{"id":863844,"date":"2026-04-11T09:33:21","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T09:33:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/863844\/"},"modified":"2026-04-11T09:33:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T09:33:21","slug":"how-49ers-can-compete-vs-seahawks-per-richard-sherman-nbc-sports-bay-area-california","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/863844\/","title":{"rendered":"How 49ers can compete vs. Seahawks, per Richard Sherman \u2013 NBC Sports Bay Area & California"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 49ers were overmatched up front against the Seattle Seahawks during the 2025 NFL season — and Richard Sherman<\/a> didn\u2019t sugarcoat why.<\/p>\n

Speaking on “The Richard Sherman Podcast<\/a>,” the former All-Pro cornerback bluntly assessed what went wrong when San Francisco\u2019s offense faced Seattle\u2019s defense.<\/p>\n

“They got bullied,” Sherman said.<\/p>\n

San Francisco\u2019s struggles were especially evident late in the season, when it dropped two lopsided games to Seattle — a 13-3 regular-season loss<\/a> and a 41-6 playoff blowout<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Sherman pointed to both of these matchups, noting the 49ers simply couldn\u2019t hold up against Seattle\u2019s defensive front. While a key turnover — a bobbled pass from Christian McCaffrey<\/a> — helped swing one game, Sherman emphasized the bigger issue was physicality.<\/p>\n

“It was decimation,” Sherman added.<\/p>\n

To fix it, Sherman believes the solution starts in the trenches.<\/p>\n

The 49ers must “get some attitude back” on the offensive line, he said, stressing the need for stronger, more physical interior linemen who can win at the point of attack. Seattle\u2019s defensive front — featuring players like Byron Murphy<\/a>, Jarran Reed<\/a> and Leonard Williams<\/a> — consistently held its ground, even against double teams.<\/p>\n

“You haven\u2019t been able to move them,” Sherman said. “That means your guys aren\u2019t strong enough.”<\/p>\n

That reality leaves San Francisco with limited options.<\/p>\n

Sherman acknowledged teams can try to scheme around dominant defensive linemen, but warned it won\u2019t be enough against a unit as disciplined and athletic as Seattle\u2019s.<\/p>\n

“You\u2019re going to have to get body movers,” Sherman explained. “If you can\u2019t move them, then you\u2019re going to have the same problem next year.”<\/p>\n

Otherwise, the burden shifts to Brock Purdy and the passing game — a risky proposition against a defense built to capitalize on predictable offenses.<\/p>\n

At its core, Sherman framed the matchup simply: execution and physicality will decide it. Until the 49ers prove they can match Seattle\u2019s strength up front, he expects more of the same.<\/p>\n

“It\u2019s going to be a grind,” Sherman stated.<\/p>\n

Download and follow the 49ers Talk Podcast<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 49ers were overmatched up front against the Seattle Seahawks during the 2025 NFL season — and Richard…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":863845,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2080],"tags":[220,7,6,19604,1161,252,2624,2623],"class_list":{"0":"post-863844","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-francisco-49ers","8":"tag-49ers","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-nfl","11":"tag-richard-sherman","12":"tag-san-francisco","13":"tag-san-francisco-49ers","14":"tag-sanfrancisco","15":"tag-sanfrancisco49ers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/863844","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=863844"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/863844\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/863845"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=863844"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=863844"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=863844"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}