The Seattle Seahawks completely overwhelmed the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday in the divisional round of the playoffs.
Rashid Shaheed opened the game by returning the kickoff for a touchdown, Kenneth Walker III rushed for three scores, and Seattle advanced to the NFC championship game with a commanding 41–6 win over San Francisco.
It marked yet another dominant showing from the Seahawks’ defense, which has ranked among the league’s best throughout the season.
There’s an old saying, “Defense wins championships,” and those who believe in it had plenty to celebrate on Saturday. Denver, another elite defensive team, advanced earlier in the day, while Houston—arguably the league’s best defense—remains alive in the playoffs and will face New England on Sunday.
Despite the lopsided victory, Seattle is not satisfied. Head coach Mike Macdonald made it clear that the team’s goals extend beyond a divisional round win.
“In the locker room, we were very excited, we were very proud of the effort. But the guys understand that there is a mission at hand,” Macdonald said postgame. “We got another week coming up here and we need to take care of business everyday. So that’s the focus. Proud of the group. We’ll celebrate today, guys are off tomorrow and we’re back on Monday.”
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Seattle will host the NFC championship game at Lumen Field against either the Los Angeles Rams or the Chicago Bears. The atmosphere on Saturday was electric.
“What an atmosphere. Holy smokes,” Macdonald said. “Just our organization putting on a great setting. You do actually try to take some time and look around and realize just how incredibly blessed we are. We have the best fans in the world. It definitely impacted the game.”
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