From the opening kickoff - a 95-yard return for touchdown by Rashid Shaheed - and onward, the Seattle Seahawks proved to be the team to beat in the NFC as the No. 1-seed used home field advantage (and a sizable edge in health) to throttle the No. 6-seed San Francisco 49ers, 41-6 on Saturday night.

Shaheed's burst set the tone for a night that wouldn't see the most incredible statistics either way, but would be driven by the booming volume inside Lumen Field, which held the Niners dormant on offense throughout.

It was the longest kickoff return in Seahawks postseason history, and the fourth opening kickoff return for a touchdown to open a playoff game since 2000.

The moment foretold how the rest of the night would go for Seattle, as they stamp their ticket to the NFC Championship Game.

We recap the dramatics by looking piece by piece at the biggest "Winners and Losers" from the nightcap of a thrilling start to the Divisional Playoffs.

Zach Charbonnet went down with an injury early, which opened the doors for Walker to have one of his best games ever and power the Seahawks offense that needed stability on the ground.

He starred with three touchdowns - tied for the most in franchise playoff history - and 144 yards from scrimmage.

Walker carried the load, but it was an admirable effort by Darnold to gut his way through an oblique injury that had him listed as questionable pregame. Backup quarterback Drew Lock was ready, but Darnold made the most of his moment en route to his first career playoff win in Year 8 in the NFL.

It's only right that it came against the team where his reclamation arc began, too.

Darnold has flipped the script on his career since once being a No. 3 overall pick, turning into a backup who bounced around the league, to now a franchise leader who is one win away from a Super Bowl appearance.

Last season, Darnold's stellar regular season in Minnesota fell flat with a brutal playoff loss, but this time around, he managed to record a touchdown pass and complete 12 of 17 passes in the win.

A storyline that plagued San Francisco throughout the year reared it's ugly head again in the postseason.

The misfortune continues to underscore how important the Week 18 matchup with Seattle was for the Niners and their health. If San Fran had won that game, earned the No. 1 seed, and sat through the first round rather than grind to a win, perhaps star tight end George Kittle wouldn't have torn his Achilles and many other facets of the team would have benefitted.

However, it wasn't meant to be, and Seattle was too much to handle.

All-Pros Kittle, linebacker Fred Warner and edge rusher Nick Bosa had been out for the year. Brock Purdy missed nearly half the season with turf toe, and even on Saturday, Christian McCaffrey, who had remarkably stayed healthy all season, went down with a stinger and would not return once the score got out of hand.

Yes, the Seahawks punished Saleh's defense all night, but this season has done wonders for the defensive coordinator's reputation in the NFL.

Now that San Francisco moves into the offseason, Saleh will likely be a hot candidate for many of the head coaching vacancies still out there, and whether he is intrigued or not could be a major factor in the so-far wild coaching carousel.

There is no indication on his plans moving forward, but because of what Saleh did to keep the 49ers competitive despite the litany of injuries on defense, he has earned immense respect around the league.

Though Darnold was sacked just twice by San Francisco, Seattle's protection will need to be stronger moving forward, notably on the interior.

The oblique injury maintains a need to keep the QB upright and out of harms way, especially with solid pass rushes in Chicago or Los Angeles on the docket next.

Each time the Seahawks have earned the top seed in the NFC Playoffs, they've reached the Super Bowl. They are one win away from stretching that trend to four.

It began in the 2005 season with Seattle losing in the big game to Pittsburgh. The franchise won its only Super Bowl eight years later in 2013 off of the backs of a historic defense.

Then, the following season they gave up a late lead to Tom Brady and New England, but still reached the pinnacle of the sport as a top seed.

Now, 20 years after the franchise's Super Bowl debut, the trend can continue with a win over either the Bears of Rams next Sunday.