Kenneth Walker III racked up three touchdowns, leading the Seahawks to a divisional win over the 49ers.
In three matchups with the Seahawks this year, the 49ers went 1-2. They lost the last two and most important matchups. Both in emphatic fashion, mustering a total of 9 points over the span. A far cry from the high-powered next-man-up offense they showed all year, despite injuries and a Brandon Aiyuk omission for unclear reasons.
A team that overachieved minus George Kittle, Nick Bosa, and Fred Warner, the Cinderella run finally ran out. Without Kittle to help move the chains and Warner's presence to slow down the running game, the Seahawks ran wild at Lumen Field on their way to punching a championship game ticket.
Christian McCaffrey got banged up, the Seahawks defense dominated, on the way to Sam Darnold's first career postseason win.
The MVP of the game was Kenneth Walker III, who ran for three scores. Rashid Shaheed took the opening kickoff to the house, and the pro bowler is looking like a huge mid-season trade success.
Zach Charbonnet got injured early, but Walker seemed to welcome the extra carries. 19 rushes for 116 rushing yards (6.1 yards per carry) and 3 catches for 29 receiving yards for an impressive 145 scrimmage yards.
Walker has been a consistent force in the backfield since being drafted, but has almost become an unsung hero, sharing rushing duties with Charbonnet, and with an offense dominated by Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who scored in his playoff debut as well. Walker played all 17 games and topped 1000 yards in an impressive campaign.
The Seahawks' offensive line dominated. Although they allowed 2 sacks on Darnold, they opened huge rushing lanes all night. A season featuring a playoff win, with all the time missed by players, isn't a disappointment as such, but they'll have a hard time getting the taste of this loss out of their mouths. Especially with division bragging rights and a trip to the NFC championship game on the line. It seems Kyle Shanahan's teams are always in the mix for an NFC championship, but the Seahawks are showing a potential changing of the guard. They are young, they are loaded on defense, and have a true QB1. One of the major swings in the game was Darnold playing and not being ruled out with his oblique injury.
He had a quiet game, but he did do enough, and now the Seahawks are moving on. Walker gets a huge amount of the credit; this was his night. They'll be looking to ride him and their defense all the way to a Lombardi trophy.