Games between the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks are typically intense with the two rivals often competing for NFC West supremacy.
The Seahawks came out on top last season, winning a Week 18 showdown for the division title and a blowout in the divisional round against the 49ers. They went on to win the Super Bowl on San Francisco’s home field with a raucous celebration in their rival’s locker room.
The teams are now set to meet for the first time in the 2026 season when San Francisco (4-0) visits Seattle (3-1) on Sunday.
“I think it’s unspoken,” 49ers safety Malik Mustapha said about the lingering feelings from how last season ended. “Everyone knows what it is. Everyone knows the mindset going into it. We don’t like them, and we have to go after it and get the job done.”
San Francisco couldn’t do that late last season after injuries decimated their roster. The Niners fell 13-3 at home in the regular-season finale to lose the division and then 41-6 two weeks later on the road to end their season.
The Niners will look very different with George Kittle and Fred Warner healthy and playing at a high level after missing the playoff loss with injuries, and offseason acquisitions such as Mike Evans, Deebo Samuel, Osa Odighizuwa and Dre Greenlaw (Fayetteville/Arkansas Razorbacks) providing big boosts.
“I just feel like with us, we don’t totally get into that outer stuff very much,” 49ers Coach Kyle Shanahan said about looking for revenge. “Every game is so tough no matter who you play and you don’t really attach years before to certain games. I feel like we’re a new team, they’re a new team and we’ll see how this series starts this year.”
The Seahawks want to repeat the formula that worked well at the end of last season when their dominating defense once again frustrated Brock Purdy and the 49ers.
They allowed just three field goals, forced four turnovers, had five sacks and didn’t give up a single play from scrimmage that gained more than 20 yards.
“We tackled well. We limited extra yardage. We rushed the quarterback with discipline and married the coverage,” Coach Mike Macdonald said. “That’s what it takes to play good football in general. The guys played hard, played physical. Played well situationally.”
MATCHUP TO WATCH
Purdy vs. Macdonald. Purdy has been one of the most efficient quarterbacks since taking over in 2022 with a 105.7 career passer rating that is on pace to rank No. 1 all time when he has 34 more attempts to reach 1,500 for his career. He hasn’t had that kind of success against Macdonald. He threw four interceptions in a loss to Baltimore in 2023 when Macdonald was defensive coordinator and has struggled in five starts since Macdonald took over in Seattle. His 75.8 passer rating in those six starts against Macdonald are significantly lower than his career average.
STATS AND STUFF
The 49ers look to start the season 5-0 for the third time since 2019 and seventh time in franchise history. They made the Super Bowl after 5-0 starts under Shanahan in 2019 and ’23.
Seattle hasn’t allowed a 100-yard rusher in a franchise-record 33 straight games, including the playoffs, for the longest current streak in the NFL.
Source: www.nwaonline.com
