The Seattle Seahawks are embarking on their first playoff run under head coach Mike Macdonald, and they will do so as the NFC’s No. 1 seed for the fourth time in franchise history.
Seattle clinched the conference’s top spot and its first NFC West title since 2020 with a 13-3 win over the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday night.
The Seahawks (14-3) and 49ers (12-5) squared off in a matchup between arguably the NFL’s two hottest squads with the division crown, the NFC's top seed and first-round bye all for the taking, with Seattle winning its seventh straight and snapping San Francisco’s six-game winning streak.
“That’s definitely a point of pride that we can have at least one home playoff game in front of the 12s," Macdonald said postgame. "They’ve been dynamite this year. They’ve been absolutely just incredible. We’re really excited to stay home."
The Niners will now take the NFC’s No. 5 or 6 seed, pending on the outcome of the Los Angeles Rams’ Sunday finale against the Arizona Cardinals. With a Rams win, the 49ers will be the sixth seed; with an L.A. loss, San Francisco will be No. 5. Either way, the 49ers are headed on the road for the Wild Card Round.
Meanwhile, the journey back to Saturday’s venue of Santa Clara, California, for the Super Bowl, now goes through Seattle, with the Seahawks having upped their odds of a return trip as history bodes well for the franchise in this scenario.
This is the fourth time in team history that Seattle has clinched the No. 1 seed, and in each of the previous three instances, they’ve advanced to the Super Bowl (2005 season under Mike Holmgren; 2013-14 seasons under Pete Carroll).
Macdonald, in his second season after replacing Carroll, will aim to be the third head coach to pilot the Seahawks on a Super Bowl run and join his predecessor as the only coaches to win a Lombardi Trophy for the franchise.
Macdonald’s Seahawks set a franchise record for wins in a season with their 14th on Saturday and have emerged from what is widely considered as the league’s toughest division -- the NFC West -- with the title.
“I’m really proud of our team," Macdonald said. "They love each other, man. It is so much fun to go to work every day and coach this team. It is an absolute honor to coach these guys.”
Now, it’s up to quarterback Sam Darnold, Pro Bowl wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba and a talent-laden defense to rest up on the bye and then vie for the club’s first playoff win since a 2019 wild-card triumph against the Philadelphia Eagles.
A new NFC heavyweight has materialized in the 2025 season, with the Seahawks ensuring the road to the Super Bowl will go through the Pacific Northwest.
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