Across the long and arduous NFL season, it’s not always easy to compare teams or measure success. Teams play different schedules, and each game is played under different circumstances. Travel, injuries, and the capricious nature of luck factor into every result.
But in the 2025 season, only eight NFL teams finished with 12 or more wins. Three of those teams happened to be in the same division, the NFC West. The Seattle Seahawks, Los Angeles Rams, and San Francisco 49ers. This marked the first time in NFL history that a single division had boasted three 12-win clubs. (The feat became more attainable, perhaps, when the NFL moved to a 17-game schedule in 2021.)
Now in the Divisional Round of the playoffs, on the NFC side of the bracket, only four teams remain — those three NFC West teams, and the Chicago Bears. This is only the fourth time that one division has accounted for three of a conference’s final four playoff spots.
It seems safe to say, then, the NFC West appears to be the best division in football — and odds are, one of these three division rivals will be playing in the Super Bowl next month.
Which one could it be? Well, Seattle, Los Angeles, and San Francisco all played each other tough this year. Each of them went 1-1 against each of the other two, and matchups involving these three teams produced some of the most compelling games of the season. Take San Francisco’s 26-23 overtime win, with a backup quarterback, over Los Angeles; the Rams’ nail-biting 21-19 win over the Seahawks, in which Seattle missed a 61-yard field goal as time expired; or Seattle’s thrilling 38-37 comeback, overtime win over Los Angeles, decided by a successful two-point conversion.
On any given week, it seems, any one of these three teams could beat another.
Seattle entered the playoffs as the NFC’s No. 1 seed, thanks in large part to its defense, which held opponents to a league-low 17.2 points per game. The Seahawks, coached by defensive specialist Mike Macdonald, have a stout front and an athletic back end. They have four players who’ve recorded at least six sacks, and two others who’ve recorded at least four interceptions.
Seattle may need to lean on its defense. The Seahawks’ quarterback, Sam Darnold, is dealing with an oblique injury, and his status for their game Saturday, against San Francisco, is in doubt. If he does play, he’s also unproven in the playoffs. Darnold made his postseason debut last year playing for the Minnesota Vikings, and it … did not go well. He had two turnovers, was sacked nine times, and never got into a rhythm. Who was the opponent that gave him so much trouble? The Los Angeles Rams.
The Rams’ defense was just as aggressive this season, but they also had the best offense in football. Led by coach Sean McVay and quarterback Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles averaged more yards (394.6 per game) and more points (30.5) than anyone. Stafford is a candidate for the MVP award, but he might not be 100 percent healthy. He sprained the index finger on his throwing hand in the Wild Card round of the playoffs last week. He also turns 38 years old the day before the Super Bowl.
Meanwhile, the San Francisco 49ers have their own injury concerns. They just lost tight end George Kittle, who suffered a torn Achilles last weekend in their win against the Philadelphia Eagles. Three of their other stars are also in less-than-top shape — running back Christian McCaffrey has seemed hobbled by a back injury lately; Trent Williams, the team’s best offensive lineman, has dealt with a hamstring issue; and linebacker Fred Warner has been out since October, when he fractured and dislocated his ankle. (Warner has indicated there’s a chance he returns this week.)
Not to mention, San Francisco had to start backup quarterback Mac Jones eight games earlier this season, while franchise quarterback Brock Purdy recovered from a toe injury.
Somehow, despite all of these obstacles, coach Kyle Shanahan steered the 49ers into the playoffs — and when this team makes the playoffs, it tends to make the opportunity count. Since 2011, San Francisco has reached the postseason eight times. In the previous seven instances, the 49ers advanced at least as far as the NFC Championship game, if not further.
On Saturday, San Francisco will play Seattle, hoping to keep that streak going. On Sunday, the Rams play in Chicago. Good luck to the prognosticators who have to predict these games. All we know is, there’s a chance the NFC Championship next week will be an all-NFC West affair.