Seahawks secure No. 1 seed with 13-3 win over 49ers in NFC West showdown: Live updates and reaction
SOURCE:The Athletic|BY:The Athletic Live Team and more
Seattle rode its defense to a win over San Francisco to claim the NFC West and the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs
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Seattle rode its defense to a win over San Francisco to claim the NFC West and the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs
The Athletic Live Team and more
January 4, 2026 at 12:00 AM EST
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Seahawks beat up 49ers
Seattle knocked off San Francisco 13-3 tonight to win the NFC West title and earn the No. 1 seed for the NFC playoffs.
The Seahawks’ defense dominated the game, holding the 49ers to 173 total yards, while Seattle finished with 361 yards. Seattle finished the regular season with a seven-game winning streak, and it stopped San Francisco's six-game winning streak.
The Seahawks improved to 14-3 and will have a bye in the first round of the playoffs. The 49ers dropped to 12-5 and will play on the road in the first round.
The Seahawks have one of the league’s best defenses and proved it against a 49ers offense that was red hot coming into this game. Seattle’s two running backs had nearly as many rushing yards (171) as the 49ers had total yards (173). Seattle recorded eight quarterback hits, three sacks, an interception and five total passes defensed. Macdonald has completely revamped that side of the ball, and it’s clearly good enough to get these Seahawks through the playoffs and back to Levi’s Stadium for the Super Bowl.
Macdonald making a difference
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Mike Macdonald replaced a potential Hall of Fame coach and in his second season has done something his predecessor never accomplished: win 14 games. Led by a dominant defense, Seattle just completed the winningest regular season in franchise history and now the road to Super Bowl LX will go through Seattle for the first time since 2014. That season ended with a Super Bowl appearance, and Seattle is now a great shape to make a return to the big dance.
Christian McCaffrey started every game in 2025, likely will finish with the most touches of any player this season and didn’t lose a fumble in any of the 17 contests. Yet, his bobbled reception attempt at the Seahawks 3-yard line ended the 49ers’ best shot at getting back into the game. Brock Purdy, who had started to heat up during a fourth-quarter drive, found McCaffrey just in front of the goal line on second down. The tailback, however, couldn’t control the ball and it went from his arms into those of linebacker Drake Thomas, the only turnover of the game.
Injuries keep mounting for 49ers defense
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The 49ers lost two more starting defenders Saturday when linebacker Dee Winters injured his ankle in the second quarter and Tatum Bethune left with a groin injury in the fourth quarter. Winters arguably was San Francisco’s most consistently impressive player throughout the spring and summer, easily holding off third-round pick Nick Martin for the starting weakside spot. With Fred Warner (ankle) already out of the lineup, the 49ers’ top linebackers were Eric Kendricks and Garret Wallow with only Luke Gifford in reserve. Of that group, only Gifford, a special teams ace, spent the offseason with the 49ers. The team signed Kendricks on Nov. 26 and claimed Wallow off waivers on Dec. 8.
Third-down woes for San Francisco
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The 49ers entered Saturday’s game leading the league in third-down conversions at 51 percent but went only 2-for-8 in one of the worst offensive performance in coach Kyle Shanahan’s tenure. Apparently there is a reason the lightning-quick Seahawks defense was first in the league as well, allowing only 32 percent conversions coming in. The 49ers were 1-for-5 in the first half, the only successful play a 13-yard Brock Purdy pass to Jauan Jennings that led to a field goal that made it 10-3.
Purdy converted his first third down of the third quarter, but that would be it. The 105 yards gained by the 49ers were the fewest in the first three quarters of any game under Kyle Shanahan.
49ers' playoff path
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Kyle Shanahan on the 49ers in the playoffs:
💬 “Now we gotta do it the hard way.”
Ramifications of Seattle's win
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Seattle win means the Los Angeles Rams would be the No. 5 seed if they beat the Arizona Cardinals tomorrow. Otherwise, San Francisco is the No. 5 seed.
Special playoff run loading for Seattle?
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If Seattle's offense can operate with the efficiency it showed tonight, paired with a special defense, the Seahawks will be a real force in the postseason.
Sam Darnold was decisive, efficient and protected the football. Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet were dynamic and of course, Jaxon Smith-Njigba cannot be covered. I didn't even mention the home-field advantage at Lumen Field.
What could be next for 49ers?
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The 49ers fall to 12-5 and lose the No. 1 seed to the Seahawks, who win 13-3 in a game that was nowhere as close as the score indicates.
A first-round playoff game in Philly or Chicago likely awaits.
Seattle makes franchise history
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Seattle finishes 14-3, the most regular-season wins in franchise history.
The Seahawks win the NFC West. They are the No. 1 seed in the NFC and have home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
Last time that happened, they made the Super Bowl.
Seattle coaching, defense are scary
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All I know is the combination of Seahawks defensive talent and coaching is ridiculously scary. That unit is as airtight as it gets.
Update on Purdy
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Kyle Shanahan said Brock Purdy suffered a stinger on that final offensive play and that he's ok.
Seahawks-49ers takeaways: Seattle’s defense snuffs out San Francisco to claim NFC’s top seed
By Michael-Shawn Dugar, Matt Barrows and Vic Tafur
The NFC’s road to Super Bowl LX will go through Seattle for the first time since 2014, after the Seahawks smothered the NFL’s hottest offense in a 13-3 victory over the San Francisco 49ers in a pivotal regular-season finale at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.
With the win, the Seahawks (14-3) secured the conference’s No. 1 seed, the lone first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, as well as their first NFC West title since 2020. Seattle also set a franchise record with 14 regular-season wins and improved to 15-2 on the road during coach Mike Macdonald’s two-year tenure.
NFL Week 18 playoff scenarios: With NFC West title settled, what’s next?
With one day left in the NFL regular season, 12 of the 14 seeds in the postseason bracket remain undecided.
Nary a seed in the AFC has been solidified, including the No. 1 spot and the first-round bye that comes with it. That seed will go to either the Denver Broncos, New England Patriots or Jacksonville Jaguars, with the Jags the lone team that could land anywhere from No. 1 to No. 7 in the AFC.
The top seed in the NFC was finally decided Saturday night with the Seattle Seahawks’ win over the San Francisco 49ers in the Bay Area, but there’s plenty more to be determined in that conference, too. In fact, things are so absurd in the NFC South that a game between teams guaranteed to miss the playoffs will now determine whether the Carolina Panthers (8-9) or Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-9) represent the division with the NFC’s No. 4 seed.
Seahawks heading to Super Bowl?
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Seattle has everything it needs to make a run to the Super Bowl and possibly win it right back at Levi’s Stadium.
The Seahawks have a dominant defense, a strong running game and a steady quarterback. And now the Seahawks will have the home-field advantage in the NFC playoffs.
49ers have hit their wall
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It is amazing that Kyle Shanahan and Robert Saleh have kept the 49ers together enough to win six straight games. But this team ran out of gas tonight, and it is going to be almost impossible for San Francisco to go on a run through the NFC playoffs.
49ers final stats
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Here are notable statlines from San Francisco's offense on a down night:
Brock Purdy - 19-of-27, 127 yards, 1 INT
Christian McCaffrey - 8 carries for 23 yards; 6 catches for 34 yards
George Kittle - 5 catches for 29 yards
Demarcus Robinson - 3 catches for 24 yards
Seahawks final stats
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Here are the notable statlines from Seattle's offense:
Sam Darnold - 20-of-26, 198 yards
Kenneth Walker III - 16 carries for 97 yards; 4 catches for 36 yards
Zach Charbonnet - 17 carries for 74 yards, 1 TD; 3 catches for 23 yards
Jaxon Smith-Njigba - 6 catches for 84 yards
Darnold steps up
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How about Sam Darnold? Same spot last year & laid an egg…
Tonight, he was absolutely surgical, going 20-for-26 for 198 yards and was in control all night. Going to be hard to walk into Seattle with that No. 1 defense and beat them if Darnold plays like he did tonight.
