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# Burning Questions: What to Watch as Seahawks Host 49ers in Divisional Round
- URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/burning-questions-seattle-seahawks-host-san-francisco-49ers-divisional-round/
- Published: 2026-01-17T19:28:23.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-08T05:36:01.000Z
- Author: Corbin Smith
- Tags: Analysis, Game Day, Seahawks, Sam Darnold, Ken Walker III, Zach Charbonnet, Grey Zabel, Jalen Sundell, Ernest Jones, Drake Thomas

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1d/f2/1df2f77b-83dd-4bc0-a6d2-6d1bb5df89a3/content/images/2026/10/usatsi_27927100-jpeg-format-original.jpg)

SEATTLE, Wash. - Restoring its place as the NFL’s fiercest rivalry, no love will be lost when the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers get together for the second time in less than three weeks on Saturday night at Lumen Field, this time with an NFC Championship Game berth hanging in the balance.

Closing out the regular season in Santa Clara, the Seahawks held serve with a commanding 13-3 win over the 49ers behind a suffocating effort from coach Mike Macdonald’s defense, securing both the NFC West title and the No. 1 seed in the playoffs, earning a bye in the process. Despite numerous injuries to star players, San Francisco rebounded from that defeat that dropped Kyle Shanahan’s team to a six seed, upsetting Philadelphia on the road in the Wild Card round to set up a chance at redemption in Seattle.

Battling for the second time in 14 days, will the Seahawks be able to extend their current seven-game win streak into the playoffs? Or will the 49ers play the role of spoiler and continue to overcome tremendous odds to advance one win away from an improbable Super Bowl run?

Heading into Saturday’s prime time grudge match between two teams who love to hate one another, the answers to six key questions will loom large in determining who snags a spot in the NFC title game next weekend:

*\*All statistics courtesy of Pro Football Focus and TruMedia unless otherwise noted.*

**1\. Will Sam Darnold let the pigskin fly a bit more? And will his health allow him to do so?**

After spending much of his first season under center for the Seahawks airing it out to Jaxon Smith-Njigba and company and sitting north of nine yards per attempt up until Week 15, Darnold wasn’t near as aggressive seeking throws downfield two weeks ago, in part due to the 49ers having surprising success generating just enough pressure to speed up his processing and force quicker throws. He attempted a single throw that traveled more than 20 yards in that contest, living off of 10-19 yard throws in the intermediate level of the defense and seeing an uptick in throws behind the line of scrimmage via screens and check downs.

Interestingly, two of Darnold’s lowest games for yards per attempt came in both meetings with the 49ers, who have done a quality job of taking away shot play opportunities for the quarterback, managing to do so again in the finale even with the losses of Nick Bosa, Fred Warner, and Mykel Williams to injury. But for the season, San Francisco ranks a dreadful 23rd overall with 84 explosive pass plays allowed, suggesting that those chunk plays can be there for Seattle’s offense in the aerial game, especially considering the loss of Bosa has rendered the 49ers’ pass rush punch-less with a league low 20 sacks.

But going into the grudge match, San Francisco’s suspect pass rush and tendency for giving up big plays in bunches through the air has been put on the backburner due to Darnold’s new oblique injury. Both the quarterback and coach Mike Macdonald don’t anticipate the injury impacting his performance on Saturday night, but it’s not out of the question that his ability to throw the ball downfield could be compromised, depending on the severity of the strain. His mobility moving his launching point as a passer outside the pocket could also be diminished, particularly rolling out to his left where the injury will be stressed more throwing across his body.

If either one of those issues crops up, whether right out of the gate or later in the game, Darnold not having full access to arguably his biggest strength would be a substantial advantage for San Francisco, potentially having a domino effect that influences another key area of the game for Seattle…

**2\. Can Seahawks replicate their efforts from Week 18 running the football? How will 49ers try to counter?**

Speaking of that other key area, Seattle has been on an absolute tear running the football during its previous three games. From Week 16 to 18, Klint Kubiak’s crew ranked second in the NFL with 514 rushing yards, fourth in yards per carry (5.1), and third in yards before contact per rush (2.09), a dramatic improvement from the first half of the season where the team sat near the bottom of the league in all three categories. They also ranked fifth in explosive runs (10) in that three-game stretch, ripping off three of those in the Week 18 win over San Francisco, including a 27-yard touchdown run by Zach Charbonnet and a 3rd and 17 conversion by Ken Walker III that went for 19 yards.

The Seahawks finished the night with 180 rushing yards at Levis Stadium, carving up the 49ers’ front seven with success both in the zone and gap scheme game while also regularly winning off tackle and on perimeter runs. The duo of Walker and Charbonnet created major problems for an undermanned defense that still won’t have Warner back in the middle and could be down to third-string starters at linebacker, opening the door for the run game to continue to be a staple for Seattle offensively while helping take pressure off of a less-than-100% Darnold.

With that said, defensive coordinator Robert Saleh made significant adjustments in the second half two weeks ago that did yield improved results, as the Seahawks rushed for 65 yards in the final two quarters after rolling for 115 in the opening half. The 49ers brought a safety up for additional run support at a higher rate after halftime, decreasing two-high looks from 25% to 17% in the third and fourth quarter. Expect Saleh to dip into a similar game plan from the outset in Saturday’s rematch, putting the ball in Darnold’s court to see if the banged up signal caller can physically take advantage of single-high looks airing it out.

**3\. How will Grey Zabel, Seattle’s youthful offensive line handle playoff atmosphere for first time?**

Anchored by the arrival of Zabel, a first round pick out of North Dakota State, it can be argued that no offensive line improved more over than the past calendar year than Seattle’s, and the stats more than help paint that picture accurately. In 2024, the Seahawks allowed 54 sacks on Geno Smith and Sam Howell, tied for 29th in the NFL, while 8.3% of their drop backs ended with a sack, good for 24th overall. This season, the sack numbers were cut in half with Darnold only being brought down 27 times, the fifth-lowest total in the league, and the team finished ninth in sack percentage (5.3%) and pressure percentage (35.1%).

As the year has progressed, evidenced by averaging north of 170 rushing yards per game in the final three weeks of the season, Seattle’s run blocking has improved leaps and bounds as well. At the center of that growth, literally and figuratively, center Jalen Sundell has been a rock in the middle since coming back from a four-game absence with a knee injury, using his athleticism to dish out key blocks at the second level and exhibiting improved play strength at the point of attack working alongside Zabel. Getting left tackle Charles Cross back from a hamstring injury following a three-game absence should only further bolster the line’s performance.

At the same time, if there’s a reason for concern, Zabel, Sundell, and right guard Anthony Bradford have combined to play in zero playoff games and all three players will be making their postseason debuts on Saturday. While Zabel downplayed the situation being any different than a regular season game and both he and Sundell have played in win or go home playoff games at the college level, that lack of experience always bears watching with the lights shining ever so brightly in NFL postseason games. If the nerves get to the group at all and impact performance, that could be the difference between advancing and going home for the offseason.

**4\. Do the Seahawks stick with status quo defensively? Or make notable adjustments looking to stay ahead of Kyle Shanahan?**

Few defenses have dominated a Shanahan-coached offense as Seattle did in Week 18\. Aside from limiting San Francisco to just three points, tied for the fewest in a game since Shanahan took over in 2017, Brock Purdy finished with 127 passing yards and averaged a paltry 4.7 yards per attempt, struggling to work his magic outside of the pocket with pass rushers swarming after him all night. Meanwhile, the run game amassed just 53 yards on the ground. From front to back the Seahawks dictated the game as the more physical team, marrying up their pass rush with coverage on the back end to perfection.

Just two weeks later, Macdonald will be tasked with the challenging responsibility of building a game plan aimed at executing a similar encore. Shanahan surely will have new wrinkles ready to go after having this week to revisit the previous matchup and seek out ways to attack the Seahawks, who lived in Cover 6, which features Cover 4 with two deep “quarters” defenders on one side of the formation and Cover 2 with half coverage responsibilities on the other side. Macdonald dialed up Cover 6 looks on 28% of Seattle’s defensive snaps in that game, easily the highest mark for any team in Week 18, while also employing Cover 1 with man underneath at a 23.8% rate, tied for sixth-most.

Seattle also didn’t blitz often, though safety Nick Emmanwori made his presence felt hitting Purdy twice and generating a trio of pressures, an indicator that Macdonald may be more willing to roll the dice with added rushers if the rematch dictates the necessity to do so.

Looking at how the Seahawks have defended teams for the season in entirety, it would be a surprise if Macdonald doesn’t stick to the script in regard to zone coverage usage, as his defense ranked second in Cover 6 snap rate while sprinkling in Cover 3 and Cover 4 looks. But it will be fascinating to see if he continues to run as much man coverage as he did two weeks ago. Given the 49ers injuries, including George Kittle now being done for the year, he may believe in his athletes being able to get the job done one-on-one in coverage and make few changes. But it’s also possible, if not probable, he has some adjustments up his sleeve ready for Shanahan to bust out his man beaters as a big part of the game plan this time around.

**5\. Can Seattle come anywhere close to neutralizing Christian McCaffrey in the same fashion as two weeks ago?**

For most of his time in San Francisco, McCaffrey has been a thorn in Seattle’s side, proving to be an unstoppable force both as a runner and receiver. In 2022 and 2023, he had three straight games against the Seahawks with at least 108 rushing yards and had three rushing touchdowns, aiding a trio of victories for the 49ers. But since Macdonald arrived to overhaul a struggling defense, yardage has been much tougher for McCaffrey to come by.

While McCaffrey did have 73 receiving yards in Week 1 to help the 49ers escape Lumen Field with a 17-13 win, he averaged just 3.1 yards per carry as a runner with linebacker Ernest Jones and the Seahawks bottling him up from the start. He then endured one of the worst games of his career in Week 18, rushing for just 23 yards, his lowest total in a game since joining the 49ers, on eight carries. His six receptions didn’t do much damage either, netting 34 yards and just 5.7 yards per catch, while a key drop in the red zone led to an interception for linebacker Drake Thomas.

Down another playmaker with Kittle sidelined, San Francisco will have to lean even more on McCaffrey’s dual threat capabilities, and Shanahan may need to deploy more “pony” personnel with him and fellow running back Brian Robinson on the field together, with the former seeing more work sliding out as a receiver. As they did two weeks ago, the Seahawks will have to swarm to the football every time he touches it, and limiting his effectiveness after contact and after the catch will be critical to their chances of advancing to the NFC Championship Game.

If the explosive back gets going, the entire offense opens up for Shanahan, creating a boatload of play action opportunities and manufacturing more space for other pass catchers to get involved. Keeping that in mind, it’s safe to say that nothing may be more important to Seattle’s chances of playing another week than locking down the future Hall of Famer, which is always easier said than done.

**6\. Will the ‘Hawks special teams units stand up after a dismal end to the regular season?**

Looking back at the most recent matchup, the Seahawks easily could have won by 20 points or more, with the final score far from illuminating how much the road team dominated much of the night. Some of that can be blamed on the offense, as the team went to the sideline empty handed on their opening drive despite having 1st and goal at the 49ers one-yard line. There certainly were missed opportunities for Darnold sprinkled in throughout the night, including a fourth down miss to Cooper Kupp on that aforementioned drive that he would have loved to have back.

But more points were left off the scoreboard on special teams with Jason Myers turning in his worst game of the season. The veteran place kicker missed two field goals, including clanking a 26-yard chip shot off the right upright late in the fourth quarter, wasting a 16-play, 94-yard drive that melted nearly nine minutes off the clock with nothing to show for it. In addition, San Francisco’s lone points came off of gifted field position via penalty against Myers, whose second quarter kickoff failed to reach the landing zone and gave the 49ers the football at their own 40-yard line, basically meaning they had to drive only 20 yards to be in field goal range. Those miscues alone kept the game far closer than it should have been.

Going into Saturday night, the Seahawks and 49ers look to be evenly matched on special teams, ranking second and third in overall EPA in that phase of the game. As is often the case in the postseason, mistakes in the kicking game in particular tend to be magnified in elimination games, and Seattle needs Myers to bounce back coming off the bye week if it wants to move on to play another week. Getting key contributions in the kick and punt return game from Rashid Shaheed to give Darnold and the offense better starting field position would also be a major difference maker after he had a somewhat quiet season finale.