49ers Return to Seattle Looking to Bury a January Nightmare

Nine months ago, the San Francisco 49ers walked off the turf at Lumen Field after one of the ugliest nights in franchise history.

On Sunday, they walk back onto it at 4-0 and looking to prove that night was an outlier.

San Francisco’s season ended in the Divisional Round with a 41-6 loss that was out of hand before the offense ever touched the ball.

Rashid Shaheed returned the opening kickoff 95 yards, and the rout was on. Kenneth Walker III piled up three rushing touchdowns, while Brock Purdy and the offense could only muster a pair of field goals.

Only a 49-3 loss to the Giants in the 1986 playoffs was more lopsided for the franchise.

It was also the second straight beating Seattle handed out. Two weeks earlier, the Seahawks held San Francisco to three points in Santa Clara and grabbed the NFC’s top seed in the process.

The final insult came in February. Seattle beat New England 29-13 in Super Bowl LX, and they did it at Levi’s Stadium. Someone else’s confetti fell on the 49ers’ home field.

So, yes, this one carries weight.

The good news for San Francisco is that this team doesn’t look anything like the group that got run out of Seattle in January.

The 49ers lead the league in EPA per play, and Purdy is the most efficient quarterback in football by adjusted EPA.

He’s already over 1,000 passing yards with 11 touchdowns against one pick. The ground game ranks sixth in the NFL, and the defense is allowing just 16 points per game.

The matchup also tilts their way in one key area. Seattle ranks 29th in rushing EPA and lost Week 1 starter Jadarian Price to injured reserve.

If the Seahawks can’t run, Sam Darnold will have to throw his way past a 49ers defense that ranks second in the league at preventing explosive plays. That’s a tall order.

The concern is who won’t be on the field for San Francisco. Nick Bosa is out, and Marques Sigle and Kyle Juszczyk are both expected to miss the game, too.

Without Bosa, generating pressure on Darnold gets a lot harder. Meanwhile, Seattle’s defense is still among the league’s best, and the Seahawks are plus-three in turnover margin through four weeks.

There’s reason for hope, though. San Francisco opened last season with a 17-13 win in Seattle, so the 49ers know it can be done.

Sportsbooks have the Seahawks as three-point favorites, and most national pundits are picking Seattle. 

A 49ers win means a two-game cushion in the NFC West and the head-to-head edge over the defending champs.

A loss would put Seattle right back in the thick of the division race.

One win won’t erase what happened in January, but beating the champs in their own building would be a strong start toward closing that chapter.