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...
Seahawks Offense Has A Clear Weak Spot They Need To Fix
The Seahawks have found something real when they lean into heavier personnel packages, the kind that put fewer wide receivers on the field and ask the offense to play with more muscle. In those looks, the unit has graded well in EPA per play, success rate and explosive play rate, which helps explain why the group can look so much sharper when it is built to run through balance instead of spacing alone.
The trouble comes when Seattle gets lighter and spreads the field with three or more receivers, where the offense has not been nearly as efficient and the third-down work has lagged. Fixing that split is the next step, and one obvious way to do it is to get cleaner answers against the blitz, since more reliable pressure-beating execution could keep the Seahawks from getting pushed into the same predictable passing situations that have slowed them down. [Read more 🡒]
Seahawks Suddenly Face A Huge Week 18 Defensive Concern
With Week 18 looming, the Seahawks are still sorting through a defense that already had plenty on its plate before the injury report complicated matters. Seattle and San Francisco both came into the week with notable names either limited or absent from practice, and the list includes impact players on both sides as the teams work toward Sundays matchup.
For Seattle, the concern is especially pointed because the defensive front has been tracking a few key statuses all week. Leonard Williams was unable to practice after opening the week in a limited role, and Chazz Surratt was one of the Seahawks two DNPs while several others either remained limited or were getting rest. The final injury report should bring some clarity, but for now the Seahawks are waiting to see how much of their defense will actually be available. [Read more 🡒]
Seahawks Defense Is About To Face Its Biggest Test Yet
Brock Purdy has opened the 2026 season in elite form, pushing the 49ers to a 4-0 start while sitting near the top of the league in passer rating, passing success rate and expected points added per dropback. Through four games, he has also been among the most efficient quarterbacks the NFL has seen in the 21st century, and he heads into Week 5 tied for the league lead in passing touchdowns as San Francisco prepares for a divisional trip to Seattle.
The challenge waiting for him is a Seahawks defense that has spent the first month of the season looking like one of the leagues most disruptive units. Seattle leads the NFL in several defensive categories and has been especially effective at generating pressure on early downs without leaning heavily on the blitz, a formula that has made this matchup one of the more interesting tests on the schedule. For the Seahawks, the next step is simple enough to define and much harder to pull off: make Purdy play from inside the pocket under real heat and see whether his start can keep rolling. [Read more 🡒]