49ers-Seahawks: Everything you need to know ahead of Saturday’s pivotal game
The 49ers and Seahawks are playing in a high-stakes game this weekend. Sound familiar?
The divisional round playoff contest at Lumen Field will be the second time the two teams have played in the past three weeks. Seattle has a distinct advantage as the No. 1 seed playing at home and resting during their first-round bye, while San Francisco will be a considerable road underdog for the second straight week following the 49ers’ upset win against the Philadelphia Eagles last Sunday.
The circumstances for the game were set up by the Seahawks’ 13-3 thumping of the 49ers at Levi’s Stadium on Jan. 3. And should Kyle Shanahan’s team lose Saturday, the injury-ravaged 49ers could point to that game as a key reason why.
San Francisco is going back to Seattle and won’t have star tight end George Kittle after he tore his Achilles during the second quarter of the win in Philadelphia, which they were required to play after failing to secure the No. 1 seed in the regular season finale. A win in Week 18 also would have meant home field advantage throughout the playoffs.
But the loss instead gave the 49ers the NFC’s No. 6 seed, needing to win three games on the road to reach the Super Bowl, which will be played at Levi’s Stadium.
On the bright side, the 49ers will have left tackle Trent Williams available after he missed the previous Seahawks game in which the offense managed a season-low 173 total yards. Receiver Ricky Pearsall, who had 108 yards in the 49ers’ Week 1 win in Seattle, could also play after missing the last two games with knee and ankle injuries.
The 49ers will be without Fred Warner despite optimism surrounding his return to practice earlier this week after fracturing his ankle in October.
The winner of 49ers-Seahawks will take on the winner of Sunday’s game between the Los Angeles Rams at the Chicago Bears in the NFC title game Jan. 25. If the Seahawks win, the game will be played in Seattle. The game will be either in L.A. or Chicago if the 49ers beat the Seahawks.
The winner of the NFC Championship Game will face the AFC champs Feb. 8 in Super Bowl LX, hosted at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. The Denver Broncos, New England Patriots, Buffalo Bills and Houston Texans are still alive in the AFC.
Seahawks QB Darnold hurt?
The Seahawks listed quarterback Sam Darnold as questionable after leaving practice on Thursday with an oblique injury, though he told reporters he plans on playing.
Darnold signed with the Seahawks in the offseason for three years and $100.5 million after impressing in 2024 as the starter for the Minnesota Vikings, who took a shot on him after Darnold spent a year backing up Brock Purdy with the 49ers.
The Vikings went 14-3 under Darnold, the same record the Seahawks had this season, while Darnold in 2025 finished 21st with a 56.3 QBR. His 14 interceptions were the third-most in the NFL.
In the extreme off-chance that Darnold doesn’t play or aggravates the injury, the Seahawks would call upon Drew Lock, who has just three regular season passing attempts on the year.
49ers and Seahawks play a big one. Again
The 49ers and Seahawks last met in the playoffs in the wild card round in January 2023, Purdy’s first career playoff start after taking over for Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo during his rookie season.
Purdy in that game completed 18 of 30 for 332 yards and 3 touchdowns and added a rushing touchdown, which remains his best playoff performance as a starter, statistically, to date. He helped the 49ers win the next week vs. Dallas before the 49ers fell in the NFC Championship game to the Eagles when Purdy suffered a torn UCL in his throwing elbow in the first quarter.
Since then, the 49ers have gone 4-2 against the Seahawks, including a 49ers win on Thanksgiving in 2023 as well as their split this year, with San Francisco winning in the season opener and Seattle getting revenge in the regular season finale to earn the No. 1 seed. The only other loss, Nov. 17, 2024, came when the 49ers allowed Geno Smith to rush for the game-winning touchdown with 12 seconds remaining while San Francisco managed just 277 yards of offense.
Broadcast information
Saturday’s game will be broadcasted by Fox’s top crew for the second straight week. It will begin at 5 p.m. Pacific, televised on Fox and streaming on FOXSports.com and the FOX One app.
Kevin Burkhardt will handle play-by-play duties with color analysis by Tom Brady, who received strong reviews for his analysis of 49ers-Eagles. Brady’s insights included a tutorial on how quarterbacks deal with throwing into the wind. Erin Andrews and Tom Rinaldi will report from the sidelines after Andrews made waves with her viral $950 faux fur jacket.
On the radio side, Guy Haberman will continue handling local play-by-play duties in place of legend Greg Papa, who is in remission after being diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in July. Haberman will be accompanied by color analyst Tim Ryan.
The national radio broadcast will be on Westwood One Sports with Kevin Kugler on play-by-play, Derek Rackley on color commentary and Jody Jackson reporting from the sidelines.
Betting information
The 49ers are heavy underdogs but are reportedly getting a lot of action from the public.
They are 7-point underdogs on DraftKings and FanDuel, and a 7.5-point underdog on BetMGM. The 49ers are roughly plus-270 to win outright, which indicates a win probability of 27%.
As of Thursday, 74% of the bets on the spread were coming in on the 49ers, indicating the public believes San Francisco will either cover or win outright, according to Sports Illustrated. The 49ers have won their last four games in Seattle, all of which have been started by Brock Purdy.
Seattle forecast: Near-perfect weather
The National Weather Service is predicting clear skies with a high of 51 degrees and a low of 37 on Saturday night in Seattle. Wind is expected to be a non-factor and there is no expected precipitation in the area.
Conditions should be ideal for playoff football.
Injury report
For the 49ers:
OUT: Safety Ji’Ayir Brown (hamstring), linebacker Fred Warner (ankle)
QUESTIONABLE: Receiver Jacob Cowing (hamstring), linebacker Luke Gifford (quadriceps), receiver Ricky Pearsall (knee), linebacker Dee Winters (ankle)
For the Seahawks:
OUT: Tight end Elijah Arroyo (knee), offensive tackle Josh Jones (knee), linebacker Chazz Surratt (ankle)
QUESTIONABLE: Quarterback Sam Darnold (oblique)
