The 49ers’ last two meetings with the Seahawks weren’t much of a fight. San Francisco came out of both games looking like a team that simply couldn’t line up well with Seattle, and that mismatch is still part of the picture heading into 2026.
But there’s a reason the gap should narrow.
Seattle’s offense took a major hit this offseason when offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak left for the Las Vegas Raiders. That move matters. Kubiak helped Sam Darnold put together the kind of season he had by knowing when to let him attack and when to pull things back if he wasn’t sharp.
Now the Seahawks are turning to former 49ers tight ends coach Brian Fleury, a hire that comes with plenty of risk. Fleury has never called plays before, and that makes the transition a tricky one for a team that’s trying to keep its offense humming after losing Kubiak.
The obvious counterpoint is that plenty of coaches have thrived without play-calling experience, including Mike McDaniel, who proved to be an excellent play caller despite never having that responsibility. But there’s a difference between being around the system and being a central part of building it.
McDaniel was deeply involved in game planning and stayed close to Kyle Shanahan. That helped him hit the ground running in Miami.
Fleury’s situation is different. He was in offensive meetings, but he wasn’t shaping the weekly plan the way Klay Kubiak is doing now.
That’s why the Seahawks feel like a team leaning on an untested coordinator, and that usually comes with growing pains.
There’s another issue, too. Seattle also lost its Super Bowl MVP, Kenneth Walker, to the Kansas City Chiefs. They drafted Notre Dame’s Jadarian Price, but he’s not Walker, and expecting a rookie to deliver the same impact is a big ask.
That combination should give the 49ers’ defense a better shot at controlling the matchup more often than not. And on the other side of the ball, San Francisco should be in better shape as well, with Mike Evans giving them a real passing game now.
The most likely outcome? A split between the two teams, with games that look a lot more competitive than the last two blowouts.
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49ers Fans Wont Love What One Scout Thinks About Mike Evans
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For the 49ers, the appeal is obvious: if Evans can rediscover his usual level, he gives Kyle Shanahan another dependable target and Brock Purdy another seasoned option in an offense that likes to spread the ball around. The question now is whether the new setting can help him rebound from a year in which he fell short of the benchmarks that had defined the rest of his career. [Read more 🡒]