- WHERE: Lumen Field (Seattle)
- WHEN: 8 p.m. ET
- HOW TO WATCH: FOX, FOX One, FOX Deportes, NFL+
They met at the start and end of the 2025 regular season. As division rivals with a memorable postseason history, they know each other well. Only one can advance to the doorstep of Super Bowl LX, though, and the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers will take the field on Saturday with the same goal in mind: survive and advance.
Way back in Week 1, San Francisco needed heroics from Brock Purdy and then-unknown tight end Jake Tonges to take down the Seahawks in Seattle, setting the stage for a season-long standings battle in the NFC West that concluded with a thud -- a punchless showing in a 13-3 loss to Seattle in Week 18 -- for the 49ers. Seattle rebounded from the kickoff weekend heartbreak and embarked on a 17-week journey that saw the Seahawks lose just twice more, win the NFC West and secure the conference's top seed and first-round bye.
As is the case with every participant coming off a bye, there will be a worry that rust could play a part. The Seahawks were perfectly fine the last time they played following a week off, though, detonating Washington on the prime-time Sunday night stage in Week 9 in one of their most impressive offensive showings of 2025. They also largely dominated the 49ers the last time they met, sending an emphatic message as both teams entered the playoffs.
Will that message ring loudly Saturday? Or can the 49ers respond with another upset win on the road?
Three must-know storylines
1) Can 49ers avoid repeating Week 18 nightmare?
Before diving into the details, it must be said: San Francisco's journey to the Divisional Round is an achievement in itself. The 49ers have lost a total number of key contributors that is bordering on absurd at this point, yet Kyle Shanahan has guided them through the fire of adversity to a 12-5 finish and an upset win on the road in Philadelphia on Wild Card Weekend. That alone represents a successful season, but that's not what the 49ers or their fans want to hear with a Divisional Round contest directly in front of them. Unfortunately, this reality has meant they truly only have one path to victory when facing most of the remaining contenders: They must outscore their opponent. The 49ers did the opposite in Week 18, watching their offense devolve from an incredibly explosive attack responsible for 26, 37, 41 and 42 points in their previous four contests into a unit that was incapable of reaching the end zone against Seattle. The Seahawks are built to capitalize on the 49ers' weaknesses, which largely only exist because of the injuries they've suffered. This is their reality, though, and it's up to Shanahan to devise a strategy that can lift them out of the mud in which they were stuck in Week 18. His creative game plan on Wild Card Weekend was a good start.
One of the silver linings of a season traveled with a vehicle held together by chewing gum and duct tape is the experience and confidence gained from such an adverse journey. Tonges is no longer an unknown, inexperienced tight end and is capable of filling in for the injured George Kittle, who suffered a torn Achilles last week. Jauan Jennings, Kendrick Bourne and Demarcus Robinson can carry the receiving group because they've had to do so all season. Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh is earning head coaching consideration because of how he's managed to extract blood from the stone that is the banged-up 49ers defense. They'll all have to do it again (and at an elite level) in order to keep their season alive beyond Saturday.
2) Pass rush should tilt the scales
The Seahawks own one of the best organic pass-rushing attacks in the NFL, featuring five players with 40-plus pressures (the most in the NFL). They rank fourth in the NFL in QB pressure rate (38.9 percent) while blitzing at one of the lowest rates (25th) in the NFL. According to NFL Pro, they rank 11th in defensive efficiency with no blitz and are the best in the NFL in this metric when they do blitz, meaning they're going to cause problems regardless of whether they send extra rushers. That's bad news for the 49ers, because Purdy and the San Francisco offense has struggled mightily against the blitz this season, ranking 24th in passing efficiency. The proof is in their two meetings, too: Seattle increased its blitzing by a rate of nearly 2:1 from their first contest to their second and reaped the benefits, forcing a completion percentage over expected of -4.7 percent on a night in which the 49ers couldn't do much of anything positive offensively.
Conversely, San Francisco is known to lack a pass rush after losing every notable rusher to injury this season. The 49ers rank last in sacks (20), are tied for 29th in interceptions (six) and are the second worst pressure-producing unit in the NFL at 26.7 percent. However, there are positive clues in their most recent meeting with Seattle. Despite lacking a fear-inducing rusher, San Francisco generated a pressure rate of 36.7 percent in Week 18, a rate that was higher than Seattle's 34.4 percent. If they can pressure Sam Darnold -- the NFL's giveaway leader in 2025 -- they can create bonus opportunities. They have to find a consistent path to the quarterback, though, which has been a challenge and could prove pivotal if they fail to do so.
3) Will Seahawks lean on ground game again or trust Darnold?
Seattle dominated San Francisco both on the scoreboard and in the emotional arena because of the fashion in which the Seahawks asserted their will on the 49ers in Week 18. Kenneth Walker III ran 16 times for 97 yards and Zach Charbonnet added 74 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries in their ground-heavy victory over the 49ers, proving they can triumph without depending heavily on Darnold. It's a safe method for a team that has Darnold -- a notoriously unreliable, if not disastrous quarterback in the biggest games who is also questionable for this contest due to an oblique injury -- under center. If Seattle wants to insulate Darnold from the most intimidating elements of a playoff game and protect his health, it seems leaning on Walker and Charbonnet is the best approach. But is it replicable? San Francisco's defense -- a unit that ranked 11th in run defense in 2025 -- just allowed Philadelphia to run for 140 yards on Wild Card Weekend and surrendered a season-high 180 yards in Week 18. They're trending in a negative direction just as Seattle's rushing attack appears to be ascending after averaging 140.6 rushing yards per game from Weeks 10-18. We can guarantee Robert Saleh knows this and is preparing as best as possible to stop the run, perhaps at all costs. We'll see if it's enough to force the Seahawks to turn back to their ailing quarterback -- the same passer who was sacked nine times and responsible for two giveaways in his last playoff appearance -- in order to triumph Saturday.
49ers' Divisional Round injury report
Seahawks' Divisional Round injury report
The playoffs are here and you won't want to miss a moment. Now you don't have to! With NFL+ Premium, watch every playoff game live on mobile, get NFL RedZone during the regular season, stream game replays, and more! And for a limited time, get 40% off an NFL+ annual plan. Offer ends 2/16/26. Sign up today!