The Seattle Seahawks–San Francisco 49ers rivalry adds another postseason chapter in the NFC Divisional Round, and the context can be very different from the lifeless performance San Francisco showed against
Seattle in Week 18. In the Wild Card Round, Kyle Shanahan has adjusted both his offense and the way he protects his defense — something that was evident in the win over the Philadelphia Eagles — and that changes the puzzle Mike Macdonald and the Seahawks defense now have to solve. It will also be a challenge for Klint Kubiak, who is highly sought after by teams without a head coach.
How the Seahawks can be ready for Kyle Shanahan
Against the Eagles, Shanahan effectively acknowledged that his offense had become predictable. The first change was a reduced reliance on pure wide zone. The run game incorporated more gap concepts such as duo, counter, and split-flow variations, forcing linebackers to read blocks honestly instead of simply chasing lateral flow. That created more vertical runs and reduced negative plays.
The second adjustment was a return to a more disciplined marriage between run and pass. The offense leaned heavily on under-center play-action, using concepts that attack the second level — over routes, sail, and late tight end leaks — constantly putting linebackers in conflict. The 49ers quarterback had cleaner reads and faced fewer pure dropback situations, something that had been an issue against Seattle previously.
That’s why Kyle Shanahan needs to be respected. His adaptability and repertoire are incredible. Furthermore, the Week 18 loss must still be fresh in his mind. Imagine that not even Nick Mullens, Jimmy Garoppolo, Trey Lance, or even Brian Hoyer had the numbers from that game.
Another of Shanny’s adaptations was using Kyle Juszczyk to receive passes, since he had been used primarily as a blocker and was being sidelined by defenses. It was a way to keep the offense moving.
He likes to show off his tendencies just to catch the defense off guard a few snaps later. In this play, notice that there are two routes to cover for Devon Witherspoon: the checkdown and the dig. Riq Woolen communicates well, passes the dig to Spoon and defends the checkdown.
Again, he puts two routes on Spoon. The CB hesitates and spends more time watching the checkdown, creating space behind him for the reception. One of the few lapses in the Seahawks’ defense in this game.
Here he opens his entire toolbox. Notice how the backfield action of multiple handoffs causes the #32, who would be responsible for covering CMC, to hesitate and leave the RB open for the important TD.
One way to overcome this is with discipline. Don’t try to do more than you should, not for lack of effort, but to avoid creating an unexpected opening that will inevitably be exploited by Shanny.
For the Seahawks defense, they need maintain absolute edge discipline. Shanahan punished undisciplined contain with bootlegs and misdirection looks against Philadelphia. Seattle must be willing to concede short gains outside the pocket, but cannot allow explosive plays. Play more conservatively with gap fits, especially on early downs. It forced tougher inside runs and eliminated horizontal cutback lanes that fuel Shanahan’s offense.
Where Seattle can attack San Francisco
I believe the Seahawks’ offensive performance will define our fate. Sam Darnold played well, not forcing anything and thus not suffering a turnover, something rare in his season. However, that may not be enough. Notice how the two turnovers forced by the Eagles’ defense meant NOTHING. Three plays later they gave the ball back; not even a field goal was scored.
The team needs to finish drives; in Week 18 Seattle was 0/3 in the red zone, and this has been a recurring issue throughout the year. Even with the incredible performance of the defense and the offense moving the ball well (even reaching the red zone), the fact that they didn’t convert that into points left the score much closer than the defense’s performance would have suggested.
The key to the offensive performance is the running game. The Seahawks achieved their best rushing performance of the year, and this helped the scheme. Klint Kubiak exploited the 49ers’ edge rushers, who were frequently aggressive, and their late replacements left space, forcing the linebackers to move and opening up opportunities for cutbacks. The plan was very well executed, and when the 49ers seemed to be adapting to the outside zone and wide zone, Kubiak countered with a split zone and a duo run.
This also influences the passing game, as it creates passing lanes behind the linebackers. Furthermore, it can force teams to use base defense and become slightly more vulnerable against the pass.
The 49ers use a lot of Cover 4 and Quarters, and earlier in the year Kubiak had success against this type of coverage. The focus of this coverage is receiver #2. The route occupies the safety, who has to drop back, leaving cornerback Deommodore Lenoir (who talks much more than he plays) in a 1v1 deep situation, and almost giving up a significant advantage. It could be a good way to use JSN and Rashid Shaheed.
Finally, another challenge for our offense is the presence of Eric Kendricks (I don’t know why he wasn’t a starter after the 49ers’ injuries). In my view, he was better against the Eagles and a big upgrade in the LB room. While he was blocked in the running game, he made good diagnoses without overruns, and in the passing game he provided good coverage, including almost getting an interception on the final play.
Final thoughts
As fantastic as the victory was in the last week of the regular season, it matters little in the playoffs. It’s like a new championship; even the Carolina Panthers, the worst team in the playoffs, had a chance to beat one of the favorites, the Rams.
What can be taken from week 18 is that, in addition to good individual performances and schemes, the execution by the defense was fantastic. The team was totally focused, and that’s what needs to be repeated by the entire team in this fantastic matchup.
Could this game hold something similar to the legendary ‘The Tip’?
