Getty
The Seattle Seahawks don’t know their exact Divisional Round opponent yet, but they do know it’s going to be familiar.
After the Chicago Bears’ stunning 31-27 Wild Card comeback win over the Green Bay Packers on Jan. 10, Seattle’s opponent pool narrowed to two NFC West rivals: the Los Angeles Rams or the San Francisco 49ers.
That final answer will be decided Sunday when the 49ers (No. 6) visit the Eagles (No. 3), a January 11 matchup with kickoff set for 4:30 p.m. ET.
Seattle, the NFC’s No. 1 seed, will host the lowest remaining seed in the Divisional Round because the NFL reseeds after the Wild Card round.
The Bears’ win matters because it eliminated the No. 7 seed Packers, the one team that would have automatically been routed to Seattle as the “lowest seed left.”
With Green Bay out, Seattle can only draw:
- San Francisco (No. 6) if the 49ers win in Philadelphia, or
- Los Angeles (No. 5) if the Eagles knock out the 49ers.
Either way, it’s a familiar opponent, and a familiar tone. Seattle’s path now points directly back to the NFC West.
The Rams punched their ticket first, beating the Carolina Panthers 34-31 in a Wild Card thriller that ended with Matthew Stafford’s late touchdown pass.
If that’s where the bracket lands, it will be a third meeting between Seattle and Los Angeles this season, and Seattle already has two extremely recent snapshots of what a Rams game can turn into.
The Seahawks beat the Rams 38-37 in overtime in December to clinch a playoff berth, a wild game that also served as a reminder that L.A. can make you sweat for every inch.
Seattle also had the other side of it earlier in the year, dropping a tight 21-19 decision to the Rams. A game where Sam Darnold threw four interceptions and created a national discourse that could have been a distraction for the team.
If San Francisco wins Sunday, Seattle would host the 49ers, and the Seahawks will enter that matchup with the freshest confidence boost possible: a 13-3 win over San Francisco in Week 18 to clinch the NFC West and the conference’s No. 1 seed.
That game wasn’t fluky. Seattle’s defense controlled the night, and the Seahawks finished the regular season 14-3, locking up the bye and home-field advantage.
Quick context
- Seahawks: No. 1 seed, 14-3; clinched top seed with 13-3 win over 49ers
- Bears-Packers: Bears win 31-27; Packers eliminated
- Rams-Panthers: Rams win 34-31; Rams advance
- 49ers-Eagles: Jan. 11, 1:30 p.m. PT kickoff
- Seahawks-Rams 2025: Seattle won 38-37 OT; also lost 21-19
- Seahawks’ Divisional Round window: Jan. 17-18
Seattle will find out its opponent Sunday, but the tone is already set: either a Sean McVay Rams team built for chaos, or a 49ers squad Seattle just stifled.
