The NFC West belongs to the San Francisco 49ers.
The Niners clinched their first division title since the 2019 season on the strength of their 21-13 victory over the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan’s crew is the second NFL and NFC team to lock up a playoff berth following the Philadelphia Eagles, but the first to wrap up a division title.
“We’re extremely happy to be back in the dance,” Niners defensive end Nick Bosa told Prime Video’s Kaylee Hartung after the game. “All we ever talked about was just get back to the dance and now we’re in it.”
Despite a litany of injuries, the 49ers have kept on trucking and won their seventh consecutive game on Thursday to improve to 10-4. Thursday’s win also saw San Francisco complete the sweep over Seattle this season after having lost the previous four games in the division rivalry.
Last season, the 49ers marched to the NFC Championship Game as a wild-card entry. This time around, San Francisco is headed to the playoffs for the third time in Shanahan’s six-season tenure as a division champion.
With the 12-1 Eagles perched atop the NFC, it seems unlikely the Niners will catch them for the No. 1 seed, but they could knock the Minnesota Vikings (10-3) out of the second spot with three games left to play.
For now, though, the Niners are back in the playoffs and are NFC West champs for the first time since they last advanced to the Super Bowl.
