In a must-win spot to earn the No. 1 seed in the NFC, the San Francisco 49ers came out with a thud.

They trailed 10-3 after two quarters, which is a small miracle given how much the Seattle Seahawks dominated the first half. San Francisco gets the ball to start the third quarter. One good drive from their offense could quickly turn the tide in this game.

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San Francisco’s defense was bending again. Seattle was in a third-and-2 at San Francisco’s 40 and ran it with Zach Charbonnet. He bounced his run outside and Lenoir tripped him up in the backfield for a loss of five that forced a Seattle punt in a spot where they likely would’ve gone for it on fourth-and-short. That’s a massive play for the 49ers defense.

Eight plays. 27 yards. Punt. The 49ers just don’t have the wide receivers to win against Seattle’s coverage and it’s forcing them to play in a small box where Seattle can tee off. It’s going to take a miracle for San Francisco to find the end zone.

Yuck. That was not a good first half of football for the 49ers. Their defense hung in to keep them in striking distance, but offensively it was a disaster against a very good Seattle defense. The 49ers managed only 69 yards on 20 plays in the first two quarters. Meanwhile, Seattle hung up 196 yards on 34 plays. A missed field goal and a failed fourth-and-goal helped keep this one close. San Francisco’s defense did a nice job holding up on the final drive of the half thanks in part to Sam Okuayinonu getting his first sack of the night to open the series.

San Francisco finally scored. They elected to skip a fourth-and-3 and brought on Pineiro for a 48-yard field goal. He drilled it and got the 49ers on the board. They went just 30 yards on 9 plays, but managed to get into field goal range and get on the board with 1:08 left in the first half.

San Francisco’s defense is doing a good job of bending without breaking. Sort of. Seattle is still averaging 6.0 yards per play and Sam Darnold has not been pressured very often. Alas, they’re holding the Seahawks to field goal attempts. Myers made his second try of the night and made it a two score game with 5:19 to go.

This is a tough look for the 49ers leading into a postseason where they’ll be facing more teams of Seattle’s caliber. With 9:35 to go in the second quarter they have 39 yards on 12 plays, only one first down, they’re 0-for-3 on third down and they failed to convert a fourth-and-1 after going with a long-developing play action look against a heavy Seattle blitz. San Francisco is getting outcoached and outplayed.

The 49ers defense somehow held again. Seattle was approaching the red zone and San Francisco got a negative play on second down to put the Seahawks into a third-and-14 where Upton Stout came up with a terrific tackle on a screen pass to limit Seattle’s chances for a shorter field goal. Their kicker, Jason Myers, pushed the field goal wide right. The 49ers have life.

It was an uncompetitive first 15 minutes for San Francisco. They went three-and-out twice, and a Seattle failed fourth-and-goal where Sam Darnold just missed a throw is the only thing between the 49ers and a two-touchdown deficit. It couldn’t have been a much worse start.

We may have just seen Kyle Shanahan concede Saturday’s game in the first quarter. The 49ers were in a fourth-and-1 at their own 44 and elected to punt. Shanahan’s determination that the 49ers can’t get one yard against the Seahawks defense doesn’t bode well for the rest of this one.

It was easy again for the Seahawks offense. They went 35 yards on just three plays with Charbonnet ripping off a 27-yard run for a touchdown on a third-and-short. Not much has happened in the first 10:31 to make it feel like San Francisco has a chance to win this one.

Yikes! San Francisco’s offense has carried the club through it’s six-game win streak, but it fell off the rails early with a short run, short completion, and a miscommunication between Brock Purdy and Jauan Jennings that led to an incompletion and a punt. To make matters worse, Garrett Wallow (who is on the 49ers, FYI) committed a facemask penalty on the punt and pushed Seattle all the way up to the 49ers 35 to start their second series. Little mistakes like a miscommunication on a route and a special teams penalty are how San Francisco can quickly lose this game.

San Francisco’s defense struggled to open Saturday’s game. Seattle had a first-and-goal at the 1 after going 69 yards on eight plays. Then Tatum Bethune came up with a sack, the 49ers stuffed a couple of run plays, and then Sam Darnold threw wide of Cooper Kupp on fourth-and-goal to give San Francisco an early stop. That’s huge for the 49ers defense.

Kittle was listed as questionable with an ankle injury leading up to Saturday’s game. He wasn’t among the team’s group of inactives, though, meaning he’ll be in uniform for the massive game.

LT Trent Williams (hamstring)WR Ricky Pearsall (knee, ankle)RB Isaac GuerendoDE Robert Beal Jr.DT Kevin GivensLB Curtis RobinsonCB Chase LucasWhat time does 49ers vs. Seahawks start?  Date: Saturday, January 3Time: 5:00 pm PTWhere: Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, Calif.What TV channel is 49ers vs. Seahawks on today?  49ers vs. Seahawks predictionsIn a small surprise, 26 of the 40 expert predictions we looked at have the 49ers beating the Seahawks at Levi’s Stadium and securing the No. 1 seed. There’s absolutely a path to San Francisco earning a victory, especially if they can get the game script on their side early and make Seattle one-dimensional. However, the margin for error is razor thin against an outstanding Seattle defense. It’s hard to see the 49ers offense putting up 27-plus again in Week 18, which may be what they need to get the win. Seahawks 30, 49ers 1949ers injury updates for Week 18LT Trent Williams (hamstring), QuestionableTE George Kittle (ankle), QuestionableCB Upton Stout (concussion), QuestionableDE Keion White (groin), QuestionableWR Ricky Pearsall (knee, ankle), Questionable49ers schedule 2025

Here is San Francisco’s regular season schedule and results.

Sunday, Sept. 7: 49ers 17, Seahawks 13Sunday, Sept. 14: 49ers 26, Saints 21Sunday, Sept. 21: 49ers 16, Cardinals 15Sunday, Sept. 28: Jaguars 26, 49ers 21Thursday, Oct. 2: 49ers 26, Rams 23Sunday, Oct. 12: Buccaneers 30, 49ers 19Sunday, Oct. 19: 49ers 20, Falcons 10Sunday, Oct. 26: Texans 26, 49ers 15Sunday, Nov. 2: 49ers 34, Giants 24Sunday, Nov. 9: Rams 42, 49ers 26Sunday, Nov. 16: 49ers 41, Cardinals 22Monday, Nov. 24: 49ers 20, Panthers 9Sunday, Nov. 30: 49ers 26, Browns 8Sunday, Dec. 7: ByeSunday, Dec. 14: 49ers 37, Titans 24Monday, Dec. 22: 49ers 48, Colts 27Sunday, Dec. 28: 49ers 42, Bears 38Sunday, Jan. 4: 49ers vs. Seahawks

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