Jan. 17, 2026, 9:10 p.m. PT

The Seattle Seahawks earned the right to have the playoffs go through the Emerald City, and on Saturday night, they reminded the world why Lumen Field is a fortress. Seattle obliterated the San Francisco 49ers to the tune of 41-6 to tie the record for most lopsided postseason win in franchise history. Their only other 35 point playoff win? Super Bowl XLVIII.

This was the re-passing of the torch. For most of the 21st century, the Seahawks have outright owned the 49ers. But in recent years, the rivalry went rather lopsided. On Saturday night, Seattle reminded who was the big brother in this relationship and put the Niners through the NFL’s equivalent of a humiliation ritual. This will be the first time the 49ers have not advanced to at least the NFC Championship after making the playoffs under Kyle Shanahan.

Oh, the NFC Championship… the game that will be back at Lumen Field for the fourth time ever. The previous three times resulted in a Seahawks trip to the Super Bowl.

Seattle began this game with an absolute blast. San Francisco won the coin toss and deferred to the Seahawks, which I’m assuming they immediately began to regret. Rashid Shaheed took the opening kick off 95 yards to the house for the longest kick return touchdown in Seahawks history.

San Francisco’s ensuing drive resulted in turnover on downs. Seattle quickly extended their lead with a field goal drive, then immediately got the ball back following a forced fumble from Ernest Jones IV on tight end Jake Tonges, which was recovered by Julian Love. Five plays later, Sam Darnold (who was QUESTIONABLE with an oblique injury) showed he was plenty healthy in this game as he found Jaxon Smith-Njigba for the touchdown. Suddenly, a team that had barely cobbled together 13 points in the last two games against San Francisco had 17 in the first quarter alone.

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Darnold continues to prove all doubters wrong. While he wasn’t the sole reason why Seattle won, he defied the “conventional” narrative that he fails in the biggest moments. Darnold finished the game completing 12-of-17 passes for 124 yards and a touchdown. With the way this Seahawks team is playing, that’s more than enough from him in order to win!

San Francisco did manage a pair of field goals in the second quarter to cut into Seattle’s lead, which turned out to be their only points of the night. The Seahawks quickly extinguished any meager momentum they had begun to capture with a 10-play, 75-yard touchdown drive capped off by the first of three Kenneth Walker III touchdown runs to make it a 24-6 margin going into halftime. The rout was on.

When the third quarter started, the Niners began with the ball… and promptly turned it over on downs after seven plays. Seattle took over and eventually kicked a field goal, just to help further bury San Francisco. The death knell came shortly after, as Brock Purdy threw an interception to Ernest Jones IV to give the Seahawks another opportunity. Six plays later, Walker found the end zone again. Suddenly, it was 34-6 and the NFC Championship seemed within grasp.

Another turnover on downs from San Francisco eventually led to a third touchdown from Kenneth Walker III to give us the final score of 41-6 on Saturday night. Another fumble from Brock Purdy, via DeMarcus Lawrence and recovered by Nick Emmanwori, was adding further insult to a Niners team decimated by injury. By this point, both Brock Purdy and Sam Darnold were pulled from the final moments of the fourth quarter. One backup quarterback represented a human victory cigar, and the other a human white flag.

Seattle is now 2-1 against San Francisco in the playoffs and the balance of power has returned squarely in the Pacific Northwest. Now, the Seahawks anxiously await the winner of the Chicago Bears vs Los Angeles Rams game to see who they will host in a contest for the right to represent the NFC in Super Bowl LX.