Inside The Star
Six of the seven tickets for the 2025 NFC playoff tournament have been punched.
All that remains to be determined is which of the two NFC South teams will claim that final golden ticket. Not to mention where the seven teams will be seeded.
The two biggest games of the weekend for the NFC will be played in Tampa Bay and San Francisco on Saturday.
The Buccaneers started the year at 6-2 then had a bye week. It’s entirely possible that they forgot they had a second half of the schedule yet to play.
Tampa Bay has lost seven of its last eight games, including a 23-20 loss to the Panthers in Carolina less than two weeks ago.
At 7-9, they must beat the 8–8 Panthers on Saturday afternoon to get into a tie at 8-9.
As they would have split the season series, and both teams would be 3-3 in divisional play, the deadlock would go to the third tie-breaker; best won-lost-tied percentage in common games.
That would fall in the Bucs’ favor. Tampa would win the NFC South and earn the No. 4 seed and a home playoff game.
But the big game of the day kicks off later Saturday evening when the 49ers host the Seattle Seahawks.
The winner not only takes the NFC West title, but lays claim to the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye.
A Seattle win ensures no worse than a tie for the NFL’s best record at 14-3. A 49ers’ win deadlocks both teams at 13-4, but the 49ers beat Seattle in the first week of the season, giving San Francisco the NFC West title.
The loser tumbles all the way down to the 5th seed.
But they would hit the road to face either the Bucs or the Panthers. Both teams would likely be favored to beat Carolina, as they have both already done so this season.
However, both teams have lost to Tampa Bay this year.
While the lowest two seeds are locked in place, the Los Angeles Rams will be sixth and the Green Bay Packers 7th, who they will face in the wildcard round remains to be determined.
Going into the season finale, the Chicago Bears and Philadelphia Eagles are both 11-5. However, the Bears clipped the Eagles’ wings, 24-15, in Philadelphia on Black Friday.
That gives the Bears the No. 2 seed and the Packers in the first round.
The Eagles would be the third seed and hosting the Rams.
To move up, Philadelphia needs to beat the Commanders on Sunday, despite resting several starters, and hope for a Lions’ win over the Bears in Chicago.
