49ers–Seahawks rivalry

The 49ers–Seahawks rivalry is an American football rivalry between the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks in the National Football League (NFL). While the teams first met in 1976, the rivalry did not develop until 2002, when the Seahawks were placed with the 49ers in the NFC West, allowing for two annual meetings between the teams.[1] The Seahawks lead the series 28–17. The teams met once in the playoffs, a 23–17 Seahawks win in the 2013 NFC Championship Game.

49ers–Seahawks rivalry
San Francisco 49ers
Seattle Seahawks
First meetingSeptember 26, 1976
49ers 37, Seahawks 21
Latest meetingJanuary 3, 2021
Seahawks 26, 49ers 23
Next meeting2021
Statistics
Meetings total45
All-time seriesSeahawks, 28–17
Postseason resultsSeahawks, 1–0
Largest victory49ers, 38–7 (1988)
Seahawks, 41–3 (2005)
Longest win streak49ers, 4 (2010–12)
Seahawks, 10 (2014–18)
Current win streakSeahawks, 2 (2020)

History

Prior to 2002, the 49ers led the all-time series 4–2, but since they became NFC West division rivals in 2002, the Seahawks lead the series 26–13. The rivalry was once considered insignificant, due to the two teams having little history against each other and with both suffering significant stretches of mediocrity.[2] For example, while the Seahawks won four straight division titles from 2004 to 2007, the 49ers finished in third or fourth place each season and did not have a winning season from 2003 to 2010. Likewise, the Seahawks suffered four straight losing seasons from 2008 to 2011. Despite their stretch of mediocrity, the Seahawks have remained competitive in games against the 49ers in those years, especially games at Lumen Field, where their worst loss to the 49ers there was by only ten points in 2006.

"It don't get much better than the 49ers...it felt like a Super Bowl when we were playing during that time."

—K. J. Wright, Seahawks LB[3]

The rivalry intensified in 2011, when long-standing college rival coaches—former USC coach Pete Carroll and former Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh—took over as head coaches, with Carroll becoming the Seahawks' coach in 2010, and Harbaugh becoming the 49ers coach in 2011. Both teams drafted young, mobile quarterbacks to lead their franchises, Seattle's Russell Wilson and San Francisco's Colin Kaepernick.[4] Both coaches turned their respective franchises into perennial playoff contenders, and from 2010 to 2014, either the Seahawks or the 49ers won the NFC West championship.

The two teams met in the 2013 NFC Championship Game in Seattle with a trip to Super Bowl XLVIII on the line, with the Seahawks winning 23–17. The game ended when Seahawks' cornerback Richard Sherman, whom Harbaugh previously coached at Stanford, tipped an end zone pass that led to a game-ending interception. Sherman had his famous postgame interview immediately afterwards, calling out 49ers receiver Michael Crabtree and claiming to be the "best corner in the game".[5] Seattle went on to defeat the Denver Broncos 43–8 in Super Bowl XLVIII to win their first Super Bowl championship. San Francisco had represented the NFC in a losing effort in Super Bowl XLVII the previous season.

Since drafting Russell Wilson in 2012, the Seahawks have dominated the rivalry, holding a 15–4 record against the 49ers in that span.

Game results
San Francisco 49ers vs. Seattle Seahawks Season-by-Season Results
1970s – 1990s (49ers, 4–2)
2000s (Seahawks, 10–6)
2010s (Seahawks, 14–7)
2020s (Seahawks, 2–0)
Summary of Results

References

General

Specific
  1. Banks, Don (May 22, 2001). "Seattle moved to NFC in approved realignment plan". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
  2. Iyer, Vinnie (June 18, 2013). "49ers-Seahawks rivalry: Get ready for a long-running drama". Sporting News. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
  3. Bell, Gregg (October 2, 2019). "Seahawks-Rams Thursday is big. But for K.J. Wright, it's not old Seahawks-49ers big". The News Tribune. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  4. Farrar, Doug (December 5, 2013). "Second-year starting quarterbacks Kaepernick, Wilson are key men in revived Seahawks/49ers rivalry". SI.com. Archived from the original on 2014-01-02. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
  5. Eagle, Ben (January 19, 2014). "Richard Sherman calls out Michael Crabtree in all-time postgame interview". SI.com. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
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