NFC West has a stranglehold on the Divisional round

Seattle Seahawks

The number one seed Seattle Seahawks earned the bye week during the Wildcard round by finishing the season with a 14-3 record.

Seattle has a potent offense, but the defense is the real cog in the machine.

The San Francisco 49ers are coming to town, and the 12th man will be ready to rock the stadium and send the division rivals packing.

The season series was split, with each victory coming on the road.

In Week 1, San Francisco marched into Seattle and snuck away with a 17-13 victory, but the Seahawks exacted their revenge in Week 18 with a win to secure the top seed in the conference.

If Seattle wants to move on to the next round, they will need to copy the gameplan they used in Week 18.

Kyle Shanahan will have his team ready, but so will Mike Macdonald.

Los Angeles Rams

Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams will travel north to Chicago to take on Caleb Williams and the Bears.

The Rams had a hold of the top seed in the NFC for several weeks, and looked primed to keep it, but three losses in their final six games coupled with a strong surge by the Seahawks erased that dream.

Instead, the Rams are the fifth seed in the conference, and already won a nailbiter in Carolina to advance.

It will surely be cold, with some likely precipitation of some kind to go along with it.

That type of weather doesn’t bode well for the Rams’ passing offense, so the run game and defense will need to be a little better to make up for any struggles.

There is a path for the Rams to host the NFC Championship Game, and it starts with a road victory in Chicago.

If the Rams sneak out of Chicago with a victory and the 49ers manage to knock off the Seahawks, Stafford could be throwing passes to Puka Nacua at home for the rights to go to the Super Bowl.

San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers are the lowest seed remaining in the NFC as the sixth seed, and they have a date in Seattle.

After knocking off the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles on the road, the 49ers look to knock off their division rival on the road for the second time this season.

San Francisco defeated the Seahawks in Seattle in Week 1, and Kyle Shanahan and his team are confident they can do it again.

The 49ers spent much of the season without starting QB Brock Purdy, but still managed a 12-5 record.

It will be a great game that will be entertaining, for sure.