Rashid Shaheed got the party started in Seattle, and Kenneth Walker, DeMarcus Lawrence and Ernest Jones turned out the lights on the 49ers.
The Seahawks beat down their NFC West rivals, winning easily 41-6 to advance to the NFC Championship Game for the first time since 2014. They will host the winner of Sunday’s Rams-Bears game.
Shaheed returned the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown, with 49ers kicker Eddy Pineiro’s attempted trip not slowing the returner a bit. It was Shaheed’s third return for a touchdown since the Seahawks acquired him from New Orleans on Nov. 4.
The Seahawks led 24-6 at halftime and 34-6 after three quarters. It was ugly and got uglier before the Seahawks called off the dogs.
Walker scored three touchdowns on runs of 7, 15 and 6 yards, seeing more snaps with Zach Charbonnet injuring a knee in the second quarter. He had 19 carries for 116 yards and three catches for 29 yards.
The Seahawks defense, which ranked No. 1 in scoring in the NFL, held the 49ers to six points, forced three turnovers and made two sacks. Lawrence had a sack, two forced fumbles and three tackles, and Jones had six tackles, a forced fumble and an interception. Leonard Williams had a fourth-down sack of Brock Purdy.
The 49ers, coming off a victory over the Eagles last Sunday, ran into a buzzsaw Saturday. Seattle earned the bye week and home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs with a 13-3 victory over the 49ers in Week 18. The 49ers beat Seattle 17-13 in Week 1.
The Seahawks had 17 points in the first quarter Saturday.
The 49ers punted only once, but turned it over on downs three times to go along with the turnovers. The Seahawks’ scoring drives covered 44, 42, 80, 36, 47 and 37 yards as they outgained San Francisco only 281 to 236.
Sam Darnold, who was questionable to play with an oblique injury, went 12-of-17 for 124 yards and a touchdown. Cooper Kupp caught five passes for 60 yards, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba caught three passes for 19 yards and a touchdown.
Purdy, who was without tight end George Kittle, was 15-of-27 for 140 yards and an interception and lost a fumble. He ran for 37 yards on five carries. Christian McCaffrey, who had a stinger at the end of the first half, had 11 carries for 35 yards and caught five passes for 39 yards.
