Seahawks win NFC West Division and secure the NFC West No. 1 seed with a dominant 13-3 win over the Niners.

The Seahawks stayed true to form  in their epic win over the San Francisco 49ers in Levi Stadium. Play dominant defense, have a bruising run game, and play complementary football.  The Seahawks’ No. 2-ranked scoring defense held the Niners to just 13 points. The Niners’ offense was averaging over 40 points per game in their last three games.

“  It was a great team win, and I am really proud of these guys. We know who we are, we know what our core competence is, and we just keep attacking it,” said Mike Macdonald.  “Our coaches have to hear from me every once in a while, which, and they’ve been great, you know, just solving problems and keep attacking it.”

The Seahawks’ defense was simply dominant from start to finish. The Niners’ offense entered the game as the top offense when it comes to third-down conversions. The Niners were 0-3 on third-down conversions in the first half and finished the game converting 2 of 9 third downs  and 53 rushing yards.  The Niners finished the game with 173  total yards.

 COMPLEMENTARY  PLAY BY THE OFFENSE

To have a chance to win, the  Seahawks offense had to score when needed and take care of the football.  While they came close to a turnover, the Seahawks’ offense scored when it did not need to. On the first drive of the game, the offense marched down the field to the Niners ‘ four-yard line  but  was stopped on fourth down after a Sam  Darnold incomplete  pass .

The defense forced a three-and-out. On the ensuing punt, the Niners were called for a face mask penalty after an eleven-yard return by Rashid Shaheed.   The play saw the Seahawks start the ball on the  Niners 35 35-yard line. Two players later on third and two, Zach Charbonnet gave the Seahawks the lead on a 27-yard TD run.

“ Just an incredible game. Kind of a weird game. 
I feel like, you know, we, as an offense, we didn’t execute the way that we wanted to in the red zone at the end of drives,” said Sam Darnold. “Our defense, I mean, they just, they step up, time after time, and, our special teams played lights out.”

RESILIENCE OFFENSE

The defense continued to stuff the Niners run game, and hunt quarterback Brock Purdy.  A Derick Hall sack on second and eight forced a third and nine which saw the  Niners fall short and punt the ball back to the Seahawks offense. The running game continued to flourish  with  Ken Walker and Zach Charbonnet taking turns at gashing the Niners’ defense. What was not flourishing was the special teams.  Jason Myers   47-yard field goal attempt was wide right. Another defiant stance by the defense stopped the Niners on 4^th and one.  Ric Woolen, Ty Okada, and Jarran Reed came up big in the sequence. The Seahawks executed their rush-and-cover strategy to perfection.  Myers made up for his earlier transgression when his 45-yard field goal split the uprights for the 10-0 lead.

NINERS START THE SECOND HALF STRONG

The  Niners looked like they had solved the Seahawks’ defense when they marched from their 12-yard line to their 42-yard line with an up-tempo offense. The quick execution gave the Seahawks little time to reset between snaps. The Seahawks defense found its breath and footing, and the Niners’ promising drive was stalled when Reed sacked Purdy for a minus-6-yard loss on second down, and Nick Emmanwori forced an incomplete pass on third down. The offenses traded punts until the Seahawks offense reeled off an 11-play 55-yard drive that extended the lead to 13-3 on Myers 31 31-yard field goal.

SEAHAWKS FINISH THE GAME

In need of a score to remain in the game, the Niners went back to the uptempo, and once again the strategy seemed to have caught the Seahawks on their heels.  The Niners drove down to the Seahawks’ six-yard line and were on the verge of scoring until Drake Thomas intercepted Purdy’s pass intended for Christian McCaffrey with 10:27 left in the game.

  Similar to the Carolina game, the Seahawks’ offense ate up 8 minutes of game clock and were looking to put the game to bed on Myers’ 26-yard field goal attempt. Well, that was until Myers kick hit the right upright. The positive for the Seahawks was that the drive left just 2:04 of game clock and gave the Seahawks time to refocus and stop the Niners on all four offensive downs, and give the ball back to the offense, which ended the game in the victory formation.

BIG TAKE

The Seahawks offense finished the game with 360 total yards with 180 of those being on the ground. Ken Walker had 97 yards ofn 16 carries and Zach Charbonnet finished with 74 yards n 17 carries and one touchdown. Rather than ride the hot hand offensive coordinator played both Aces if you will. Give Kubiak credit for a briliant called game . The same can be said for defensive coordinator Aden Durde the same flowers. The Seahawks played dime, nickle, blitzed and there rush and coverage strategy confused Kyle Shanahan. The togetherness of team was evident from start to finish and will carry the Seahawks a long way in the upcomng postseason.