Mid-Season Primer: Where do things stand after the trade deadline?
Every offseason just like clockwork, as soon as the draft is complete and the season schedule is released, expert predictions for the season come fast and furious. We all flock to them to see where our team is projected and will laud or admonish where our team is placed. Sometimes those predictions are spot on. Sometimes they are dead wrong. And sometimes, your team has $100 million dollars of salary on the injured reserve halfway through a season. As we enter the second half of the 2025 NFL season, where do the 49ers stand amongst the rest of the NFC West, as well as the conference as a whole?
Trade Deadline Changes
After Tuesday’s trade deadline, several teams in the NFC appear to have improved. The Cowboys, Eagles, and Seahawks made splashy trades to set themselves up for a postseason run while everyone else mostly held the line with the rosters they have.
The addition of WR Rasheed Shaheed in Seattle is a move that QB Sam Darnold will love. A viable deep threat to complement Jaxson Smith-Njigba, Shaheed will immediately add to an already explosive offense in the Pacific Northwest.
Philadelphia was able to pry DE Jaelan Phillips away from Miami with a third-round pick while keeping the Dolphins on the hook, pun intended, for $5 million in salary that was converted into a bonus.
Always in need of attention and coming off of a humbling loss to the Arizona Cardinals, Jerry Jones acquired Jets DT Quinnen Williams for a 2026 second round pick, a 2027 first round pick, and DT Mazi Smith. The Cowboys were also able to trade for Bengals LB Logan Wilson for a late-round pick.
Standings
NFC West Current Playoff Field
Seahawks 6-2 1) Eagles
Rams 6-2 2) Buccaneers
49ers 6-3 3) Seahawks
Cardinals 3-5 4) Packers
5) Rams
6) 49ers
7) Lions
If the season ended today, the 49ers would finish third in the West and with the sixth seed in the NFC. With remaining games against the Seahawks and Rams, both at home, they have an opportunity to win the division outright but will face an uphill battle to do so with the number of injuries they will have to overcome. Outside of the current top seven seeds, the Bears, Panthers, Vikings, and Cowboys are still very much in the hunt as well.
NFC West Remaining Key Games
49ers: vs Rams (11/9), vs Panthers (11/24), at Colts (12/22) vs Bears (12/28), vs Seahawks (Week 18, Date TBA)
What was a last place schedule entering the season suddenly looks much more daunting as the 49ers have five of their remaining games against teams that are fighting for playoff spots.
Rams: at 49ers (11/9), vs Seahawks (11/16), vs Buccaneers (11/23), at Panthers (11/30), vs Lions (12/14), at Seahawks (12/18)
The month of November for the Rams is a gauntlet having to face four teams that are battling for a playoff spot. The Rams also still have five divisional games remaining to play.
Seahawks: at Rams (11/16), vs Vikings (11/30), vs Colts (12/14), vs Rams (12/18), at Panthers (Week 17, Date TBA), at 49ers (Week 18, Date TBA)
The Seahawks will have four divisional games remaining, with two of those against the Rams.
Arizona has a huge hill to climb sitting at 3-5 with matchups against six potential playoff teams remaining on their schedule. With every team in the West facing critical matchups, the remaining divisional games will create significant separation, especially between the Rams and the Seahawks as the 49ers already hold a 3-0 divisional record.
Who will emerge from the NFC West as the season winds down? Only time will tell but be assured that the remainder of the season will have no shortage of drama and fireworks as the first half has set up the division for a sprint to the finish line!