The 49ers come into Week 5 as one of the NFL’s three unbeaten teams, and they’re doing it with numbers that tell the story on both sides of the ball. San Francisco sits seventh in the league in total offense and total defense, and only the Buffalo Bills had scored more points through the first four weeks. Even more eye-opening: the Niners have yet to give up a sack during this start.
Seattle, meanwhile, has been just as nasty on defense. The Seahawks are allowing the fewest total yards and passing yards per game in the league, and they’ve built pressure all month.
Led by Leonard Williams with 3.0 sacks and Derick Hall with 2.0, Seattle has piled up 11.0 sacks in four games, seventh-most in the NFL. The Seahawks have logged at least two sacks in every game and are coming off a season-high four in a 30-23 win over the Chargers.
That makes this matchup even more interesting given what’s happened at Lumen Field in the recent past. The last time the 49ers lost a game, it came there in the 2025 NFC Divisional Playoffs, a 41-6 Seattle blowout that sent the Seahawks on a run through the Los Angeles Rams and New England Patriots and all the way to a Super Bowl LX title. But San Francisco has also won its last four regular-season games at Lumen Field, which is a strange wrinkle in a rivalry full of them.
This is a series that stretches back to 1976, when the Seahawks entered the NFL and were placed in the NFC West. They moved to the AFC West the following year and stayed there until realignment in 2002.
Since then, Seattle holds a 31-20 edge, and the Seahawks lead 33-24 overall when postseason meetings are included. The teams met three times a year ago for the second time in four seasons.
Those three meetings told a wild story. In Week 1 at Lumen Field, Seattle quarterback Sam Darnold lost a fumble in the final minute deep in 49ers territory, and San Francisco escaped with a 17-13 win.
In the regular-season finale at Levi’s Stadium, Seattle’s defense carried the day in a 13-3 victory. Then came the divisional round two weeks later, when Rashid Shaheed returned the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown, Seattle jumped out to a 17-0 first-quarter lead and rolled to that 41-6 win.
The 49ers’ offense had a rough time in those three games. Shanahan’s team scored just 26 points across the three matchups, averaged 264.3 total yards per game, and produced only two touchdowns, both in that Week 1 win in Seattle. San Francisco also absorbed six sacks and turned it over six times.
Darnold has been part of the early-season conversation again this year, though not always for the right reasons. He has played only nine quarters, but he has thrown six touchdown passes over the last two weeks.
He’s also been intercepted three times, including a pick-six against Washington. Against the Chargers last Sunday, his first pass of the day was picked off.
The Seahawks’ ground game has been led by Emanuel Wilson, who has 53 carries for 190 yards and two total touchdowns. Jadarian Price, who is on injured reserve, and George Holani have combined for 50 rushing attempts and 189 yards, and neither has scored.
In Other News...
49ers May Soon Regret Passing On A Raiders Ballhawk
The 49ers secondary continues to be a watch point, especially when a nearby rival is getting immediate returns from a rookie defensive back. Las Vegas cornerback Hezekiah Masses has opened his first season looking like the kind of ballhawk that can change field position in a hurry, while San Franciscos own cornerback addition, Ephesians Prysock, has yet to get into a game. It is the sort of comparison that gets sharper when a young defender is producing early and another is still waiting for his chance.
San Francisco will get a firsthand look at Masses in Week 9, when the 49ers meet the Raiders. For a team that has already invested in the cornerback room, this is one of those matchups that can linger beyond a single afternoon, because every early interception and every pass breakup from a rookie on the other sideline only adds to the question of what might have been. [Read more 🡒]
49ers Face A Division Test Seattle Has Been Waiting For
The Seahawks have had this one circled, and not just because the undefeated 49ers are rolling into Seattle for a Week 5 division test that could say plenty about the early shape of the NFC West. Rivalry games tend to come with extra layers, and this one is no different, with familiar faces and coaching connections giving both sides plenty of reasons to know each other well before kickoff.
There is also a clear sense that Seattle sees an opening to measure itself against the league's most confident opponent so far, especially with so many ties between the staffs and rosters over the past few seasons. The buildup has naturally invited plenty of speculation about how certain players might factor into the game and whether the Seahawks can turn familiarity into an edge, but the bigger question remains how much of a challenge San Francisco's unbeaten start can withstand on the road. [Read more 🡒]
49ers Draft Class Already Has One Worry Fans Can't Ignore
The 49ers 2025 draft class has already become a study in contrasts, with the early buzz giving way to a much rougher reality. Several of the teams key additions have been slowed by injuries, forcing San Francisco to lean harder on the rest of the rookie group than it likely expected when the class was assembled.
A few later selections have at least given the front office something to point to, with Upton Stout, Marques Sigle and Connor Colby all showing enough progress to work their way into starting roles. The bigger concern is at the top of the class, where the most highly regarded picks still do not offer the kind of steady contribution the 49ers were counting on, leaving this draft haul feeling far less settled than the team would have hoped. [Read more 🡒]