Sunday afternoon at Lumen Field brings a division test with a lot more bite than a typical early-October matchup. The Seahawks and 49ers meet in Week 5 with the NFC West standings already tight enough to matter, even this early.
San Francisco comes in at 4-0 and sitting alone at the top of the division. Seattle is 3-1 and staring at a chance to knock the 49ers off that perch and move into first place by tiebreaker.
There’s also a strange little footnote hanging over Mike Macdonald’s Week 5 history. He is 0-2 in games played in Week 5 so far in his career.
In 2025, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers arrived at Lumen Field as 3.5-point underdogs and left with a 38-35 win. In 2024, the 7.0-point underdog New York Giants rolled up 420 yards in a 29-20 win.
The bigger development for Seattle, though, is on the back end. For the first time this season, the Seahawks will have their entire starting secondary available together in 2026. Devon Witherspoon, Josh Jobe and Nehemiah Pritchett have been out there every week at corner, but safety has been a revolving door.
Julian Love sat out Week 3 with a calf injury. Nick Emmanwori, listed as a safety, missed Week 1 and has had his playing time slowly increase since then. Ty Okada is active for the first time this season in Week 5, giving Seattle its full group on the field at once.
The full list of inactives is:
And now it’s on to kickoff.
In Other News...
Seahawks May Have Found The Fastest Fix For Rashid Shaheed
Rashid Shaheeds early return in the passing game has been modest through four games, but the Seahawks may already be searching for a faster way to get him involved. Offensive coordinator Brian Fleury gave him a couple of rushing attempts in a recent game, and one of them turned into a 28-yard touchdown run, a reminder that Shaheeds speed can change the feel of a possession in a hurry.
That kind of usage points to a possible shift in how Seattle wants to deploy him, with a gadget-style role that leans on his quickness more than his route volume. The comparison to Deebo Samuel is obvious enough in concept, but the bigger question is whether Shaheed can keep turning those touches into real production if the Seahawks keep dialing up plays for him this way. [Read more 🡒]
Marvin Harrison Jr. Drama Leaves Cardinals Offense In A Tough Spot
The NFC West keeps offering little bits of drama, and this week it starts with the Cardinals. Marvin Harrison Jr. has hired agents and is expected to be traded soon, a development that only adds more uncertainty to an Arizona offense already trying to find its footing in a division where every week seems to bring a new twist.
For the Seahawks, it is another reminder that the path through the West rarely stays clean for long. Seattle linebacker Ernest Jones IV recently commented on a players-only meeting held to address team matters, while San Francisco is still waiting on Nick Bosa to return from a calf injury and could get Mykel Williams back for his season debut against Seattle. The division keeps shifting around them, and the ripple effects are impossible to miss. [Read more 🡒]
Seahawks Backfield Injuries Just Put One Newcomer In The Spotlight
The Seahawks have had to reinforce their backfield depth at just the right moment, adding Robert Henry Jr. and Dontae McMillan as injuries continue to thin out the running back room. Zach Charbonnet and Jadarian Price are both dealing with injury issues, and the timing matters with Week 5 against the San Francisco 49ers coming up fast.
Henry arrived from the Washington Commanders' practice squad and could be in line to help sooner rather than later, giving Seattle another fresh option as it sorts through the backfield. McMillan is on the ready squad for now, but with local ties and a previous stint with the Seahawks, his return adds a familiar name to a position group that suddenly needs a little more stability. [Read more 🡒]