The San Francisco 49ers head into halftime trailing 24–6 against the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Divisional Round at Lumen Field, as early special teams issues and a turnover swung momentum toward the home team.

Seattle set the tone immediately, opening the scoring on a 95-yard kickoff return touchdown on the game’s first possession. The play ignited an already loud crowd and fueled a chippy, physical first quarter as emotions ran high on both sidelines.

Under head coach Kyle Shanahan, the 49ers entered the night 7–0 in Wild Card and Divisional Round games, but the opening half left little margin for error against a rested Seahawks team playing off a 13-day break. Seattle leaned on crowd noise and field position, while San Francisco worked through early adjustments.

With several starters unavailable, the 49ers presented a different look than Seattle faced during the regular season. The variation produced mixed results, as San Francisco searched for consistency while Seattle capitalized on key moments to build its early advantage.

Key Situations

Seattle extended its lead following a turnover deep in 49ers territory, recovering a fumble at the San Francisco 43-yard line and converting the short field into points.

San Francisco found some momentum as the second quarter progressed. K Eddy Piñeiro connected on a field goal twice, getting the 49ers on the board and cutting the deficit to 24–6 as the teams moved toward halftime.

Defensively, San Francisco delivered flashes despite the deficit. Newly returned LB Dee Winters recorded a key stop to halt an early Seattle drive, and S Malik Mustapha brought down QB Sam Darnold for the game’s first sack. Still, Seattle controlled much of the first-half tempo behind favorable home field position, and continued to capitalize when it mattered, finding the end zone again before half.

Halftime Snapshot

Score: 24-6
Total yards: 149 SF, 151 SEA
Turnovers: 1 SF, 0 SEA
First downs: 9 SF, 11 SEA

What’s Ahead

San Francisco will look to respond after halftime, while Seattle aims to build on its momentum at home. With the season on the line, the second half will decide who advances to the NFC Championship Game and moves one step closer to the Super Bowl at Levi’s® Stadium.