When the Seattle Seahawks last took the field in their Jan. 3 regular-season finale, they smothered the San Francisco 49ers for a 13-3 win at Levi’s Stadium that earned them the NFC West title and the NFC’s top seed.
What national voices are saying about Sam Darnold
After a first-round bye this past weekend, the Seahawks will face the 49ers again in Saturday night’s NFC Divisional Round playoff game at Lumen Field.
Will the playoff rematch be different?
“I don’t know that it will be,” NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah said Tuesday during his weekly appearance on Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk, adding that it’ll take an all-time masterclass from 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan to overcome his team’s barrage of injuries.
“If it’s going to be a different result, it’s going to be a play sheet that they’ll send to (the Pro Football Hall of Fame) in Canton, Ohio.”
Jeremiah listed three reasons why he expects the Seahawks to handle the banged-up 49ers again.
Hawks’ defense should have its way
For one, Jeremiah doesn’t think the 49ers’ injury-depleted offense can sustain drives against the Seahawks’ top-ranked scoring defense, especially after losing seven-time Pro Bowl tight end George Kittle to a season-ending torn Achilles on Sunday.
In their Week 18 matchup, the Seahawks held the 49ers to just 173 total yards. It was the 49ers’ lowest point total since 2017 and their lowest yardage total in a regular-season game since 2016.
San Francisco was able to muster 23 points against the Eagles in their wild-card win, but much of that was a result of explosive plays. The 49ers had four completions of 25-plus yards – including a 61-yarder and a 45-yarder – and 139 yards after the catch, according to Pro Football Focus.
“I don’t see that happening in this game against Seattle,” Jeremiah said. “Seattle’s not going to miss tackles. So it plays really well into how (the Seahawks) play. And we saw it unfold the first time.”
Another big night on the ground?
In their Week 18 matchup, the Seahawks ran the ball at will against a struggling 49ers defense that’s been missing superstars Nick Bosa and Fred Warner for most of the season. Seattle ran for 180 yards and 4.6 yards per carry, which was the fifth time over the final six regular-season games that San Francisco allowed at least 4.5 yards per carry.
“I don’t think (the 49ers) will be able to stop the run if you stay committed to it and go after them with a downhill run game,” Jeremiah said. “I thought Philadelphia could have done a more consistent job with that, just staying with it and pounding them. And I think Seattle did that the first time.”
The 49ers’ depleted pass rush
Without Bosa, Warner and rookie first-round edge rusher Mykel Williams, the 49ers’ pass rush has been one of the league’s worst this season. They finished with a league-low 20 sacks and the third-lowest pressure rate.
As Jeremiah noted, one of the best pathways to beating the Seahawks is pressuring quarterback Sam Darnold into turnovers. And with a toothless pass rush, the 49ers simply aren’t well positioned to do that right now.
“They just don’t rush the quarterback, because they’ve got no guys,” Jeremiah said. “They have no edge rushers. They’re all gone. … And if you’re going to look at Seattle and you’re getting ready to play them in a playoff game, I think the number one thing on the list is you’ve got to hit Sam. You’ve got to make Sam uncomfortable. You’ve got to force Sam into some turnovers and some bad decisions.
“And I just don’t know with where their roster is right now they’re equipped to do that.”
Listen to the full conversation with NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Tune in to Brock and Salk weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.
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• How Schneider built Seattle Seahawks back into a title contender
