NFL: Seattle Seahawks end San Francisco 49ers six-game winning run to clinch NFC's No 1 seed

The Seattle Seahawks are heading into the play-offs with the NFC's No 1 seed, and even more significantly, a defense that has proved it can stop even the most potent offenses in the league.

Zach Charbonnet scored on a 27-yard run in the first quarter and Seattle shut down the high-powered San Francisco offense in a 13-3 victory on Saturday night.

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Seattle (14-3) won its first NFC West title since 2020 and is now two home wins away from returning to Levi's Stadium for the Super Bowl next month after besting San Francisco (12-5) in just the fourth season-ending game ever where the winner was guaranteed the top seed in the play-offs.

Stats leaders:

Seattle Seahawks:

• Passing: Sam Darnold, 20/26, 198 yards
• Rushing: Kenneth Walker III, 16 carries, 97 yards
• Receiving: Jackson Smith-Njigba, 6 catches, 84 yards

San Francisco 49ers:

• Passing: Brock Purdy, 19/27, 127 yards, 1 TD
• Rushing: Christian McCaffrey, 8 carries, 23 yards
• Receiving: Jauan Jennings, 4 catches, 35 yards

Seattle reached the Super Bowl in its previous three seasons with the No 1 seed, including the franchise's only title season in 2013 behind one of the best defenses in recent memory.

"We all have respect for the Legion of Boom, but I feel like we deserve some recognition at this point, too," defensive tackle Leonard Williams said. "We call ourselves the Dark Side."

The Seahawks have won their last 10 home playoff games played in front of fans, with their only loss since the 2005 season coming during the 2020 season when fans were restricted because of COVID-19.

Coach Mike Macdonald's defensive unit flummoxed a 49ers offense that had been the NFL's most potent since Brock Purdy returned from an injury in Week 11.

The Seahawks didn't allow a first down in the opening quarter, generated three sacks and made the biggest defensive play early in the fourth quarter when Drake Thomas got an interception at the Seattle 3 on a pass that went off the hands of Christian McCaffrey.

Darnold did just enough for the Seahawks as he won a Week 18 showdown this season after falling flat a year ago for Minnesota against Detroit in a loss that cost the Vikings a chance at the No. 1 seed. Darnold went 20 of 26 for 198 yards and didn't turn the ball over once as Seattle relied heavily on the running game.

Kenneth Walker III ran for 97 yards, Charbonnet had the long TD and the Seahawks finished with 180 yards on the ground, their second most in a game this season.

Purdy went 19 of 27 for 127 yards and the interception and McCaffrey was held to 23 yards on eight carries as the 49ers had their lowest-scoring game since losing 23-3 to Carolina in coach Kyle Shanahan's debut in 2017.

The 173 yards gained by the 49ers were their fewest in any regular-season game under Shanahan and now they head out on the road for the playoffs.

The margin of victory could have been greater for the Seahawks too. Jason Myers also missed a 47-yard field goal attempt. He went 2 of 4 on the night, missing from 26 yards late in the fourth quarter.

The Seahawks will next host the divisional round on either January 17 or 18, whilst the loss sends the 49ers on the road for the Wild Card round next weekend against an opponent that will be determined after Sunday's games.

49ers offense comprehensively shut down by Seahawks

The game started with the San Francisco 49ers unable to generate a single first down in the first quarter. It ended with their quarterback on his back after a crushing hit on a fourth-down incompletion.

It wasn't much better in between for the 49ers. An offense that was nearly unstoppable during a six-game winning streak could generate almost nothing against Seattle.

"They played good defense and we didn't execute," Purdy said. "All these other games were we pulled away and had good points and stats and all that stuff is because we execute on the gritty third downs and stay on the field and then we go and score touchdowns after that. So obviously that's something we needed to do tonight. We didn't and the scoreboard shows it."

Now, instead of getting a bye, home-field advantage and the chance to play the Super Bowl on their home field without taking another trip, the 49ers (12-5) will have to head on the road next week in the wild-card round after falling flat in their biggest game of the season.

The Niners had put themselves in this position thanks to an offense that helped the team average a league-best 35.7 points during a six-game winning streak that featured back-to-back games with at least 42 points ahead of the showdown against Seattle.

But after thriving against several of the NFL's weaker defenses in recent weeks, San Francisco was outclassed by a Seahawks unit that put heavy pressure on Purdy, shut down McCaffrey and the running game and used sound tackling to eliminate big plays after the catch.

It added up to one of the worst offensive performances for San Francisco in nine seasons under Shanahan, with the three points being the fewest the team scored since a 23-3 loss to Carolina in his debut in 2017 and the 173 yards the fewest ever in a regular-season game.

"Disappointed," tight end George Kittle said. "NFL, you can have a bad game any game. Unfortunately, we decided to have a bad game today. Kind of hard to expect to really win a game if we're not going to score more than three points."

Playing without Pro Bowl left tackle Trent Williams and receiver Ricky Pearsall, San Francisco just never got into a rhythm on offense. The 49ers started the game with back-to-back three-and-outs and then got stopped on fourth-and-1 on the next drive after finally getting a first down.

The Niners got a late field goal in the first half and only trailed 10-3 at the break, but nothing changed in the second half with the team punting for a third time - one more than in three games combined in December - after failing to reach midfield on the opening drive of the third quarter.

San Francisco's best chance to reach the end zone came early in the fourth quarter when it drove to the 6 and was in position to cut into a 10-point deficit. But a pass by Purdy was tipped at the line and bobbled by McCaffrey into Drake Thomas' hands for what was essentially a game-sealing interception.

"It's a play I have to make, absolutely have to make," McCaffrey said. "I expect nothing less but to make that play and it's completely on me."

The Seahawks killed more than eight minutes on the ensuing drive and the 49ers' last chance ended when Purdy was drilled by Derick Hall on a failed fourth-down pass to Kittle. Purdy was down on the turf for a bit before finally walking off the field gingerly with a stinger that Shanahan said wouldn't have kept him out of the game.

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