ClutchPoints
All season long, the Seattle Seahawks have quietly built a defense capable of carrying a Super Bowl run. In Week 18, though, they stopped being quiet about it. Against a San Francisco 49ers offense that had been terrorizing the league for weeks, Seattle delivered a defensive performance so dominant and complete. It recalibrated the entire postseason conversation. This was a bona fide declaration. When the lights were brightest and the stakes were highest, the Seahawks’ defense didn’t bend. Instead, it broke the league’s most explosive attack in half.
The Seahawks closed their regular season with a statement 13-3 victory over the 49ers. This win secured the NFC West crown and locked up the conference’s No. 1 seed. Sure, the final score suggested a grind. However, the underlying story was pure domination. Seattle’s defense suffocated San Francisco from the opening snap. They held the 49ers to just 173 total yards and three points. It’s their lowest output since 2017 and the first time all season they failed to score a touchdown.
Offensively, Seattle leaned on the run game to control tempo and field position. Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet combined to outgain the entire 49ers offense. Charbonnet provided the game’s only touchdown on a 27-yard burst that capped a methodical second-half drive. The decisive moment came late in the fourth quarter. That’s when San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy forced a throw into traffic in the red zone and was picked. It extinguished the 49ers’ final hope and sent them into the playoffs as a road team. It was clinical, and it was all Seattle needed.
Here we’ll try to look at and discuss why the Seahawks’ defense proved it’s the best after shutting down the 49ers offense.
What made this performance special wasn’t just the result. It was also the opponent. San Francisco entered Week 18 averaging over 35 points per game over its previous six contests. They scored touchdowns seemingly at will. Seattle, though, turned that scoring machine into a sputtering mess. The Seahawks allowed no touchdowns, forced the 49ers into a miserable 2-of-9 on third down, and erased them on their only red-zone trip.
Purdy just never found rhythm. Christian McCaffrey never found space. Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan never found answers. Seattle’s front consistently collapsed the pocket while the secondary erased passing windows before they could even develop. This wasn’t a one-dimensional shutdown. It was utter dominance at every level.
Devon Witherspoon was outstanding on the perimeter. He flew downhill to close space and disrupt timing routes before they could breathe. Nick Emmanwori and Leonard Williams controlled the middle. They repeatedly blew up plays at the point of attack. As is often the case with Seattle’s defense, though, the challenge isn’t finding standouts. It’s choosing which ones to spotlight.
That’s the mark of a truly elite unit. Every week, different players step into starring roles, and every week the standard remains the same. This group...
