San Francisco, CA
NFL Playoff Picture: Who will the San Francisco 49ers play in their first playoff game?
Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
Videos are auto-populated by an affiliate. This site has no control over the videos that appear above.
We made a model to determine the odds for every potential San Francisco 49ers playoff opponent.
As the NFL regular season comes to a close today, the final pieces of the NFL playoff picture are falling into place. The San Francisco 49ers have already secured the top seed in the NFC, but their path to the Super Bowl is far from clear, as one of nine potential teams will travel to Levi’s Stadium to face the Niners in the home team’s first playoff game.
The Niners plan to rest a number of their starters today, similar to their opponent–the Los Angeles Rams–who have already secured a wild-card spot. On its face, this afternoon’s game appears to hold little meaning; However, it will play a pivotal role in shaping the now-blurry NFC playoff picture, as only the No. 1 seed is currently secured.
So, who will the 49ers first playoff opponent be? Well, that’s easy–we’ll just create a model. And by “create,” I mean “borrow” (with permission, h/t below) from existing models, mix them together with my predictive model, toss it in the simulation oven for 45 minutes at 350 degrees, and voilà!
The San Francisco 49ers will play one of the following teams:
Los Angeles Rams
Again? Yes, the most likely team among San Francisco’s nine potential opponents is the one the 49ers play today, and the two squads may clash again, regardless of the outcome of the game. With a victory today, the Rams will secure the No. 6 seed; If the Niners prevail, Los Angeles will enter the playoffs as the seventh seed in the NFC. Either way, the Rams will play one of three potential teams: the Dallas Cowboys, the Philadelphia Eagles, or the Detroit Lions, and a victory in the opening round will most likely send the Rams back to the Bay Area the following week. Although this is the most likely scenario among many, it’s far from a sure thing at 26 percent.
Philadelphia Eagles
“Been there, done that.” But not so fast, because the Eagles may be back again–although this time, it won’t be on their home field. If the Eagles lose or the Cowboys win, Philadelphia is relegated to the No. 5 seed, and will face the winner of the NFC South. In this scenario, if Philadelphia is only wild-card team to pull off an upset, their next game will be at Levi’s Stadium. Overall, a repeat playoff matchup between the Eagles and the 49ers is the second most-likely outcome for the Niners, at 23 percent.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
If all three NFC division winners win on their home turf next week, the NFC South Champion will head to the Bay in the second round. This team is most likely to be the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who, after winning four of their last five games, will secure the top spot in the NFC South with a victory over the two-win Carolina Panthers today. Overall, the odds of a 49ers-Bucs matchup in the divisional round are 18 percent.
Green Bay Packers
Today’s 49ers game has a clear and direct impact on this scenario. While the Green Bay Packers have a slight chance of holding on to a wild-card spot if they lose to the 7-9 Chicago Bears today, the 8-8 Packers are in if they win. Green Bay will be locked into one of the two last playoff spots, along with the 9-win Rams. Since Green Bay holds the tie-breaker, the outcome of today’s 49ers-Rams game will determine the order of the two final teams. If Green Bay pulls off an upset next week, The 49ers’ first opponent will be either the Rams or the Packers; the odds it’s the Packers? 14 percent.
Seattle Seahawks
A Packers loss would open the door for the Seattle Seahawks to squeeze into the playoffs with a win today, along with a loss by the Buccaneers or the New Orleans Saints. If the 7-seed Seahawks win their first game, they’ll head to San Francisco. One year after beating the Seahawks three times in the same season, the 49ers will be forced into a repeat scenario, but only at an 8-percent rate.
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints’ playoff road to the Bay is similar to that of the Buccaneers. If the Saints are the unlikely NFC South champs, and all division winners win next week, the 49ers will play New Orleans in the second round. This scenario is a long-shot at 5 percent.
Dallas Cowboys
Like the Eagles, the Dallas Cowboys have a broad range of potential playoff paths. If the Cowboys lose their way back into the top wild-card spot, they’ll face the winner of the NFC South. If Dallas can then win on the road, and the two remaining division winners prevail, then yet another 49ers-Cowboys playoff game is on the horizon. But in the end, the odds are unlikely, at just 4 percent.
Atlanta Falcons
It’s technically possible for the 7-win Atlanta Falcons to win the NFC South. If they do, and then take a similar path as the one described above, San Francisco would be their second round opponent. It’s rather difficult to picture this scenario, which comes in at approximately 1 percent.
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings are an extreme long-shot to make the playoffs, which would require a victory, and a lot of help–including losses by both the Packers and Seahawks, as well as one of the NFC South’s top-2 teams. If the Vikings are in, and then pull off the upset in the opening round, their next matchup would be the 49ers. Yes, the odds are more than zero, but just barely, at less than 1 percent.
Credit to nflverse for significant portions of code and data.
Thanks to Sebastian Carl, Ben Baldwin, Lee Sharpe, Tan Ho, and John Edwards.
The opinions within this article are those of the writer and, while just as important, are not necessarily those of the site as a whole.
The San Francisco 49ers secured the NFC’s No. 1 seed on Sunday, guaranteeing a first-round bye in the playoffs and home-field advantage. The team still has one more game to play, a somewhat inconsequential clash with their division rivals, the Los Angeles Rams.
The Rams earned a playoff berth this weekend by defeating the New York Giants and witnessing the Pittsburgh Steelers knock off the Seattle Seahawks.
Able to bypass the first week of playoff games, the 49ers will await the weakest-seeded victor from the Wild Card Round.
Below are the current playoff standings with Week 17 in the books. This is what the NFC postseason picture would look like of the season
On Sunday, the San Francisco 49ers secured the NFC’s No. 1 seed and home-field advantage. With little at stake in their regular-season finale against the Los Angeles Rams, Week 18 provides an excellent opportunity for some ailing players, such as running back Christian McCaffrey, to rest and recover.
However, only some starters will get the week off entirely. Head coach Kyle Shanahan explained this week that the 49ers still need to field a team against the Rams.
“When you give guys the game off, practice changes, too, and that can end up hurting guys a lot, and you end up just developing bad
The San Francisco 49ers have disclosed their quarterback strategy for the upcoming regular-season finale against the Los Angeles Rams. Head coach Kyle Shanahan informed reporters that Brock Purdy will not play on Sunday, providing the quarterback a two-week break leading into the playoffs.
Earlier today, the Rams announced that Carson Wentz would start against the 49ers instead of Matthew Stafford. While San Francisco has secured the No. 1 seed in the postseason, Los Angeles will be seeded either sixth or seventh, depending on the outcome of Sunday’s game.
“Brock’s the only guy for sure I know I don’t plan on playing,” Shanahan said.
That means it will be Sam
Safety Tashaun Gipson was on head coach Kyle Shanahan’s lengthy list of San Francisco 49ers players who will not practice on Wednesday, the first on-field session ahead of the team’s regular-season finale against the Los Angeles Rams. Gipson is sidelined with a quad strain and will not recover in time to play this weekend.
“Gip ended up—I think we got it yesterday—he had a quad strain, so that could be anywhere seven to 10 days,” Shanahan informed reporters. “So the odds—that can heal faster, too—but just with our situation, the odds aren’t there.”
The other 49ers players not expected to practice on Wednesday are defensive tackle Arik Armstead (foot, knee), running back Christian McCaffrey (calf), tight end Ross Dwelley (ankle), guard Jon
President Donald Trump was once again floating the idea of sending federal agents to San Francisco to tackle crime.
It happened during a cabinet meeting on Thursday. The president praised Mayor Daniel Lurie’s efforts to lower crime but said he can do it more effectively.
“San Francisco, I know, they have a mayor who’s trying very hard. He’s a Democrat, but he’s trying very hard, but we can do it much more effectively, because he can’t do what we do. He can’t take people out from the city and bring them to back to the country, from where they came, where they were in prisons,” Trump said.
“He’s trying. He’s doing okay, but we could do much better. We could make it a lot safer than it is. San Francisco, a great city, was a great city, could quickly become a great city again. But, you know, they’re going very slowly,” he continued.
The president implied that the mayor needs federal help to battle crime, saying immigrants are responsible for the lawlessness. However, according to a 2025 study by researches at UCLA and Northwestern, arresting and deporting undocumented immigrants was not associated with reduced crime rates.
Gabriel Medina, executive director of La Raza Community Resource Center In San Francisco agrees.
“I think we need to make sure that our city does not also try to play this game of making up ideas about always associating crime with immigrants, when immigrants commit less crime, so that’s really bad,” Medina said.
In response to the president comments, the mayor released a statement that reads: “In San Francisco, crime is down 30%, encampments are at record lows, and our city is on the rise. Public safety is my number one priority, and we are going to stay laser focused on keeping our streets safe and clean.”
This isn’t the first time President Trump has mused with the idea of sending federal agents to the Bay Area; last October, agents were staged at a military base in Alameda, but Trump called off the plan after talking with Lurie and Bay Area tech leaders.
“We cannot normalize what this president is saying from San Francisco, that crime is associated with immigration. We need to stop conflating that,” Medina said.
San Francisco, CA
Man convicted in the deadly 2021 assault of a Thai grandfather in San Francisco avoids prison
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The man convicted in the fatal 2021 attack of an older Thai man in San Francisco, which galvanized a movement against anti-Asian hate, will be able to avoid prison time, a judge ruled Thursday.
Antoine Watson, 25, was sentenced to eight years for manslaughter in the death of Vicha Ratanapakdee, 84. But, having already spent five years in jail awaiting trial, Watson received credit for time served, and San Francisco Superior Court Judge Linda Colfax said he could have the remaining three years suspended if he follows the rules of his probation.
Ratanapakdee’s daughter, Monthanus, expressed her family’s disappointment in a statement shared by Justice For Vicha, the foundation named for her father.
“We respect the court process. However, this is not about revenge — it is about accountability,” she said. “When consequences do not reflect the seriousness of the harm, it raises concerns about how we protect our seniors and public safety.”
Vicha Ratanapakdee was out for his usual morning walk in the quiet neighborhood he lived in with his wife, daughter and her family when Watson charged at him and knocked him to the ground. Ratanapakdee never regained consciousness and died two days later.
Watson testified on the stand that he was in a haze of confusion and anger at the time of the unprovoked attack, according to KRON-TV. He said he lashed out and didn’t know that Ratanapakdee was Asian or older.
San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju, whose office defended Watson, also said at his trial that the defendant is “fully remorseful for his mistake.”
The Office of the San Francisco Public Defender did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment on Watson’s sentencing.
Footage of the attack was captured on a neighbor’s security camera and spread across social media, prompting a surge in activism over a rise in anti-Asian crimes driven by the COVID-19 pandemic. Hundreds of people across several U.S. cities commemorated the anniversary of Ratanapakdee’s death in 2022, seeking justice for Asian Americans who have been harassed, assaulted and even killed in alarming numbers.
Asians in America have long been subject to prejudice and discrimination, but the attacks escalated sharply after COVID-19 first appeared in late 2019 in Wuhan, China. More than 10,000 hate incidents against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders were reported to the Stop AAPI Hate coalition from March 2020 through September 2021.
While the Ratanapakdee family asserts he was attacked because of his race, hate crime charges were not filed and the argument was not raised in trial. Prosecutors have said hate crimes are difficult to prove absent statements by the suspect.
San Francisco, CA
Authors gathering in San Francisco to raise awareness and money for the National Kidney Foundation
A number of notable authors are set to take part in a special event in San Francisco this Sunday, celebrating a shared love of reading while shining a light on an often overlooked health issue. The National Kidney Foundation Authors Luncheon brings together writers and community members to support kidney health awareness and raise funds for critical programs.
Retired Detroit sergeant faces new sexual assault charge involving 14-year-old victim from 2002
Trump floats sending federal agents to San Francisco to tackle crime
Dallas ISD will offer free pre-K starting next school year
Norwegian Cruise Line offers a first look at Luna, new cruise ship setting sail from PortMiami – WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports | Fort Lauderdale
Live: CPAC 2026 Day 2
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Indiana Members Credit Union announced as new anchor tenant at Bottleworks District
Live: CPAC 2026 Day 2
Video: Will ICE Change Under Its New Leader?
DHS shutdown breakthrough comes at cost for Republicans as funding fights nears end
Rubio joins crucial G7 talks as Iran war set to dominate second day
A surprise resignation could open the door for an independent to win a Montana Senate seat
-
Detroit, MI1 week agoDrummer Brian Pastoria, longtime Detroit music advocate, dies at 68
-
Science1 week agoHow a Melting Glacier in Antarctica Could Affect Tens of Millions Around the Globe
-
Movie Reviews1 week ago‘Youth’ Twitter review: Ken Karunaas impresses audiences; Suraj Venjaramoodu adds charm; music wins praise | – The Times of India
-
Sports6 days agoIOC addresses execution of 19-year-old Iranian wrestler Saleh Mohammadi
-
New Mexico5 days agoClovis shooting leaves one dead, four injured
-
Business1 week agoDisney’s new CEO says his focus is on storytelling and creativity
-
Technology5 days agoYouTube job scam text: How to spot it fast
-
Tennessee4 days agoTennessee Police Investigating Alleged Assault Involving ‘Reacher’ Star Alan Ritchson