After disposing of the Panthers on Sunday, the Seahawks tied a franchise record with 13 wins this season. But to capture the coveted No. 1 seed in the NFC to clinch not only the NFC West, but a first-round bye and home-field advantage in the playoffs, they’ll need a 14th win.
That one, a monumental showdown with the San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara, will happen on Saturday night. The game, which will decide winner of the top seed, was slotted into Saturday’s prime-time slot at 5 p.m. on ESPN.
Both teams will be coming off short rest with everything still to play for. The 49ers, despite a litany of injuries, have surged to six straight wins and a 12-4 record, which included a thriller of a win over the Bears on Sunday night. Meanwhile, the Seahawks have six straight wins themselves, including Sunday’s workmanlike 27-10 win over the Panthers.
The opening line for Saturday’s game has the 49ers as 1.5-point favorites at home against the Seahawks.
While the matchup itself will be one that will go down among the biggest in the storied history between the NFC West rivals, the timing of it has drawn plenty of backlash.
Here’s a sampling of how people are reacting to the game itself, and the Saturday draw.