Seahawks-49ers on Saturday of Week 18: What We Learned from Seattle's 13-3 win

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• READ: Seahawks clinch No. 1 seed, NFC West with win over 49ers
• READ: Niners must ‘do it the hard way’ after losing out on top seed

1. Seahawks run to NFC’s No. 1 seed. Some credit is owed to Sam Darnold for getting a win in the same spot he fell short in with the Vikings last year. For the second straight season, he needed a Week 18 victory to clinch the NFC's No. 1 seed. Unlike with Minnesota, Darnold didn’t turn into a prime-time pumpkin. He had a few skittish moments, almost fumbling a handoff after falling and nearly throwing an interception late while trying to run out the clock, but he did what he was called on to do to finish a respectable 20 of 26 for 198 yards. Hopefully that will fill him with confidence moving into the postseason. The running game was the real hero, though. Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet combined for 171 yards and a score on 33 carries, and each had multiple massive runs for the Seahawks. Charbonnet’s biggest was a 27-yard first-quarter touchdown run on which he burst to the outside and eventually shook off defensive back Malik Mustapha to get into the end zone. For Walker, it was a miraculous, tackle-dodging third-and-17 pickup from his own 25-yard line -- an absolute crusher in a one-score game late in the third quarter. The Seahawks ran it down the 49ers’ throat essentially from start to finish to control the game. Having defeated the 49ers in Santa Clara, Calif., to earn a first-round bye, the road back to Santa Clara -- the site of Super Bowl LX on Feb. 8 -- officially runs through Seattle.
2. Niners fall short on both sides. It was a tight, low-scoring game, but the Seahawks seemed to dominate everywhere but the scoreboard. Offensively, the Niners were totally outmatched. Brock Purdy finished with just 127 passing yards and an interception. Jauan Jennings was his leading receiver with 35 yards, while Christian McCaffrey led the team on the ground with a measly 23 rushing yards on 2.9 yards per carry. With nothing doing on offense, San Francisco’s defensive flaws were painfully laid bare. The 49ers couldn’t stop the run early, getting dinged on a few big carries, then even after tightening up inexcusably showed lackluster effort on key downs. Linebacker Tatum Bethune led the team with four missed tackles, per Next Gen Stats; three other defenders -- Dee Winters, Eric Kendricks and Malik Mustapha -- whiffed on three. The final margin of victory would have better matched how the game felt had the Seahawks not missed two field goals or failed on a fourth-down try in the red zone during their first drive. Now, the Niners must pick up the pieces and head on the road for the Wild Card Round. The good news is that there aren’t many playoff teams that can frustrate Kyle Shanahan’s offense to the degree Seattle did on Saturday night. The bad news? A great number more can certainly exploit San Francisco’s defense.
3. Seattle’s defense was relentless in quieting Purdy. San Francisco came into the battle for the NFC's No. 1 seed having averaged a ridiculous 42.3 points over its past three games. Brock Purdy, easily the league’s hottest quarterback, had combined for 10 touchdowns in the team’s past two contests. The Seahawks ensured very little of that success carried over into their matchup. They quickly doused the flames coming off Purdy by forcing two three-and-outs and a turnover on downs to open the game. At every level, the defense was flying around the field, making life difficult for both the passing and running game. For as prolific as he’s been all season, Christian McCaffrey was effectively shut down no matter how the Niners got him the ball. Even a double reverse that was then flipped back to Purdy to throw to CMC only netted a few yards. More often than not, Purdy could only make things happen through circus-act escapes and desperate throws. Even when the 49ers did find some momentum, finally piecing together their lone drive over 30 yards in the fourth quarter, McCaffrey was unable to collect a catch that instead landed in Drake Thomas’ hands for a red-zone pick. For the first time in a long time, nothing came easy for the Niners, who finished with 173 total yards -- a far cry short from their 455.3 yards-per-game average since their Week 14 bye. In one of the most important games of the season, Seattle’s D again proved why it can help deliver a Lombardi Trophy.

Next Gen Stats Insight for Seahawks-49ers (via NFL Pro): Zach Charbonnet forced a career-high 10 missed tackles, while Kenneth Walker forced seven missed tackles. The two Seahawks running backs combined to gain 74 yards due to missed tackles. Overall, the 49ers defense missed 21 tackles, the second-most by a defense in a game this season.

NFL Research: Sam Darnold (14-3 with Minnesota last season) joined Tom Brady (2003-04) as the only quarterbacks in NFL history to win at least 14 games in consecutive seasons.