Game Preview: 49ers @ Seahawks
Let’s all rejoice and celebrate the fact that football is officially back! The San Francisco 49ers will kick off the 2025-2026 season with a road trip north to a very familiar foe, the Seattle Seahawks. In a more than fitting Week 1 matchup, let's talk about how these two teams match up with each other ahead of Sunday’s game.
Let’s start things off with the heart and soul of Kyle Shanahan’s playbook, the run game. The Seattle defensive front, highlighted by Byron Murphy II and Leonard Williams, saw a significant surge in the later games of 2024. Their run defense ranked 16th overall last season, giving up an average of 120.8 yards per game (YPG). Now, under the second year of head coach Mike MacDonald’s system, some analysts suggest this front could become one of the league's best. All games are won in the trenches, which means we move to the 49ers’ offensive line. The 49ers are bringing back four starting offensive linemen from 2024. Trent Williams, Jake Brendel, Colton McKivitz, and Dominick Puni. The depth chart lists Ben Bartch as the new starting left guard after the departure of Aaron Banks to free agency. In 2024, the 49ers were the 12th-ranked rushing offense, averaging 127.2 yards per game. With Christian McCaffrey back to health and new RB2 Brian Robinson Jr. ready for his debut, the 49ers will look to take that number higher in 2025. Expect to see the 49ers get the run game going early.
One thing Seattle has been known for is its secondary, with names like Devon Witherspoon, Riq Woolen, and Julian Love guarding the endzone. These guys will play a pivotal role when it comes to stopping the 49ers offense. If their guys up front can’t stop the run, be ready for Brock Purdy to operate out of shotgun or play action and find one of his guys downfield. One thing Mike MacDonald has done scheme-wise against Shanahan is run a two-high safety look and drop his linebackers deeper than usual to cut out the middle of the field, a spot Purdy is deadly in being able to throw into. If the 49ers cannot establish the run early, this will be the look they will see for the majority of the game. If this ends up being the case, expect more outside plays, pitches, and maybe even the return of the screen pass that we haven’t seen in some time, to start to open up the middle of the field and let Purdy operate with the whole field.
Seattle is bringing a new-look offense, but a not-so-new look to the 49ers, seeing how Klint Kubiak, brother of 49ers offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak, is the offensive coordinator for the Seahawks. With both brothers coming from the Gary Kubiak/Mike Shanahan coaching tree, they both bring hints of confusing motions, wide-zone runs, and play-action passing. One thing the 49ers will need to be able to do is stop the run, with Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet both returning as RB1 and RB2 for the Seahawks. Another thing they will need to be on alert about is Sam Darnold's first read. If Darnold can hit his first read, he can get the ball out very fast. The 49ers need to limit his opportunity early and force him to go through his progressions. The more time Darnold spends in the pocket, the higher the chance of disaster happening.
All in all, this is a pretty good matchup, and one that we will see again this season. As long as the 49ers can limit mistakes, win the turnover battle, and their young guys come ready to play, they should be sitting at 1-0 come Sunday night.