The 49ers had a good offense this season. But the Seahawks had a better defense.
After Seattle ended San Francisco’s season with a dominant win in the divisional round of the playoffs, the numbers are in: The 49ers scored a total of 26 points in three games against the Seahawks, or 8.7 points per game. In their other 16 games, the 49ers scored a total of 440 points, or 27.5 points per game.
49ers quarterback Brock Purdy threw two touchdown passes and four interceptions against the Seahawks; he threw 18 touchdown passes and six interceptions against all other teams.
San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan will surely spend a lot of time this offseason studying Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald’s defense, and trying to figure out why the 49ers’ usually strong attack was shut down by their division rivals.
49ers left tackle Trent Williams said last June that he hopes to play into his 40s and his outlook didn’t change over the course of the season.
Williams, who turns 38 in July, missed Week 18 with a hamstring injury, but played in every other game and confirmed his plans to return for the 2026 season after Saturday night’s 41-6 loss to the Seahawks. Williams also said that he thinks big things are coming for the 49ers once they return to the field.
“We had a lot of young guys that contributed a lot to our success, and they have really, really bright futures,” Williams said, via 49ersWebzone.com. “I’m super proud of this team. Obviously, it ain’t go the way we wanted to, but the future is really bright.”
The 49ers have two assistants interviewing for head coaching jobs and there will be plenty of other work to do to shape the roster before it is time to play again, but it doesn’t look like finding a new left tackle will be part of their offseason agenda.
Rashid Shaheed got the party started in Seattle, and Kenneth Walker, DeMarcus Lawrence and Ernest Jones turned out the lights on the 49ers.
The Seahawks beat down their NFC West rivals, winning easily 41-6 to advance to the NFC Championship Game for the first time since 2014. They will host the winner of Sunday’s Rams-Bears game.
Shaheed returned the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown, with 49ers kicker Eddy Pineiro’s attempted trip not slowing the returner a bit. It was Shaheed’s third return for a touchdown since the Seahawks acquired him from New Orleans on Nov. 4.
The Seahawks led 24-6 at halftime and 34-6 after three quarters. It was ugly and got uglier before the Seahawks called off the dogs.
Walker scored three touchdowns on runs of 7, 15 and 6 yards, seeing more snaps with Zach Charbonnet injuring a knee in the second quarter. He had 19 carries for 116 yards and three catches for 29 yards.
The Seahawks defense, which ranked No. 1 in scoring in the NFL, held the 49ers to six points, forced three turnovers and made two sacks. Lawrence had a sack, two forced fumbles and three tackles, and Jones had six tackles, a forced fumble and an interception. Leonard Williams had a fourth-down sack of Brock Purdy.
The 49ers, coming off a victory over the Eagles last Sunday, ran into a buzzsaw Saturday. Seattle earned the bye week and home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs with a 13-3 victory over the 49ers in Week 18. The 49ers beat Seattle 17-13 in Week 1.
The Seahawks had 17 points in the first quarter Saturday.
The 49ers punted only once, but turned it over on downs three times to go along with the turnovers. The Seahawks’ scoring drives covered 44, 42, 80, 36, 47 and 37 yards as they outgained San Francisco only 281 to 236.
Sam Darnold, who was questionable to play with an oblique injury, went 12-of-17 for 124 yards and a touchdown. Cooper Kupp caught five passes for 60 yards, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba caught three passes for 19 yards and a touchdown.
Purdy, who was without tight end George Kittle, was 15-of-27 for 140 yards and an interception and lost a fumble. He ran for 37 yards on five carries. Christian McCaffrey, who had a stinger at the end of the first half, had 11 carries for 35 yards and caught five passes for 39 yards.
Seahawks left tackle Charles Cross returned Saturday night, playing for the first time since a Dec. 14 game against the Colts. He missed three games with a hamstring injury.
Cross, though, didn’t make it through the third quarter against the 49ers.
He injured his foot and is questionable to return.
It seems unlikely, given that the Seahawks lead 41-6, that Cross would return even if given the green light. His injury will bear watching this week, though.
Josh Jones, who replaced Cross for three games, is inactive tonight with a knee injury. Undrafted rookie Amari Kight has replaced Cross tonight.
The Seahawks padded their lead with 12:43 remaining in the fourth quarter when Kenneth Walker scored his third touchdown of the night. He ran for a 6-yard score, giving him 19 carries for 116 yards.
The Seahawks are rolling toward the NFC Championship Game.
Seattle has added 10 points on its first two drives of the second half, increasing its lead to 34-6 over the 49ers with 2:23 remaining in the third quarter.
The 49ers opened the second half by turning the ball over on downs on a 14-yard sack of Brock Purdy by Leonard Williams. The Seahawks went 36 yards in eight plays, with Jason Myers kicking a 24-yard field goal.
On the 49ers’ next possession, Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones intercepted Purdy.
Six plays and 47 yards later, the Seahawks were in the end zone with Kenneth Walker running 15 yards for a touchdown. It was Walker’s second touchdown of the night, and he has 14 carries for 79 yards.
Sam Darnold is 12-of-17 for 124 yards and a touchdown.
The Seahawks’ scoring drives have covered 44, 42, 80, 36 and 47 yards.
