With their win over the San Francisco 49ers in Week 18, the Seattle Seahawks didn't just clinch the NFC West, but the top overall seed as well.
Seattle's defense shut down the Niners, completely suffocating all options for Brock Purdy. As a result, Seattle recieved a bye in the wild-card round of the NFL playoffs.
Seattle now knows who it will play in its first postseason game.
Here's a look at who the Seahawks' next opponent after their bye week.
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NFL playoff bracket 2026
Who do the Seahawks play next?
The No. 1 seed favors the Seahawks. Not only did Seattle get a bye in the NFC Wild Card Round bye, but the playoff seeding isn't a straight bracket. The matchups are re-seeded for the divisional round. This means that the No. 1 Seahawks would play whatever team was still alive with the lowest seed.
The San Francisco 49ers upset the Philadelphia Eagles as the No. 6 seed. Since the Green Bay Packers lost to the Chicago Bears, the last remaining seed for the NFC divisional round is San Francisco. The Seahawks will host the 49ers on Saturday Jan. 17.
San Francisco and Seattle bookended the regular season. The 49ers won 17-13 in Week 1, but the Seahawks won in Week 18, 13-3. The rubber match of the season between the two franchises will end up being the most important between them with the winner advancing to the NFC championship game.
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