 6 seed. This should highlight the significance of San Francisco taking down the Bears.
At least the Seahawks would've secured a home game on Wild Card Weekend if the Bears prevailed in San Francisco, but even that isn't guaranteed. There are no additional perks or benefits for Seattle beyond securing their ticket to the postseason, which is crazy, considering their impressive 2025 record.
It's truly bizarre that a 13-win squad could be on the road to begin their path to Super Bowl LX, whether it's the Seahawks or 49ers. That's a byproduct of prioritizing division champions in seeding, which is a whole other story. However, for whatever it's worth, Seattle's Pro Bowl quarterback, Sam Darnold, was notably in a near-identical situation last year, albeit with a different club.
Darnold guided the Minnesota Vikings to a 14-3 campaign in 2024, which culminated in a wildly disappointing first-round loss to the Los Angeles Rams. He and the Seahawks will hope for better results if they're dealt a similar hand. Nevertheless, the goal is to beat the Niners and avoid this issue entirely.