NFC Divisional Playoff - As if two meetings between two of the NFL's best teams wasn't enough, a third match-up would be slated between the No. 6 seeded San Francisco 49ers and the No. 1 seeded Seattle Seahawks, two hated rivals hailing from the NFC West. With just one win separating these two teams in the regular season standings with a Week 18 regular season-finale being the deciding factor in who would have home field advantage throughout the playoffs, "what could've been" would be the theme for the San Francisco 49ers had they won that week 18 match-up against Seattle and had they had a healthy roster that was without not only three of their best players and emotional leaders, but three of the best players in the entire league in Fred Warner, Nick Bosa and George Kittle. But after reigning victorious the week prior on the road against the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card round, the many holes left by those injured 49ers would prove to be too large and would take their toll against a stout Seahawks team that was out for blood from the first play on, while boasting the league's best defense.
Despite having won four straight games over the Seahawks at Lumen Field entering Saturday, the most in team history, the 49ers' lone playoff game in Seattle, however, ended in defeat with the infamous Richard Sherman-Michael Crabtree beef during the 2013 NFC Championship. While things between these two teams aren't quite as heated as they once were, there would be no love lost as both sides had their fair share of trash talk before game day. Unfortunately, the back-and-forth banter would end up being more eventful than the game itself considering how one-sided things became in the opening moments. From the opening-kickoff, the rout was on. With San Francisco winning the coin-toss and electing to differ, Seattle would make that a regrettable decision by pouncing on their opponent with a 95-yard kickoff returned for a touchdown by Rashid Shaheed. Shaheed, a trade deadline acquisition from the Saints known for his speed, entered Saturday's game as the only player in the NFL with a kickoff and a punt return for a touchdown this season. He would add a third which would give his team an early 7-0 advantage, sucking the air right out of the San Francisco sideline.
Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold who would make his second career playoff start, entered the day questionable to play after getting hurt during practice in the days leading up to Saturday with an oblique injury that Darnold admitted he had never dealt with before. But after Seattle jumped out to an early lead without having to take a single snap on offense thanks to the team's red-hot start on special-teams, coupled with a dominant performance from the team's defense, Darnold was able to take a backseat and play things safe, allowing his running back Kenneth Walker III to do most of the dirty work. Staring down an early 7-0 hole, Brock Purdy and the 49er offense would make it past midfield on their opening-drive, but a failed 4th and 1 attempt would leave them empty handed with a turnover on downs. After initially appearing to have converted a first down with a completed pass, the officials blew the play dead and awarded Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald with a very late timeout call that left everyone on the field and watching from home confused. Most notably was coach Shanahan who was absolutely livid with the officials. The referees wouldn't be the only ones getting an earful from the 49ers' head coach, however, as second-year cornerback Renardo Green was also seen being chewed out and temporarily benched for something that upset his coach.
With San Francisco hoping for a more successful drive on their second possession, things again would go south as backup tight-end Jake Tonges who was the hero in the Week 1 win over Seattle, hauled in an 11-yard reception for a first down before fumbling the ball away and giving the Niners their second turnover in as many possessions. Unlike the turnover on downs which only led to a Jason Myers field goal, the Seattle offense was able to capitalize with a touchdown following the fumble as Darnold connected with his favorite target and number one receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba inside the end zone. By the end of the first quarter the 49ers were already down 17-0 and in need of a jolt quick. San Francisco's offense would finally begin to string together a few successful drives before the half but were unable to make it to the end zone and were forced to settle for field goals as kicker Eddy Pineiro converted on kicks of 40 and 56 yards to help his team chip away, now trailing 17-6. With the Niners getting the ball to open the second half, forcing a Seattle punt like they did on their previous possession would be a huge win to keep the game within striking distance. Sadly, that would not be the case as the Seahawks were able to run the ball right through the San Francisco defense, eventually scoring on a 7-yard touchdown from Walker III.
The drive would come at a cost, however, as Seattle's dynamic-duo of Walker III and Zach Charbonnet took a hit when Charbonnet left the game with what coach Macdonald would later confirm to be a season-ending torn ACL in his left knee. Taking over possession to open the second half, the 49ers would have a tall task ahead having to claw back from being down 24-6 and having been manhandled thus far in all three facets of the game. Things would only continue to sour as San Francisco's first four possessions of the second half would all end in turnovers -- fumble, interception and two on downs. With a chance to get their All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner back the following week for the NFC Championship game, the 49ers who were playing inspired football in hopes of a return for their emotional leader and defensive captain, would unfortunately witness that magical ride come to an end. After a Jason Myers field goal, Kenneth Walker III would put the finishing touches on a dominant night by completing the hat-trick with his second and third rushing touchdowns of the evening as Seattle stormed their way to a one-sided 41-6 victory. In what would go down as the most lopsided loss for the 49ers in the Shanahan era, the Seahawks matched their largest playoff win in franchise history while advancing to the franchise's fifth conference championship and first since 2014.
Sam Darnold recorded his first career playoff win by throwing for 124 yards and a touchdown against his former team, while Brock Purdy threw for 140 yards and an interception. Seattle's Cooper Kupp led all receivers with 60 yards on 5 receptions, besting both Jake Tonges and Christian McCaffrey who each had 5 receptions for 59 and 39 yards receiving, respectively.
Looking ahead - With San Francisco's remarkable Cinderella season now over, it's still a remarkable feat given the 49ers were able to advance this far and win as many games as they did in spite of all the challenges they endured and all the injuries they sustained. To be without their number one receiver Brandon Aiyuk for the entire season, have their two best defensive players go down for the season by Week 6, to missing their starting quarterback for eight weeks, to losing their future Hall of Fame tight-end and emotional leader in the first half of a playoff game that they would go on to win in, it would be quite difficult to deem this season a failure given all the pieces they were deprived of and lost along the way. Coach Shanahan should be the runaway favorite to win the Coach of the Year Award for those very reasons. 49ers left-tackle Trent Williams described it perfectly when explaining during the team's postgame interview that they were, "playing with house money" when describing the many obstacles they overcame in the face of adversity. With a franchise QB now locked in under contract for years to come and some promising young talent that should only grow and get better with the experience they gained this season, the future remains bright for this 49ers group.
What they will now need to focus on is improving the roster to keep pace with the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks, two teams they share a division with that will now compete in the conference championship for a shot at a Super Bowl title. While the 49ers claimed early season wins over both teams this year, they went on to drop the rematch to each team and clearly have areas in which they need to improve on if they want to catch up and eventually surpass their division foes. For coach Kyle Shanahan who has enjoyed success against the competition in the NFC West for most of his tenure, appears to have a new thorn in his side as the Macdonald-led Seattle defense has now kept Shanahan's offense to under 7-points twice this year, something that had only been done one other team entering this season. The team will also be back to the drawing board and in search of yet another defensive coordinator as Robert Saleh is expected to take the head coaching job of the Tennessee Titans, leaving San Francisco searching for their fifth defensive coordinator in the Shanahan-John Lynch era. Early candidates to potentially land the vacant DC role include Brian Flores, Raheem Morris, Jim Schwartz, KJ Wright, and current 49ers assistant head coach Gus Bradley.
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