49ers-Seahawks game to decide NFC West title and first-round bye flexed to prime time
The biggest game of the Week 17 slate has been flexed to the largest television stage.
The 49ers’ contest against the Seattle Seahawks next Sunday has been moved from the 1:25 p.m. slot to 5:20 p.m. and will be broadcast on NBC’s “Sunday Night Football,” the league announced Sunday.
“I kind of expected it,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said. “The only negative is probably giving the Seattle fans a little more time. That doesn’t matter too much because it’s always as loud as it can be. But we’re excited. It’s always fun and an honor to have the 2019 season, for us and Seattle, to be the only two teams playing there at the end, where everyone gets a chance to watch you. I know it’s a big game and we’re excited the whole country gets to see it.”
The stakes of the game couldn’t be higher for a regular season finale. The winner will win the NFC West and likely earn a first-round bye as one of the top two playoff seeds. If San Francisco (12-3) wins, it will be the No. 1 seed and have home field advantage throughout the playoffs.
The loser would be a Wild Card team that would get no bye.
The 49ers haven’t won in Seattle since 2011, though a case could be made this is the most complete team they’ve brought to raucous CenturyLink Field this decade.
“It’s going to be loud,” quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo said Saturday following the 49ers’ 34-31 victory over the Rams. “We know it’s going to be a hostile environment. I can’t wait for it. It’s going to be awesome. It’s going to be a great challenge for us.”
The 49ers lost 27-24 when these two teams played Nov. 11 in an overtime thriller that included a missed game-winning field goal from former kicker Chase McLaughlin, who was an injury replacement for Robbie Gould.
Since Gould returned, he’s made deciding field goals as time expired in two of the past three games.
This story was originally published December 22, 2019 at 1:46 PM.
