SAN FRANCISCO — Before the Seahawks’ first playoff game this season, in the divisional round, their third meeting with the 49ers this season, Doug Baldwin got the call. The only franchise he ever played for wanted him, a wide receiver who ranks among the greatest players in team history, who powered the offensive side of the Boom era, to raise the 12 flag in the south end zone before kickoff. He raised it. Some 68,000 spread before him roared.
Baldwin didn’t know what to expect. That moment evoked strong feelings. He didn’t necessarily expect those. But, he tells Sports Illustrated, “It was cathartic for me.”
