As difficult as it may be to believe, the 2025 NFL regular season officially reached its halfway point when the last second ticked off the clock in the Arizona Cardinals' much-needed 27-17 victory over the Dallas Cowboys this past Monday night. And with that Arizona win, the NFC West as a whole went a perfect 4-0 in Week 9, with every victory coming in convincing fashion.
The division-leading Seattle Seahawks took their third straight game and improved to 6-2 on the season with a 38-14 win over the Washington Commanders. The second-place Los Angeles Rams also now own a three-game winning streak and improved to 6-2 with a 34-10 victory over the New Orleans Saints. And, of course, the San Francisco 49ers shook off an embarrassing Week 8 loss to the Houston Texans with a 34-24 bounce-back win over the New York Giants, thus upping their record to 6-3.
As it stands, the NFC West is the only division in the NFL in which three teams have at least six victories. So, it's pretty obvious to see why it was so important for the Niners to get back on the winning track, as this division is clearly going to come down to the wire, just as it did a season ago.
In regard to the overall NFC standings, let's see where things stand at the midway point.
49ers are one of 5 teams in the NFC with 6 wins
Here's a look at the NFC playoff picture heading into Week 10. The top seven teams in the conference at the end of the regular season, of course, will earn postseason berths.
Updated NFC playoff picture
Philadelphia Eagles (6-2, 1st NFC East)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-2, 1st NFC South)
Seattle Seahawks (6-2, 1st NFC West)
Green Bay Packers (5-2-1, 1st NFC North)
Los Angeles Rams (6-2, 2nd NFC West)
San Francisco 49ers (6-3, 3rd NFC West)
Detroit Lions (5-3, 2nd NFC North)
Chicago Bears (5-3, 3rd NFC North)
Carolina Panthers (5-4, 2nd NFC South)
Minnesota Vikings (4-4, 4th NFC North)
Dallas Cowboys (3-5-1, 2nd NFC East)
Arizona Cardinals (3-5, 4th NFC West)
Atlanta Falcons (3-5, 3rd NFC South)
Washington Commanders (3-6, 3rd NFC East)
New York Giants (2-7, 4th NFC East)
New Orleans Saints (1-8, 4th NFC South)
Again, you can see why the win over the Giants was so crucial for the 49ers, who bumped up one spot from where they were a week ago, by the way, into the No. 6 slot, as did the Rams into the No. 5 position. And the reason for that is because the Detroit Lions fell to 5-3 on the season and dropped from fifth to seventh in the standings after being upset by the Minnesota Vikings.
Every win matters, of course, but they're obviously going to continue to feel more and more important over the next nine weeks. And with the division playing out as it is, and the fact that nine teams in the NFC have either five or six wins, there's going to be very little room for error down the stretch.
The great news for the Niners as it pertains to the NFC West race is that they already own victories over every other team in the division, beating the Seahawks in Week 1, the Cards in Week 3, and the Rams in Week 5.
And they're about to get a chance to gain even more control, as San Francisco squares off with the Rams this upcoming Sunday at Levi's Stadium and will then travel to Glendale for a Week 11 date with the Cardinals. And on that same day the 49ers take on Arizona, the Seahawks will battle the Rams. So, these next two weeks will go a long way in how the NFC West is represented in the postseason.