For the second time in three weeks, theSeattle SeahawksandSan Francisco 49ersare facing off.
These teams met inWeek 18in what was a battle for the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs. It ended up in a dominant display for theSeahawks' defense as they stalled the 49ers' offense en route to a13-3 victory.
That win ensured Seattle had last week off during the wild-card weekend. Now,they're back in actionfor the divisional round on Jan. 17.
San Francisco upset host Philadelphia last weekendthanks to some trickery on offense and standout performances by veterans on defense. They're on the road once again for this one.
This week marks the first playoff game for Seahawks quarterbackSam Darnoldsince last year's wild-card round whenhe and the Minnesota Vikings lost to the Los Angeles Rams. The Rams' defense rattled Darnold with nine sacks in that one.
Darnold will look to change that narrative in the playoffs against his former team. He's 2-1 against the 49ers since spending the 2023 NFL season in San Francisco.
But he popped up on the injury report this week with an oblique issue. Here's the latest on his status for the divisional playoffs:
NFL weather games: Football played in adverse conditions ❄️🌧️
Is Sam Darnold playing against the 49ers?
The Seahawks quarterback explained what happened and why he ended up on the injury report during a Jan. 15 press conference. His response indicates he'll be on the field for the Seahawks-49ers game.
"Kind of just felt a little something on that oblique, just didn't want to push it," Darnold said today. "Wasn't the day to push it so that was it. So I just came inside, got some rehab and feel like I'll be ready to go for Saturday."
Sam Darnold said he expects to be ready to play. Said there is close to 0% chance he won't play.pic.twitter.com/BeUOujGZAo
— Brian Nemhauser (@hawkblogger)January 15, 2026