- WHERE: Levi's Stadium (Santa Clara, Calif.)
- WHEN: 8 p.m. ET
- HOW TO WATCH: ESPN, ABC, NFL+
Saturday’s NFL doubleheader will carry significant importance for the upcoming playoffs.
Both games could decide two NFC division championships, with the Panthers and Buccaneers meeting with the NFC South on the line and the 49ers hosting the Seahawks with the West -- and the No. 1 seed -- up for grabs.
A Panthers win would clinch their first division title since 2015, when they reached the Super Bowl. Interestingly, Tampa Bay winning wouldn’t clinch its fifth straight division title with a victory -- the Bucs also need the Saints to beat the Falcons in Atlanta.
The Bucs and Panthers are crawling into their matchup amid recent struggles. The Seahawks and 49ers, however, duel with matching six-game win streaks. Each will carry significant weight in shaping the 2025 postseason field.
Two must-know storylines
1) Darnold must play more efficiently vs. battered 49ers defense
Sam Darnold answered some of his critics in Week 16 with his late heroics against the Rams, which helped flip the divisional hierarchy and set up this winner-take-all game in Santa Clara. But in last week’s win at Carolina, Darnold also lost a fumble, threw an interception and was lucky to have not had multiple other passes picked. The Seahawks have lived dangerously with their 28 turnovers this season, and Darnold has been responsible for 20 of those (14 INTs, six fumbles lost), with more turnovers (10) than touchdowns accounted for (eight) since Week 11. He’s also been at the wheel of 27 victories the past two seasons, so Darnold is doing something right. If he can harness his playmaking ability while limiting turnovers, the Seahawks could be in great shape. The 49ers’ pass rush has struggled, with only 18 sacks -- eight fewer than the next-lowest team. That could mean intermediate targets for the Seahawks’ talented tight ends and deep shots for wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, especially off play action from the Seahawks’ run game, although the status of WR Rashid Shaheed (concussion) is unclear.
2) Red-hot Purdy hopes to sting stingy Seahawks defense
There have been few hotter quarterbacks down the stretch than the 49ers’ Brock Purdy, who has accounted for five TDs in each of his past two games, leading the team to 48- and 42-point outings. The Seahawks, on the flip side, are the second-best scoring defense in the NFL at 18.1 PPG allowed, with only two opponents able to top the 24-point mark against them this season. Purdy has leaned heavily on Christian McCaffrey down the stretch, as the All-Pro back is leading the team in rushing and receiving. The 49ers also hope to get tight end George Kittle back from injury, although there are other injury concerns. McCaffrey (back) missed practice this week, as did full back Kyle Juszczyk, and left tackle Trent Williams (hamstring) could miss this game and could be rested for the playoffs, which would be a big loss in such a meaningful game. Seattle is a bit banged up defensively, although that unit rebounded at Carolina by holding the Panthers to 139 yards last week with two turnovers.