By Matt Barrows, Michael-Shawn Dugar and Vic Tafur
The Seattle Seahawks hadn’t hosted a playoff game in front of their fans in nearly a decade. It took them only a few seconds Saturday night to give the roaring 12s something to celebrate.
Rashid Shaheed returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown, and top-seeded Seattle never let up, routing the sixth-seeded San Francisco 49ers 41-6 in an NFC divisional-round game. The Seahawks will host the winner of Sunday’s matchup between the Los Angeles Rams and Chicago Bears in the NFC Championship Game next Sunday. Seattle hasn’t been in a conference title game since advancing to back-to-back Super Bowls in the 2013 and 2014 seasons.
Winning in rowdy Lumen Field was already going to be a tough test for the undermanned 49ers, whose season-long injury issues continued last weekend, when star tight end George Kittle tore his Achilles tendon. It got worse Saturday: Running back Christian McCaffrey suffered a stinger, and Jake Tonges, Kittle’s replacement, hurt his foot. Both missed part of the second half.
It might not have mattered against the Seahawks. Coach Mike Macdonald’s defense allowed the fewest points in the league during the regular season, the first time the Seahawks had done that since their Legion of Boom days. They seemed to get better as the season went on, nearly blanking these same 49ers, 13-3, in a regular-season finale that gave Seattle a season-closing seven-game win streak and the top seed in the NFC.
The 49ers’ offense fared slightly better Saturday, but their first four drives resulted in a turnover on downs, fumble and two field goals. They trailed 17-0 after the first quarter and went on to suffer their worst loss in coach Kyle Shanahan’s nine-year tenure.
Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold, who was listed as questionable with an oblique injury after feeling discomfort during Thursday’s practice, started the game but wasn’t asked to do much, completing 12 of 17 passes for 124 yards and a touchdown with no turnovers. He made way for backup Drew Lock with the Seahawks up by 35 with 9:12 to play.
Seattle suffered two potentially problematic injuries of its own. Running back Zach Charbonnet, who led the Seahawks with 12 touchdowns in the regular season, left with a knee injury. Left tackle Charles Cross injured his foot in the third quarter. Both were ruled questionable and did not return. With Charbonnet absent, Kenneth Walker III finished with 19 carries for 116 yards and three touchdowns.
The Seahawks and Rams played two thrilling games in the regular season: Los Angeles won 21-19 at home in Week 11, and the Seahawks charged back for a 38-37 overtime win in one of the best games of the regular season in Week 16. Seattle hasn’t played the Bears since beating them 6-3 late in the 2024 season.
Seahawks turn tables on division rival
When the Seahawks lost to the 49ers in the wild-card round of the playoffs in January 2023, then-Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said one of the reasons his team got routed was the lack of difference-makers up front compared with what the 49ers put on the field. Seattle has since flipped the script. Led by a front seven with multiple All-Pro players, the Seahawks are equipped to dominate just about anyone up front, as the rival 49ers have now witnessed firsthand for the second time in three weeks.
Seattle ran all over the 49ers’ defense, led by Walker. Meanwhile, McCaffrey had nowhere to run against one of the best run defenses in the league. He had just 35 yards on 11 carries.
Brock Purdy did plenty of running — mostly because players in navy blue jerseys were harassing him in the backfield. Purdy was sacked twice, the second resulting in a lost fumble while his team trailed by 35 in the fourth quarter.
This version of the Seahawks has the firepower to put a beatdown on anyone, which is why they led the league with a point differential of plus-191 in the regular season. And now they’ve just dished out the most lopsided result of the playoffs. — Michael-Shawn Dugar, Seahawks beat writer
Seahawks’ recent acquisitions dominate
This was quite a night for general manager John Schneider and the Seahawks’ front office. All three Seattle turnovers were forced by players recently acquired outside of the draft. All-Pro linebacker Ernest Jones IV, acquired for a fourth-round pick in October 2024, forced a fumble in the first half and had an interception in the second. Pro Bowl outside linebacker DeMarcus Lawrence, signed in free agency, forced a fumble in the fourth quarter.
Ernest Jones IV, in his first full season with the Seattle Seahawks, was responsible for two turnovers in a playoff win over the 49ers. (Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images)
The most electrifying play was made by Shaheed, the Pro Bowl return specialist who was picked up for fourth- and fifth-round picks earlier this season. He returned the opening kick for a touchdown and set the tone for the evening. — Dugar
Niners’ wide receivers not a factor
What kind of game was it for the 49ers’ passing attack? Running back Christian McCaffrey and tight end Jake Tonges accounted for 98 receiving yards in the first half. The 49ers’ wide receivers? That group had 5 receiving yards in the opening half, 4 from Jauan Jennings and 1 — on a trick play — from Demarcus Robinson.
Ricky Pearsall appeared to make a diving catch in the second quarter, but closer inspection showed he didn’t control the ball. Jennings had another 19 receiving yards in the second half, but the quiet game highlighted what ought to be one of the 49ers’ major offseason projects: bulking up their receiver corps. As it stands, only Pearsall, Robinson, second-year player Jacob Cowing and rookie Jordan Watkins are in line to be on the team next season. Pearsall was hurt for half the season, Robinson had just one big game — last week’s 111-yard performance in Philadelphia — while Cowing and Watkins are unproven. Look for the team to use free agency and the draft to bolster the position. — Matt Barrows, 49ers beat writer
McCaffrey sidelined by a stinger
McCaffrey, who was held to 57 total yards in the teams’ Week 18 meeting, finished with 74 in this one. But the tailback, who usually takes all of the 49ers’ snaps at running back, was on the sideline on their second play of the game and began the third quarter nursing a left shoulder stinger. McCaffrey was seen pacing the sideline and moving his arm and shoulder, presumably to regain sensation in the joint. He returned to the field midway through the third quarter but left again in the fourth quarter with his left arm dangling by his side.
A year after Achilles and knee injuries limited him to four contests, McCaffrey started all 19 for the 49ers this season and finished second in yards from scrimmage to Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson. — Barrows
Niners’ special teams falters at the wrong time
The 49ers’ special teams had been a strength all season, with Luke Gifford even making the Pro Bowl. But the unit faltered in the playoffs. After not playing well against the Philadelphia Eagles last week, it gave up that 95-yard kickoff return to Shaheed to open the game
Chase Lucas missed a tackle, and kicker Eddy Piñeiro was flagged for making a soccer-style slide tackle attempt (Why not? Shaheed was scoring regardless). — Vic Tafur, 49ers beat writer
Tough night for 49ers’ secondary
Before Saturday’s game, 49ers general manager John Lynch had singled out rookie safety Marques Sigle and said the 49ers wouldn’t have beaten the Eagles last week without him. The roller coaster turns and dives fast, though, as Sigle had a rough, rough night against the Seahawks.
There was a pass interference call that set up the Seahawks’ first offensive touchdown. There was a missed tackle on the second one, a 7-yard run by Kenneth Walker. There were missed assignments, and Sigle was also late getting to the hole on a couple of runs. The Seahawks had 128 yards rushing midway through the third quarter, before garbage time officially began.
Sigle opened the season as a starter but was benched for Ji’Ayir Brown, who missed Saturday’s game with a hamstring injury.
It was a rough night for the secondary as a whole, as cornerback Renardo Green was seemingly benched momentarily after coach Kyle Shanahan was yelling at him on the sideline. Backup Darrell Luter Jr. was promptly beaten across the back of the end zone by Jaxon Smith-Njigba for a touchdown. — Tafur