ClutchPoints
The Seattle Seahawks are suddenly one of the best teams in the NFL. Seattle’s impressive breakout season has been one of the best stories in the NFL this fall. Second-year head coach Mike Macdonald has completely changed the Seahawks in a short period of time. Now Seattle has an impressive 13-3 record heading into a heavyweight matchup with the 49ers in Week 18.
This game will have the most stakes of any regular-season matchup during the entire 2025 season.
Both Seattle and San Francisco are separated by just one game at the top of the NFC West division standings. The winner of this game will secure a division title, while the loser will become a wild card team in the NFC playoffs.
Beyond that, whichever team wins this game will also become the No. 1 seed for the NFC playoffs. It is the greatest advantage any team could hope for, which gives both sides plenty of motivation to go all out.
So will the Seahawks be able to take care of business this weekend? Or will they limp into the playoffs as a 13-win wild card team?
Below we will explore three Seahawks bold predictions before their important Week 18 matchup against the 49ers.
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Darnold has found himself a new home in Seattle.
The veteran quarterback was once considered a bust, but is now the franchise quarterback for the Seahawks.
Darnold became just the fifth quarterback in NFL history to have back-to-back 13-win seasons. That puts him in the same category as Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Brett Favre, and Aaron Rodgers. In other words, exactly what the Seahawks hoped they were getting when they signed Darnold to a huge contract this offseason.
He has played well for the Seahawks, which is a big part of why they have 13 wins. Darnold has 3,850 passing yards with 25 touchdowns and 14 interceptions headed into Week 18. He doesn’t have quite as many yards as he did with the Vikings last year, but he is more efficient and has the luxury of a great running game.
Darnold faces off against Brock Purdy this week in what should be an excellent quarterback duel.
Purdy and Darnold are two very different QBs, and I think they’ll show many of their differences in this game.
I’m predicting that Darnold will be more productive than Purdy, going for more passing yards and touchdowns. However, I think he’ll also commit more turnovers, which should create some problems for Seattle’s defense.
But at least he will (hopefully) play better than he did in Week 18 last year.
JSN has emerged as one of the NFL’s most productive wide receivers during the 2025 season.
The third-year receiver has 113 receptions for 1,709 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns headed into this weekend’s matchup.
Smith-Njigba gets plenty of targets...
