#nfc-west

#nfc-west

Christian McCaffrey's back is aching, understandably so. His 399 touches are the most ever in a 49ers' season. The 49ers' offensive workhorse has yet to miss a game this season, but a "stiff" back kept him from Tuesday's 5 p.m. walk-through practice at Levi's Stadium, ahead of Saturday's high-stakes kickoff against the Seattle Seahawks for the NFC playoffs' No. 1 seed. Also shelved Tuesday were left tackle Trent Williams (hamstring), fullback Kyle Juszczyk (hip) and defensive lineman Keion White (groin). Tight end George Kittle was cleared to practice in a limited capacity, a week after spraining an ankle at Indianapolis and missing Sunday night's 42-38 win over the Chicago Bears.

Purdy was up to the challenge. Behind Purdy's five total touchdowns (two rushing, three passing), the Niners outlasted the Chicago Bears 42-38 in a wild shootout on Sunday Night Football. It's San Francisco's first time scoring 40-plus points in back-to-back games since November 1995. With the win, the 49ers improved to 12-4 and will host the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday night with a whole lot on the line: the NFC West division title, the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs.

Outside of the Falcons, the rest of the league is in a heated battle throughout, with 23 teams vying for all 14 playoff spots, which are still up for grabs. But even better, we have a few teams that can clinch their spots in the playoffs: The Denver Broncos, New England Patriots, and Los Angeles Rams can all clinch a spot in the dance this week with wins against their opponents.

Midnight Mode, indeed. On the day the Rams donned black uniforms for the first and only time this season, the offense largely went dark. Red-hot quarterback Matthew Stafford cooled. Star receivers Davante Adams and Puka Nacua struggled to consistently make the clutch plays that they often make look routine. But safety Kamren Kinchens and the Rams' defense managed to keep the Seattle Seahawks at bay - just barely.

Entering Week 10, the Rams have a 37.1% chance to win the division, followed by the 49ers (35.0%) and Seahawks (27.6%), according to ESPN Research. It's the sixth time since 2002 that there are three teams from the same division with at least six wins each through Week 9, according to ESPN Research. It happened last season in the NFC North with the Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings.

He will have the misfortune of having to take on the Minnesota Vikings in London, but at least that is expected to be a neutral-site game, even if the NFL schedule lists Cleveland as the home team. Gabriel is not going to come out there and light the world on fire. But it will be interesting to see how he performs against one of the best-coached defenses in the NFL.

Rams coach Sean McVay jokingly blames his grandfather for creating 49ers fans everywhere. The Rams could see another large contingent of visiting 49ers fans at SoFi Stadium for their NFC West showdown on Thursday night. Both teams enter at 3-1, with 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy's status uncertain because of a toe injury.