The 49ers’ Week 12 matchup against the Seahawks will offer the club an opportunity to do something it has never done since Seattle entered the NFL for the 1976 season – beat them in Seattle in consecutive seasons.
There admittedly weren’t many opportunities for wins in the Pacific Northwest during the first few decades of Seahawks football since they were in the AFC. San Francisco played in Seattle four times before the Seahawks came to the NFC West in 2002. The 49ers were victorious in 1976, 1988 and 1991, then lost in 1997 before winning their inaugural NFC West showdown in Seattle during the 2002 season.
They’ve played there every year since with wins in 2006, 2008, 2011, 2019 and 2022. Winning in 2023 would be their first back-to-back wins in Seattle since 1988 and 1991, and their first time doing it in consecutive seasons.
The last time San Francisco won consecutive games in Seattle was when they won there in 1988 and again in 1991 when the Seahawks were in the AFC West.
Trent Williams is the only 49ers player who was alive for both of those games.
— Kyle, a Madson (@KyleAMadson) November 21, 2023
A victory for San Francisco would offer some symbolism about how they’ve retaken control of a rivalry that got away from them for most of the 2010s.
Even bigger than the symbolism though is the boost it would give the 49ers in their quest to retain the NFC West crown. They’re a game up on the Seahawks and hold the intra-division tiebreaker. Striking the first blow in the hunt for the head-to-head tiebreak would put San Francisco firmly in the drivers seat to retain supremacy in the division, and over a team that’s been a thorn in their side for most of the last two decades.
