The Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers will be fired up for a game full of animosity on Sunday, but they’re also the two best teams in the NFL. The rivalry brings the energy level up, but even in Week 5, this game could have more playoff implications than any other on the entire schedule.
Last year, these two teams met in the league’s regular-season finale to decide the NFC West title and the NFC’s No. 1 seed. San Francisco didn’t score a touchdown and Seattle captured both. With a combined regular-season and postseason record of 26-8 last year, don’t expect either team to lose many more games the rest of the way.
Seattle has a 3-1 record after they flinched early against the Washington Commanders in Week 3. They need to gain a game back
on the 49ers to take control of the division in 2026. The only way to guarantee that is to take one from their red-and-gold rivals themselves.
The second matchup comes in Week 12. Between this game and that one, both teams have brutal schedules. The 49ers’ opponents — the Commanders, the Atlanta Falcons, the Las Vegas Raiders, the Dallas Cowboys, and the Minnesota Vikings — have a combined record of 12-9. The Seahawks’ opponents — the Denver Broncos, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Chicago Bears, the Arizona Cardinals and the Raiders — have a combined record of 13-7. The phrase “must-win game” is only meant to cause hysteria, but Sunday is as important as it gets for either side.
This article originally appeared on Seahawks Wire: Seahawks-49ers in Week 5 could shape the entire NFC West race
