New Delhi, Jan. 3 -- A primetime Week 18 clash at Levi's Stadium turns into a winner-take-all fight for the NFC West crown and the conference's No. 1 seed.

SANTA CLARA - The NFL has spent months selling the idea that its final weekend can still feel like a beginning. On Saturday night at Levi's Stadium, the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers, division rivals separated by a thin band of geography and a thicker history of grudges, meet with the NFC West title and the conference's No. 1 seed in the playoffs on the line. The stakes are stark. The winner earns the division crown and home-field advantage. The loser tumbles into the wild-card field. Sports rarely offers a simpler bargain.

The league itself has framed the matchup as one o...