San Francisco star tight end George Kittle will miss the 49ers' key game in playoff positioning on Sunday night against the Chicago Bears with an ankle injury. Kittle missed the full week of practice after getting hurt Monday night in a win against Indianapolis and was unable to go in a game the 49ers (11-4) needed to win to have any chance at winning the division title.

The 49ers are in a tight race for the NFC West title. Here's how San Francisco can win the division over the final weeks of the 2025 NFL season.

Catch the San Francisco 49ers take on the Chicago Bears on Sunday, December 28. Here's everything you need to know to stream the game.

The 49ers (10-4) have a better shot at the NFC’s No. 1 seed and a potential Super Bowl home game thanks to the Seattle Seahawks (12-3) overtaking the Los Angeles Rams (11-4) in overtime.

According to The Athletic, the Rams will have a 37% chance to win the West if the Colts win, or a 19% chance if the 49ers win. That’s because the 49ers own the tiebreaker over the Rams based on their winning percentage in the division, so the Rams would have to finish one game ahead of San Francisco in order to be a higher seed.

It wasn't just the Seahawks celebrating Thursday's night win. The 49ers now have a path to the NFC West title, too.

The NFC West has three teams with at least nine wins. In Week 14, though, the San Francisco 49ers, idle on their bye week, lost ground. The Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks each won their 10th game of the season. Meanwhile, the Arizona lost for the 10th time this season, further separting themselves from the rest of the division.

San Francisco would have a better chance at the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs if Seattle can pull off the victory at home.

San Francisco could suddenly be a dark-horse team to win the NFC West and get the conference's No. 1 overall seed.