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NFC home-field advantage is still up for grabs — who's favored for top seed?
San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey. Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

NFC home-field advantage is still up for grabs — who's favored for top seed?

The NFC playoff picture got more interesting with the San Francisco 49ers' 33-19 to the Baltimore Ravens on Monday night.

San Francisco is one of four teams alive for the No. 1 seed, which guarantees home-field advantage throughout the conference playoffs and a bye for the wild-card round. Here are the four teams in the running for top seed, ranked from most to least likely to get the No. 1 slot. (Records are through Week 16.)

1. San Francisco 49ers (11-4)

Remaining schedule: at Washington (4-11), vs. Los Angeles Rams (8-7)

Losing to Baltimore — an AFC team —won't count toward San Francisco's record against conference opponents, which could work to its advantage in tiebreakers. Despite Monday night's setback, the 49ers should still be considered the favorite for the top seed in the NFC because of head-to-head wins over Dallas and Philadelphia and a favorable schedule to end the regular season. Washington, which has lost six straight, is hopeless, and the Rams have lost nine straight regular-season games to the 49ers.

2. Philadelphia Eagles (11-4)

Remaining schedule: vs. Arizona (3-12), at New York Giants (5-10)

While the Eagles have the easiest remaining schedule of any team, they're still looking up at the 49ers due to San Francisco's 42-19 win at Philadelphia in Week 13. Winning out and clinching the NFC East isn't the hard part for the Eagles. Hoping that San Francisco loses at least one of its next two is what Philadelphia needs for the No. 1 seed, which seems unlikely.

3. Detroit Lions (11-4)

Remaining schedule: at Dallas (10-5), vs. Minnesota (7-8)

The Lions clinched their first division championship in 30 years with a 30-24 win at Minnesota Sunday. Detroit has the hardest remaining schedule of the four main NFC contenders. The Lions face a tough test Saturday night against a Dallas team that hasn't lost at home since Week 1 of 2022, and their Week 18 matchup against Minnesota could be do-or-die for the Vikings, who still have slim playoff hopes. Still, Detroit has a better shot than Dallas at the No. 1 seed.

4. Dallas Cowboys (10-5)

Remaining schedule: vs. Detroit (11-4), at Washington (4-11)

Even if the Cowboys win Saturday to claim a head-to-head tiebreaker over the Lions, past mistakes could doom their chances at the NFC East, let alone the No. 1 seed. Dallas has one more loss than Philadelphia and would need the Eagles to lose at least one of their next two to have a shot at the division title. Furthermore, the Cowboys were blown out by San Francisco 42-10 in Week 5. This means that Dallas would need the 49ers to lose out to have any shot at the No. 1 seed. 

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