The San Francisco 49ers have already clinched a spot in the NFC playoffs, but they will be taking aim at a larger goal over the season’s final two weeks.

The 49ers have an outside chance to win the NFC West. They are in a tight, three-horse battle for the divisional crown along with the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams, a fight in which the Seahawks presently hold an edge.

The 49ers will need to beat the Chicago Bears in Week 17 to keep their division title hopes alive and create an exciting battle between themselves and the Seahawks in the season’s final week.

Here’s a breakdown of the 49ers’ playoff picture and how they could potentially emerge as the NFC West winner for the third time in four seasons.

49ers playoff chances

The 49ers clinched a playoff berth in Week 16 thanks to the Pittsburgh Steelers’ win over the Detroit Lions. San Francisco was still able to win its “Monday Night Football” game against the Indianapolis Colts, allowing Kyle Shanahan’s squad to remain in the NFC West race down the stretch of the season.

49ers playoff scenarios

The 49ers will either win the NFC West or earn a wild-card berth. Here’s a look at what it will take for San Francisco to win its division in 2025:

• 49ers win final two games against Bears and Seahawks

If the 49ers can beat the Bears on “Sunday Night Football” in Week 17, it will set up a battle between San Francisco and Seattle in Week 18, with the winner earning the NFC West title and the NFC’s No. 1 overall seed.

A loss (or tie) against the Bears would eliminate the 49ers from the NFC West battle and relegate them to being either the No. 5 or No. 6 seed in the NFC playoff race.

NFC West standings

The 49ers are currently in second place in the NFC West standings. Below is a look at the pecking order within the division:

1. Seattle Seahawks (13-3)
2. San Francisco 49ers (11-4)
3. Los Angeles Rams (11-4)
4. Arizona Cardinals (3-13)

The Seahawks have already won their Week 17 game against the Carolina Panthers. That put Mike Macdonald’s squad a game-and-a-half ahead of the 49ers and Rams, who are playing on “Sunday Night Football” and “Monday Night Football” this week respectively.

The 49ers hold tiebreaker advantages over the Seahawks and Rams. San Francisco beat Seattle head-to-head in Week 1 and will play the Seahawks again in Week 18 with a potential division title on the line.

Meanwhile, San Francisco’s 4-1 divisional record is better than Los Angeles’ mark of 3-2. That will give the 49ers a slight edge over the Rams as they jockey for positioning behind the Seahawks.

49ers remaining schedule

The 49ers have one of the toughest remaining schedules league-wide, as both of their remaining games are against playoff teams. Below is a look at their full schedule:

• Week 17: vs. Chicago Bears (11-4)
• Week 18: vs. Seattle Seahawks (13-3)

Seahawks remaining schedule

The Seahawks just have one game left on their schedule after winning their Week 17 game against the Panthers. Below is a look at their remaining matchup:

• Week 18: at San Francisco 49ers (11-4)

Rams remaining schedule

The Rams have the easiest remaining schedule of the bunch, as their final two opponents have combined for just nine wins. Here’s a look at Los Angeles’ remaining schedule:

• Week 17: at Atlanta Falcons (6-9)
• Week 18: vs. Arizona Cardinals (3-13)

NFL playoff picture

Here’s how the AFC and NFC stack up for Week 17:

AFC

1. Denver Broncos (13-3, AFC West winners)*
2. New England Patriots (13-3, AFC East leaders)*
3. Jacksonville Jaguars (12-4, AFC South leaders)*
4. Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7, AFC North leaders)
5. Buffalo Bills (11-4, wild card No. 1)*
6. Houston Texans (11-5, wild card No. 2)*
7. Los Angeles Chargers (11-5, wild card No. 3)*

In the hunt: Baltimore Ravens (8-8)

NFC

1. Seattle Seahawks (13-3, NFC West leaders)*
2. Chicago Bears (11-4, NFC North winners)*
3. Philadelphia Eagles (10-5, NFC East winners)*
4. Carolina Panthers (8-8, NFC South leaders)
5. San Francisco 49ers (11-4, wild card No. 1)*
6. Los Angeles Rams (11-4, wild card No. 2)*
7. Green Bay Packers (9-6-1, wild card No. 3)*

In the hunt: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-8)

An asterisk (*) denotes teams that have clinched a playoff spot. Teams that have clinched division titles are noted accordingly.

DENVER — Street racing continues to pose threats to Colorado drivers, so Denver7 looked into the trends we saw throughout 2025.

Denver Police report 80 citations and arrests as of December 17 for 2025. That’s 20 more than last year, according to Doug Schepman, director of communications for the Denver Police Department (DPD).

There is one strip of road in Denver we asked Schepman about specifically, after hearing from business owners that it’s particularly troublesome.

We’re talking about the 2000 block of S. Santa Fe Drive in Denver.

Michael Gray, owner of Discount Fishing Tackle, said it’s a weekly occurrence to watch or hear cars and motorcycles zip past.

“Recently, we’ve seen the kids on the motorcycles coming by with the front wheel in the air, going just as dangerous as can be, and especially dangerous because so many other people are going so fast on this road,” Gray said.

He said he’s noticed that as more turnoffs are removed and the spacing between traffic lights gets longer, more drivers tend to use it as their personal raceway.

“It doesn’t affect us really too much, but you don’t like to have something as dangerous as that going on all the time,” he said.

Schepman said patrol districts are aware that street racing occurs along this stretch of South Santa Fe Drive, and that officers are directed to patrol the area during periods when reports are more prevalent.

He adds that the community plays a critical part in helping investigators curb this problem.

The Colorado State Patrol said it has received more than 1,700 reports from the community this year.

You can continue to report street racing here.

The Panthers Played 1920s Football In The 2020s

The Carolina Panthers had 40 net yards passing on Sunday, in a game where they never once held the lead. Bryce Young averaged 1.54 yards per dropback on plays that didn’t end in him scrambling. Jalen Coker led the team in receiving yards, nearly doubling second place, with sixteen of them. Stud rookie Tet McMillan had five yards. WR2 Xavier Leggette had three yards.

It’s safe to say that whatever buttons Mike Macdonald and Aden Durde pushed before and during this game, they were the correct buttons to push. This is the kind of one-sided dominance that you’d expect to see in a college game, where Alabama plays against Troy, or Oregon draws Idaho. Maybe against a fourth string quarterback who has no business playing.

But this was former #1 overall pick Bryce Young, starting quarterback for a Carolina Panthers team that has playoff aspirations with one week to go. They had all their starters except for right guard Rob Hunt, who has been missing for some time anyway. This Panthers team has upset the Los Angeles Rams and beaten the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the last month.

It’s a real team. But when it came to throwing the ball on this particular Sunday, they didn’t really look like one. And don’t forget to consider that their running game was perfectly competent as well, averaging about four yards a carry before a couple of game-ending kneeldowns. How did Seattle do it? Star receiver Tetairoa McMillan chimed in after the game.

McMillan Explains It All

In a locker room interview shortly after the game ended, McMillan referenced how Seattle caught Carolina off-guard by playing more man coverage than expected.

“I think it just caught us by surprise. And obviously it puts more pressure on the quarterback, because they get back there faster,” he explained. “But then, at the same time, it’s up to the receivers to get open. To create a clear picture for Bryce.”

McMillan’s lone catch of the day came with 3:47 left in the fourth quarter, Carolina down by ten and deep in their own territory. Facing 4th and 17, Bryce Young checked it down over the middle to Tet, who was quickly tackled by Julian Love to get the ball back to Seattle’s offense. It was a day to forget for him in particular, who has had an excellent rookie campaign to this point.

One Simple Trick To Make Your Passing Game Disappear

It certainly makes sense why Carolina wouldn’t expect Seattle to play much man defense. According to data collected by Football Insights, Seattle’s defense is in zone on 78% of their snaps and in man coverage on just 17% (the remaining 5% is plays where the coverage type wasn’t clear). The split in the previous six games is 78%/21%.

There are a few other teams that play man less than Seattle, but not many, which goes well with their near-league low blitz rate. So you can certainly understand why Carolina wasn’t anticipating anything different. After all, the way in which Seattle has played defense all season has resulted in one of the best squads in football and inside track to the top seed in the NFC.

But Macdonald clearly saw an advantage in switching things up, a luxury afforded to him with elite cover corners like Devon Witherspoon and Riq Woolen on the field. Clearly, former Seahawk coach Dave Canales wasn’t ready for it, and on a day where Seattle needed an elite defensive performance to get the win, this was a big part of the formula.

This is the sort of thing that Seattle will hopefully have in their back pocket come postseason time, when the edges are small and unexpected coaching adjustments can make a big difference. With the offense having some issues in recent weeks, the defense may need to be elite to get wins, so it’s good to have a Mike Macdonald on your side.