It was over as soon as it started for the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday night, as an opening kickoff touchdown for the Seattle Seahawks Rashid Shaheed set the tone for a lopsided divisional round matchup. The undermanned 49ers, who reached the divisional round of the NFL Playoffs without several injured stars in George Kittle, Fred Warner and Nick Bosa, gave up 17 unanswered points in the first quarter.
It was over as soon as it started for the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday night, as an opening kickoff touchdown for Seattle Seahawks' returner Rashid Shaheed set the tone for a lopsided 41-6 divisional round matchup.
The undermanned 49ers, who reached the divisional round of the NFL Playoffs without several injured stars in George Kittle, Fred Warner and Nick Bosa, gave up 17 unanswered points in the first quarter.
On the first possession following Shaheed’s opening scurry to the endzone, San Francisco moved the ball past field and had a fourth-and-1 at Seattle’s 40-yard line.
After a late timeout was awarded to Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald, the 49ers ran an option pitch play with fullback Kyle Juszczyk lateraling it back to running back Christian McCaffrey.
The play was blown up by the stout Seattle defense, and the ensuing storm commenced.
While San Francisco showed minor signs of life with two 10-play second quarter drives that resulted in field goals to cut the lead to 17-6, Darnold led Seattle on a back-breaking 80-yard touchdown drive to close the half to close the door on any potential 49ers comeback.
The drive was capped off by the first of three rushing touchdowns for Seattle running back Kenneth Walker III, who had a monster night on the ground with 116 yards on 19 carries.
Darnold, who entered Saturday night as questionable with a left oblique injury, completed 12-of-17 passes for 124 yards with one touchdown pass on a 110.9 passer rating in his first career playoff win.
Jessica Cryderman - The Sporting Tribune
Seattle Seahawks quarterback, Sam Darnold (14) looks for a receiver to pass to during an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams on November 16, 2025 in Los Angeles, CA.
In the second half, the Seahawks continued to pour it on, adding on 17 points in the rout before both teams pulled their starters late in the fourth quarter.
After scoring just three points in the Week 18 final against Seattle, San Francisco’s looked just as inept and outmatched on Saturday night.
49ers quarterback Brock Purdy completed just 15-of-27 passes for 140 yards with an interception and a lost fumble, while tight end Jake Tonges also lost a fumble.
If the Los Angeles Rams advance against the Chicago Bears on Sunday, it will be a rubber match between NFC West rivals in the NFC Championship Game.
The Rams first beat the Seahawks in Week 11 at home on Nov. 16 after their defense forced four interceptions from Seattle quarterback Sam Darnold.
In Week 16 on Dec. 18, Los Angeles fell on the road in an overtime Thursday Night Football classic after a two-point conversion from Darnold to tight end Eric Saubert sealed it 38-37 in Seattle’s favor.
That second matchup was the difference between the Seahawks getting the No. 1 seed over the Rams, which gives Seattle home-field advantage in the NFC Championship Game on Jan. 25.
Category: General Sports
