The last time these teams met, Seattle left San Francisco with more than a win. The Seahawks had already clipped the 49ers in a Week 18 showdown for the NFC West crown, then throttled them again in the divisional round, and finally celebrated a Super Bowl title on the 49ers’ own turf. That history hangs over Sunday afternoon’s meeting in Seattle, but veteran nose tackle Jarran Reed made the reset clear.
“None of what happened last year matters,” Reed said. “It’s a new year, new season.
They’ve got a heck of a group. They’ve put together four good games, won every one of them.
“Just like we have a new team, they have a new team. They’re doing some different things. We have to go out there and do our job.”
Seattle enters at 3-1 with unbeaten San Francisco coming in at 4-0, and the matchup has all the makings of a heavyweight fight. The 49ers have been piling up offense at a ridiculous clip, sitting first in the NFL in yards per play at 6.8 and offensive DVOA. Seattle’s defense has answered with its own punishing numbers, leading the league in yards allowed per play at 4.0 and defensive DVOA.
And at the center of it all is a coaching duel worth the price of admission: Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald against 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan. Macdonald has gotten the better of Shanahan recently, holding San Francisco to 17 points or fewer in each of the last four meetings.
That includes the 3-point showing and 173 total yards in Week 18 last season, followed by just 6 points and 236 yards in the playoff rematch. Those were two of the four lowest scoring games Shanahan has had in 10 seasons with the 49ers.
The pressure question is just as fascinating. Brock Purdy has been brilliant to start the year, posting a league-best 89.2 QBR while completing 69.9% of his throws for 1,007 yards, 11 touchdowns and one interception.
He has also avoided the one thing that usually blows up an offense: sacks. Purdy has not been sacked at all, helping the 49ers become only the fifth team in the Super Bowl era - and the first since 2005 - to go through the first four games of a season without allowing one.
That streak speaks to both Purdy and the protection in front of him. San Francisco’s offensive line ranks No. 2 in ESPN’s pass block win rate, and Purdy has turned 41 pressures into zero sacks. For comparison, Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence has been pressured 42 times and taken eight sacks.
Seattle’s front will try to change that. The Seahawks rank seventh in sacks with 11 and sit No. 1 in ESPN’s pass rush win rate. Even so, they have also given up the third-most scramble yards to opposing quarterbacks this season, with 92, according to Sumer Sports.
There’s another wrinkle for San Francisco: Kyle Juszczyk won’t be available for the first time since 2022 after suffering a knee sprain last week. His absence could change the shape of the 49ers’ offense, especially because they have leaned heavily on “21” personnel - two backs and one tight end - on 40.8% of their snaps this season, per Sumer Sports. That rate led the league by a wide margin, and it was even higher in the two January games against Seattle last season at 46%.
Backup tight ends Luke Farrell and Brayden Willis could pick up some of Juszczyk’s snaps at fullback, but the expectation is that Shanahan will use “21” personnel less often than usual on Sunday.
Seattle’s ground game also looks different than it did in January. In those two meetings with San Francisco, the Seahawks ran wild, with Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet combining for 307 rushing yards and four touchdowns.
Neither is available now. Walker is with the Kansas City Chiefs, Charbonnet remains on the physically unable to perform list while recovering from knee surgery, and rookie first-round pick Jadarian Price is on injured reserve with a chest injury.
That leaves Emanuel Wilson in position to handle most of the workload after his 120 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns last week. George Holani is questionable with rib and knee injuries, which could make Seattle’s backfield even thinner.
On the other side, San Francisco’s run defense has made a clear jump. A year ago, the 49ers were 25th in DVOA run defense and tied for 14th in yards allowed per carry at 4.3. This season, they are seventh in DVOA run defense and tied for eighth in yards allowed per carry at 3.7.
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