Here’s where things stand for the 49ers’ playoff run

With the NFC’s top seed already secured and a first-round bye coming next week, the San Francisco 49ers are in the catbird seat for the NFC. But for fans already looking at the journey ahead toward the franchise’s sixth Super Bowl win, good luck trying to figure out when and who the Niners will play for their first postseason game. 

The NFL does not offer fans much of a chance to plan, instead focusing on optimizing the game times for television. Fans likely won’t know the exact date and time of the Niners’ potential divisional round game until the Sunday evening of Wild Card Weekend, which is Jan. 13-15. It will probably be late evening, too: The last two announcements both came after 8 p.m. PT on that Sunday.

But thanks to the NFL’s preset playoff schedule, we at least know Brock Purdy and Co. will suit up either Saturday, Jan. 20, or Sunday, Jan. 21, and they’ll play at Levi’s Stadium thanks to their No. 1 seed status. The four potential kickoff times for when the 49ers could host that first playoff game: either 1:30 p.m. or 5:15 p.m. PT on Jan. 20, or either noon or 3:30 p.m. PT on Jan. 21.

For those already looking ahead to the next round (or two) and assuming a 49ers win, the NFC Championship game will kick off at 3:30 p.m. PT on Sunday, Jan. 28.

As important as the kickoff time is for fans, it pales in comparison to figuring out what team the 49ers will play. As we enter Week 18, there are still 11 teams alive for the seven NFC playoff spots, with several layers of tiebreakers potentially needed to determine who makes the playoffs, let alone who the 49ers could face. The answer to the 49ers’ opponent question may well be better addressed by understanding who they can’t play.

As the No. 1 seed, the 49ers will face off against the lowest-remaining seeded team in the NFC. So if the No. 2 seed — the NFC East winner, whether that’s the Cowboys or the Eagles — and the No. 3 seed Lions both win their wild-card games, the 49ers would face the winner of the wild-card game between the No. 4 seed (the NFC South winner, whether that’s the Buccaneers, Saints or Falcons) vs. No. 5 game (the NFC East team that doesn’t win the division).

If the No. 2 seed is upset by whichever team sneaks in as the No. 7 seed — the Packers are most likely to get that last spot, but the Seahawks, Buccaneers, Saints and even the 7-9 Vikings are all still alive — the 49ers will automatically face that No. 7 seed because they would be the lowest seed in the NFC.

If the No. 2 seed wins, eliminating the No. 7 seed, but the No. 3 seed is upset by the No. 6 team, then the 49ers would host the No. 6 seed. The most recent example of this scenario is last year, when the 49ers were the No. 2 seed and hosted the No. 5 seed Cowboys (and beat them) because the No. 6 seed Giants pulled off an upset over the Vikings, leaving them to face the No. 1 seed Eagles.

Basically: It’s a mess. Most matchups will remain unknown not just through this weekend, but into next weekend. Still, following it all on this final regular season weekend is what the RedZone channel is meant for.