San Francisco – The pre-season assumptions were seattle seahawks will be out watching the Super Bowl, but almost everyone is wrong.

The team made major changes during the offseason, trading away Geno Smith and signing Sam Darnold Even letting DK Metcalf go to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Those moves proved to be beneficial, as they locked up the NFC’s top seed with a 14-3 record and are now one win away from their first title in 12 years.

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Christian McCaffrey of the San Francisco 49ers is tackled by Nick Emmanwori of the Seattle Seahawks during the second quarter of an NFC divisional playoff game at Lumen Field in Seattle on January 17, 2026. (Harry Howe/Getty Images)

Seahawks beat their division rivals San Francisco 49ers, Locking up the top seed in Week 18 and again two weeks later in the divisional round.

“They’re a good team. You know, they beat us in both games. They had our numbers in both games. We have to play better and we need to limit our mistakes,” Christian McCaffrey told Fox News Digital Radio.

“They’re a well-coached team. Obviously, they have talent in all areas, their defense is good and Sam leads the offense with Clint Kubiak,” added Brock Purdy.

“They did a really good job, man. They deserved it. They’re a team that we obviously have to be ready for every week or every time we play them. Overall, it’s a really good team.”

San Francisco 49ers’ Brock Purdy is pressured by Seattle Seahawks’ DeMarcus Lawrence during the second quarter during an NFC divisional playoff game at Lumen Field in Seattle on January 17, 2026. (Sean Hafey/Getty Images)

After injury-plagued 2024 season, Christian McCaffrey reflects on 2025 success: ‘Thank God’

However, McCaffrey said the Niners didn’t exactly gain the benefit of the doubt against this quality team because of a somewhat crazy schedule.

“I don’t want to make excuses, but the NFL did give us three weeks off at the end of the season when we had the Week 14 bye. So, they didn’t do us any favors in that regard,” McCaffrey said. “When you have so many injuries and you’ve been hit hard and then you put together a team like this in just a few weeks, it makes things more challenging.

“But, at the same time, those guys beat us. They beat us in every facet of the game. If we want to win, we’ve got to play better. It’s that simple.”

Jaxon Smith-Njigba leads the NFL with 1,793 receiving yards while catching 119 passes, including 10 touchdowns. Darnold also became the only quarterback to win 14 or more games for two different teams in consecutive seasons.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba of the Seattle Seahawks takes the field against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium on January 3, 2026 in Santa Clara, California. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

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they will face new england patriots Sunday at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, which McCaffrey and Purdy call home.

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