The NFL’s electric conclusion to the 2025 season will continue in Santa Clara on Saturday night as the 49ers welcome the Seahawks to Levi’s Stadium for a shot at NFC supremecy.
Week 18’s bout between San Francisco and Seattle will serve as a de facto NFC West title game. The winner will both be crowned division champion and the NFC’s No. 1 seed in the playoffs, while the loser will drop into the conference’s wild-card seeding along with the Rams and Packers.
The 49ers enter this one riding a six-game winning streak after an up-and-down 6–4 start to the season. Despite battling injuries at nearly every position up to this point, they’ve been able weather the storm over the past six weeks—in part thanks to their offense averaging 35.6 points per game since quarterback Brock Purdy returned from turf toe.
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The Seahawks, too, have won six straight and are looking to earn the NFC’s No. 1 seed for the first time since their back-to-back Super Bowl runs in 2013-14. While Sam Darnold—who we’ll get to in a second—has plateaued down the stretch in his first season in Seattle, the defense has kept them a contender by allowing just 18.1 points per game, second fewest in the NFL behind only the Texans.
If both teams play to their standard, this one could have the makings of an all-time classic. Here are three bold predictions for 49ers vs. Seahawks.
Sam Darnold will post a sub-85.0 passer rating for a fourth consecutive game
Sam Darnold is among a handful of recent quarterbacks across the NFL who have undergone a career resurgence after once being labeled a bust. Following brutal stints with the Jets, Panthers and a year as the 49ers backup, the former No. 3 pick has turned things around drastically, going an incredible 27–6 as a starter with the Vikings and Seahawks over the past two seasons.
In 2025 specifically, Darnold is completing a career-high 67.2% of his passes, has thrown for 3,850 yards and 25 touchdowns, and is guiding the Seahawks to 29.4 points per game scored—second in the NFL. Additionally, he's helped wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba lead the league in receiving yards (1,709) and 20-plus yard receptions (27).
Over the last month-plus, however, Darnold has come back to earth a bit. In his last five games, albeit Seattle wins, he’s completed just 62.7% of his passes for six touchdowns and four interceptions while posting a passer rating above 85.0 just once.
While San Francisco’s pass defense has left much to be desired in 2026, coach Kyle Shanahan has coached Darnold before—giving him a potental upper hand on his tendencies—as has Robert Saleh, who is now running the 49ers defense and is lauded as one of the best in the business.
Long story short? Look for Darnold to struggle on Saturday night and in turn, post a sub-85.0 passer rating for a fourth consecutive week.
Christian McCaffrey will secure Comeback Player of the Year award with an elite performance
49ers running back Christian McCaffrey is the odds-on favorite to win the Comeback Player of the Year award in 2025—and for good reason. After playing just four games last season due to nagging injuries, the 29-year-old has returned in a big way, carrying the ball 303 times (a career high) for 1,179 yards and 10 touchdowns while also catching 96(!) passes for 890 yards and seven more scores.
Across the sideline in this one, however, will be a Seahawks defense that’s been incredibly stout against opposing running backs, allowing just 94.1 yards per game, the third-fewest in the NFL.
The catch on Saturday night? McCaffrey is red hot, rushing for over 115 yards in back-to-back games, and also adds an element in the passing game that Seattle—who’s allowed the third-most yards to running backs out of the backfield this season—struggles to defend.
That’s why I’m predicting the three-time All-Pro to shred the Seahawks to the tune of 75-plus rushing yards, 75-plus receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns.
49ers will cap their odds-defying regular season by comfortably securing the NFC's No. 1 seed
The 49ers dealt with an absurd amount of injuries in 2025, seeing quarterback Brock Purdy, tight end George Kittle and tackle Trent Williams—among plenty of others—go down at various points throughout the season.
2026, however? Might be their year.
Just about as healthy as they could be—barring a miraculous comeback from linebacker Fred Warner—San Francisco is as hot as any team in the NFL right now, and even a similarly on-fire Seahawks squad may not be able to slow them down. At home, in front of the Faithful, I’m going with the 49ers to win this one convincingly, 34–20, earning the NFC’s No. 1 seed for the second time in three seasons.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Seahawks vs. 49ers: Three Bold Predictions for Saturday’s De Facto NFC West Title Game.
