2) Pass rush should tilt the scales
The Seahawks own one of the best organic pass-rushing attacks in the NFL, featuring five players with 40-plus pressures (the most in the NFL). They rank fourth in the NFL in QB pressure rate (38.9 percent) while blitzing at one of the lowest rates (25th) in the NFL. According to NFL Pro, they rank 11th in defensive efficiency with no blitz and are the best in the NFL in this metric when they do blitz, meaning they’re going to cause problems regardless of whether they send extra rushers. That’s bad news for the 49ers, because Purdy and the San Francisco offense has struggled mightily against the blitz this season, ranking 24th in passing efficiency. The proof is in their two meetings, too: Seattle increased its blitzing by a rate of nearly 2:1 from their first contest to their second and reaped the benefits, forcing a completion percentage over expected of -4.7 percent on a night in which the 49ers couldn’t do much of anything positive offensively.
Conversely, San Francisco is known to lack a pass rush after losing every notable rusher to injury this season. The 49ers rank last in sacks (20), are tied for 29th in interceptions (six) and are the second worst pressure-producing unit in the NFL at 26.7 percent. However, there are positive clues in their most recent meeting with Seattle. Despite lacking a fear-inducing rusher, San Francisco generated a pressure rate of 36.7 percent in Week 18, a rate that was higher than Seattle’s 34.4 percent. If they can pressure Sam Darnold — the NFL’s giveaway leader in 2025 — they can create bonus opportunities. They have to find a consistent path to the quarterback, though, which has been a challenge and could prove pivotal if they fail to do so.
3) Will Seahawks lean on ground game again or trust Darnold?
Seattle dominated San Francisco both on the scoreboard and in the emotional arena because of the fashion in which the Seahawks asserted their will on the 49ers in Week 18. Kenneth Walker III ran 16 times for 97 yards and Zach Charbonnet added 74 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries in their ground-heavy victory over the 49ers, proving they can triumph without depending heavily on Darnold. It’s a safe method for a team that has Darnold — a notoriously unreliable, if not disastrous quarterback in the biggest games who is also questionable for this contest due to an oblique injury — under center. If Seattle wants to insulate Darnold from the most intimidating elements of a playoff game and protect his health, it seems leaning on Walker and Charbonnet is the best approach. But is it replicable? San Francisco’s defense — a unit that ranked 11th in run defense in 2025 — just allowed Philadelphia to run for 140 yards on Wild Card Weekend and surrendered a season-high 180 yards in Week 18. They’re trending in a negative direction just as Seattle’s rushing attack appears to be ascending after averaging 140.6 rushing yards per game from Weeks 10-18. We can guarantee Robert Saleh knows this and is preparing as best as possible to stop the run, perhaps at all costs. We’ll see if it’s enough to force the Seahawks to turn back to their ailing quarterback — the same passer who was sacked nine times and responsible for two giveaways in his last playoff appearance — in order to triumph Saturday.
