49ers Face a Long Offseason After Seahawks Crash Super Bowl Party at Levi’s Stadium
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Santa Clara, CA -
Super Bowl Sunday at Levi’s Stadium was supposed to be a dream scenario for the 49ers - a shot at playing the biggest game of the year in their own backyard.
Instead, it turned into a surreal reminder of how far they still have to go. Seahawks banners hung where red and gold usually reign.
Seattle’s “12” flag waved proudly, and images of Sam Darnold - once a 49er - now draped in Seahawks blue and green, loomed over the stadium. To top it all off, the scoreboard flashed “Super Bowl LX Champions” next to celebrating Seahawks players, who had just knocked off the Patriots and were partying in the 49ers' own locker room.
The 49ers were two wins away from being the ones to run out of that tunnel on Super Bowl Sunday. Instead, they were blown out 41-6 by Seattle in the divisional round, their playoff run undone by a rash of injuries that finally caught up with them after a resilient 12-5 regular season and an impressive Wild Card win over the Eagles.
There’s always next time - and with the NFL’s ongoing push for partnerships with Silicon Valley’s tech elite, Levi’s Stadium will likely get another Super Bowl in the next decade. But for head coach Kyle Shanahan and his staff, the focus now turns to the long road ahead in a suddenly brutal NFC West.
The Stafford Problem Isn’t Going Away
The Rams are back in the mix, and they’ve got the league MVP to prove it. Matthew Stafford, at 38, just turned in one of the best seasons of his career - 4,707 passing yards, 46 touchdowns - and he’s not calling it quits anytime soon. That’s a problem for the 49ers, who now have to game plan for a quarterback who isn’t just defying Father Time, he’s torching defenses while doing it.
To combat that, San Francisco will have a new voice calling the shots on defense. Raheem Morris takes over as defensive coordinator after Robert Saleh accepted the head coaching job in Tennessee. Morris is no stranger to Shanahan - the two go way back to their Tampa Bay days - and he brings a Super Bowl pedigree from his time as the Rams’ DC in 2021, when his defense helped knock the 49ers out in the NFC title game.
But let’s be clear: Morris had some serious firepower on that Rams defense. Jalen Ramsey was locking down top receivers and earning All-Pro honors.
Aaron Donald was still at the peak of his powers, wrecking offensive lines from the inside out. That kind of elite talent made a big difference, and Morris will need similar performances in San Francisco to get this unit back on track.
Last season, the 49ers’ defense was held together with duct tape. Fred Warner and Nick Bosa - the heart and soul of the unit - missed a combined 25 games.
The result? A defense that finished 13th in yards allowed, 20th in points, and dead last in sacks with just 20 on the season.
That’s not the standard in San Francisco.
If the 49ers want to retake the division crown, they’ll need more than just better health. They need production across the board - especially from the defensive line and secondary. Because as long as Stafford is slinging it like this, the margin for error is razor-thin.
Seattle’s Defense Has the 49ers’ Number - And That Has to Change
If there’s one thing that became painfully obvious in the final stretch of the season, it’s that Seattle has figured out how to stop Shanahan’s offense. In the two most important games of the year - Week 18 and the divisional round - the 49ers didn’t score a single touchdown.
Not one. Seattle outscored them 54-9 across those two matchups, and San Francisco posted two of its three lowest yardage totals of the season.
That’s not just a bad day at the office - that’s a blueprint being exposed.
Christian McCaffrey and George Kittle remain elite weapons, but the 49ers need more. They need speed.
They need playmakers who can stretch the field and challenge defenses vertically. Shanahan and GM John Lynch acknowledged as much in their end-of-season press conference, and the numbers back it up.
Brandon Aiyuk, once a key piece of the offense, is expected to move on after going MIA during his ACL recovery. Jauan Jennings and Kendrick Bourne, the team’s top two wideouts in terms of receptions, are both set to hit free agency.
That leaves the door open for former first-rounder Ricky Pearsall to step up - but he’s missed 14 games in two seasons. Banking on him alone is a risky proposition.
The Offensive Line Needs Reinforcements
It wasn’t just the lack of playmakers that doomed the 49ers against Seattle - the offensive line got manhandled. The Seahawks’ defensive front brought pressure early and often, and McCaffrey managed just 58 rushing yards combined in those two games. That’s a credit to Seattle’s depth and talent up front, but it also highlights a growing concern in San Francisco.
Trent Williams, the All-Pro left tackle and anchor of the line, says he’s coming back next season. That’s huge - but he’ll be 38 in July, and there’s no clear succession plan in place.
Whether it’s through the draft or free agency, the 49ers need to start investing in the trenches. Because if they can’t protect the quarterback or open up lanes for McCaffrey, it won’t matter how many weapons they have on the outside.
What’s Next?
The 49ers aren’t far off - but in the NFL, “close” doesn’t get you a parade. The NFC West is no longer theirs to lose.
The Seahawks just made a Super Bowl run. The Rams have the MVP.
And the 49ers? They’re watching from home, wondering what could’ve been.
This offseason is critical. Shanahan and Lynch have built a winning culture, but the roster needs retooling.
Health is part of it. So is depth.
But most of all, they need answers - on defense, on the offensive line, and at receiver - if they want to avoid watching someone else celebrate in their house again.
Because next time the Super Bowl comes to Levi’s, the 49ers don’t want to be spectators. They want to be the ones hoisting the trophy.