San Francisco, CA
49ers playoff picture: Scenarios, chances for San Francisco to win NFC West
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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:
- Seattle Seahawks (13-3)
- San Francisco 49ers (11-4)
- Los Angeles Rams (11-4)
- 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
- Denver Broncos (13-3, AFC West winners)*
- New England Patriots (13-3, AFC East leaders)*
- Jacksonville Jaguars (12-4, AFC South leaders)*
- Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7, AFC North leaders)
- Buffalo Bills (11-4, wild card No. 1)*
- Houston Texans (11-5, wild card No. 2)*
- Los Angeles Chargers (11-5, wild card No. 3)*
In the hunt: Baltimore Ravens (8-8)
NFC
- Seattle Seahawks (13-3, NFC West leaders)*
- Chicago Bears (11-4, NFC North winners)*
- Philadelphia Eagles (10-5, NFC East winners)*
- Carolina Panthers (8-8, NFC South leaders)
- San Francisco 49ers (11-4, wild card No. 1)*
- Los Angeles Rams (11-4, wild card No. 2)*
- 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.
San Francisco, CA
Morning Report: McKivitz Highlights Special Connection to SF 🗞️
McKivitz Sends Clear Message on 49ers Future: ‘I Want to Be on That 10-Year Wall’
As Colton McKivitz enters his seventh season with the 49ers, he has his sights set on a milestone that represents trust and commitment to the organization: reaching the organization’s 10-year wall and joining a list of names that includes legends Joe Montana and Bryant Young.
George Kittle Catches FIFA World Cup Action | Off the Field
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is underway, and tight end George Kittle is showing his support for Team USA. Following the 4-1 USA win over Paraguay, Kittle shared his excitement on social media tweeting “4 is good right?”
5 Things to Know: Offensive Lineman Enrique Cruz Jr.
The Chicago native adds size, athleticism, and versatility to the 49ers competitive offensive line room. Here are five things to know about Enrique Cruz Jr.
San Francisco, CA
Artwork quilt unveiled at San Francisco dirt alley that was mistakenly bought at auction
In the fall of 2025, CBS News Bay Area first brought you the story of a Sunset couple that had the winning bid for a piece of property next to their home. They thought they were getting the duplex next door. Instead, they got a small patch of land known as Dirt Alley.
This story has many chapters, but it ended with a community celebration.
The final chapter in the story of Dirt Alley was written Wednesday night as they unveiled the tiles of artwork on the pavement.
“I’m very happy today,” JJ Hollingsworth said. “It’s just amazing that these artists that I’ve been working with and sold the alley to have come through with this incredible art.”
JJ Hollingsworth was the original property owner. She took out $25,000 from her retirement to pay for this parcel in a city auction. She thought she got a bargain for the duplex next door. When she found out it was actually the alley, the stress led to health problems and a lot of anxiety.
“I’m trying to forget, but I caused all this,” she said. “That’s what happened. I caused all this.”
Then came an email that would help her get out of the Dirt Alley nightmare. A group of friends from San Francisco was interested in buying this 82-foot-long alley.
“I know she was really stressed out when she first bought this and kind of didn’t know what she was going to do with it,” Theo Bleier said. “It’s really lucky. We were going to buy a different parcel, and we lost the auction. It was more than we wanted to spend. We felt really lucky the coincidence worked out, and we were able to help out JJ.”
The new owners then had the idea of laying an artwork quilt on the pavement and took submissions online.
“I think we had about one million people visit the website at least,” owner Patrick Hultquist said. “1.2 million, I think is the number of people that visited the website.”
The tiles with the most votes made it onto what is now called Notion way.
“Now, it’s not an official name of the street. It’s an unofficial name, but we did get an official-looking sign,” he said.
JJ Hollingsworth, who is a music composer, wrote a ballad called Notion Way for the special occasion. What started as a horrible mistake ended up bringing the community together.
“It’s really beautiful,” neighbors Tom Goslinga & Nesha Niezrecki said. “It’s how culture gets created in a lot of ways. People kind of being creative with an interesting situation. It’s really cool.”
While Hollingsworth is grateful for how this story ended, she says she learned a valuable lesson from this whole experience.
“Read the fine print and ask a lot of questions,” she said.
San Francisco, CA
Driver of bullet-riddled car flees North Bay deputies over Golden Gate Bridge
SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — A driver in a car riddled with bullets fled a Marin County Sheriff’s Office deputy at high speeds over the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco early Tuesday morning, according to authorities. The suspect, identified as Martin Zuniga Jr., 26, was later located in Novato and arrested.
The deputy first observed the suspect driving at approximately 100 mph on Highway 101 near the Richardson Bay Bridge. After pulling over the car, the deputy “noticed approximately 14 fresh bullet holes in the vehicle,” the sheriff’s office wrote. Zuniga allegedly told the deputy that he had just been involved in a road rage incident near Novato, but he refused to get out of the car and give a statement.
Zuniga “abruptly put the car into drive and fled the scene,” the sheriff’s office wrote.
The pursuit led to the Golden Gate Bridge, where the deputy disengaged due to unsafe speeds across the span, according to authorities. The car was later found abandoned on the streets of San Francisco.
At approximately 6 p.m., detectives located Zuniga in downtown Novato and placed him into custody. The sheriff’s office said at the time of the arrest that he was in possession of a loaded .40-caliber pistol with a high-capacity magazine and suspected cocaine.
Zuniga was booked into the Marin County Jail for:
- Reckless evading
- Violently resisting law enforcement
- Felon in possession of a firearm
- Felon in possession of ammunition
- Addict in possession of a firearm
Anyone with information regarding a shooting or road rage incident in the evening or early morning hours of June 15 and June 16 is asked to contact the Marin County Sheriff’s Office at 415-479-2311.
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