The San Francisco 49ers found out the hard way the Seattle Seahawks defense is quite a bit better than that of both the Tennessee Titans, Indianapolis Colts and Chicago Bears, whom the Niners faced and dominated in previous weeks.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan's attempts to get anything going against the No. 2-ranked defense in a critical Week 18 Saturday night showdown at Levi's Stadium simply gained no traction, and this was evident early after the Niners managed just 69 net yards by the time halftime rolled around.
By the 13-3 game's end, the 49ers managed just 173 total net yards of offense, gaining just nine first downs in the process.
And yet Seattle seemed to hand opportunity to opportunity back to Shanahan and Co.
A decision by the Hawks to go for it on 4th-and-short deep in the red zone didn't convert, and Seattle missed a first-half field goal, too.
It was going to be a tall order for the 49ers' own defense to contain a stout Seahawks run game, and the early indications didn't look great for coordinator Robert Saleh. And that meant quarterback Brock Purdy and the rest of the offense had to deliver.
But, for all of Seattle's mistakes to score points, its defense managed to halt a San Francisco offense that had averaged more than 40 points over its last three games.
And just when you thought the 49ers had a chance, a ball bouncing off the hands of running back Christian McCaffrey and getting picked by the Hawks defense was, well... brutal:
Red zone takeaway by Drake Thomas and the Seahawks!
— NFL (@NFL) January 4, 2026
SEAvsSF on ESPN/ABC
Stream on @NFLPlus and ESPN App pic.twitter.com/eEOrqbxdpn
Ouch.
Seahawks shut down 49ers offense, deny San Francisco No. 1 seed in playoffs
The bigger picture ultimately is what mattered most from the game, and the winner of the two NFC West rivals would secure the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoff picture, get a first-round bye during the Wild Card round and have home-field advantage throughout the postseason.
And, for the 49ers if they won out, they'd get to play the Super Bowl at Levi's Stadium.
Instead, the Seahawks victory to improve to 14-3 secures them the top seed in the conference and the associated benefits, while the Niners now fall to a Wild Card spot and will await the outcome of the Los Angeles Rams' regular-season finale against the Arizona Cardinals to determine if it's the No. 5 or No. 6 seed.
If LA wins, San Francisco becomes the sixth seed, a far cry from the No. 1 spot.
Either way, it'll be a signficantly tougher road for Shanahan, Purdy and Co. as they hope their previous momentum picks back up to the point it was before the Hawks arrived in Santa Clara.