The Seattle Seahawks played their first Divisional Round game since the January 2020 loss to the Green Bay Packers, and they did so with a level of focus and execution that showed up clearly on tape. Despite a week filled with external noise and rivalry-driven narratives, Seattle delivered a dominant 41–6 victory. From an All-22 perspective, this game is a strong case study of what this defense can be when it consistently plays within structure, maintains leverage, and communicates effectively across all three levels.
More importantly, this game reinforced a central theme of the Seahawks’ postseason ceiling: the offense is the unit that will ultimately determine how far this team goes. The defense once again played at a high baseline, but unlike previous weeks, it was paired with offensive efficiency, early-down success, and explosive plays. The result was a 41-point output instead of another grind-it-out, low-scoring win.
All data used in this article comes from PFF.
The Bad
Brock Purdy surviving outside of structure
From a film standpoint, the primary defensive issue was not a lack of pressure, but a failure to finish plays. Seattle consistently collapsed the pocket, won early at the point of attack, and forced Purdy off his spot. However, that pressure too often failed to translate into sacks or negative plays.
While the scoreboard never reflected danger, these breakdowns extended drives unnecessarily and allowed San Francisco to generate offense beyond what the original play design intended. Against quarterbacks who are more dangerous throwing on the move — Matthew Stafford being the most relevant upcoming example — this becomes a critical problem.
Most of the 49ers’ successful passing reps did not come from clean, on-schedule concepts. Instead, they came from second-reaction throws after Purdy escaped the pocket and forced the coverage unit to transition from pattern-match rules into scramble drill principles.
Pause the tape the moment Purdy breaks contain. Uchenna Nwosu wins cleanly off the edge, defeats the tackle’s outside hand, and has a free path to the quarterback. The issue is not rush timing, but rush lane discipline at the finish point. Nwosu overruns the depth of the pocket just enough to allow Purdy to step up and escape.
Downfield, the secondary executes at a high level. Coverage leverage is intact, routes are plastered, and spacing rules are respected. However, when the rush does not close, the coverage unit is forced to hold longer than the structure allows. This dynamic consistently punished good coverage with extended-play completions.
This has been a recurring issue throughout the season: containing mobile quarterbacks within the pocket rather than simply forcing them off their initial read. Again, Purdy escapes, resets his platform, and converts a first down in a situation where the defense has already won the rep.
Early game inconsistencies
Early in the game, the defensive line did not consistently control the line of scrimmage the way it had in recent matchups. The issue was not assignment integrity, but displacement. San Francisco’s offensive line was able to generate just enough movement to climb to the second level, putting linebackers in conflict.
When linebackers are consistently forced to take on blocks at depth, they are naturally triggered to play more aggressively downhill. This aggressiveness showed up on tape and created moments where play-action windows briefly opened behind them.
This is not a glaring mental error, and in several instances the defender is a half-step away from making the play. However, over-committing one step forward is enough to alter leverage and create throwing lanes. This same stress point was repeatedly attacked by the Rams in the previous matchup and remains a clear coaching emphasis heading into the NFC Championship.
There were also a handful of snaps where eye discipline slipped, leading to completed passes in situations where the defense otherwise had favorable numbers. Against an offense with better spacing and route layering, those lapses can quickly turn explosive.
The Good
Defensive discipline after adjustments
Once adjustments were made, the defense settled into a much more controlled and disciplined approach. A fourth-down speed option called by Kyle Shanahan provides a clean teaching tape example.
San Francisco presents a speed option look with the fullback responsible for either leading or pitching to Christian McCaffrey. DeMarcus Lawrence (an outstanding signing) completely controls the rep at right tackle, anchoring, winning leverage, and forcing the play to stretch horizontally rather than allowing any vertical seam.
The key execution comes from Drake Thomas. Even with the fullback selling the pitch aggressively, Thomas stays square, maintains outside-in leverage, and honors his gap responsibility. Rather than chasing the ball, he preserves defensive structure, which ultimately collapses the play.
This same discipline shows up against play-action. The defense does not trigger prematurely, second-level defenders maintain depth, and the quarterback is forced to exit the pocket purely to buy time. With rush lanes controlled and coverage plastered, there is no throwing window available.
Klint Kubiak’s run-game sequencing
There was legitimate concern that Klint Kubiak’s head-coaching interview process could disrupt preparation. On tape, the opposite is true. His run-game sequencing was deliberate, layered, and clearly designed to stress linebacker rules and edge integrity.
Kubiak consistently attacked the perimeter with outside zone and wide zone, forcing linebackers to flow laterally and trigger aggressively. That flow became the foundation for misdirection and constraint plays later in the game.
One of his staple designs appears multiple times: a fake counter paired with an end-around. Focus on #81 Eric Saubert. He initially sells flow one direction, flips his hips, and seals the opposite edge. That action pairs with excellent second-level execution from Grey Zabel and Jalen Sundell, both of whom show the athletic ability required to execute space blocks. The result is a clean lane that allows Rashid Shaheed’s speed to stress pursuit angles.
Kubiak also used Jaxon Smith-Njigba in the backfield to manipulate coverage rules. The goal was twofold: manufacture free releases by avoiding press looks and discourage bracket coverage. While that alignment limited JSN’s direct targets, it forced defensive backs to key heavily on #11, creating hesitation and spacing for Cooper Kupp to win isolated matchups.
Crack Toss and Pin-and-Pull concepts were a major feature of the run plan. Wide receivers cracked down on edge defenders, allowing linemen to pull cleanly to the second level. After repeated success — driven largely by Kupp’s physical blocking — the offense layered in a crack-toss look with a delayed pull. Watch Kupp sell the crack before Sundell wraps and delivers a key block on the touchdown.
A similar concept appears later with added window dressing. The offense shows crack toss left. Abe Lucas initially sells an edge block before climbing to the second level, improving his angle and allowing him to square up the safety cleanly.
Ken Walker III – Patience and vision
Ken Walker logged 33 snaps, his third-highest total of the season, following Zach Charbonnet’s injury. With consistent offensive line execution, Walker produced 136 scrimmage yards on 19 carries, three receptions, and three touchdowns.
What stands out most on film is patience. Rather than outrunning blocks, Walker presses the aiming point, forces linebackers to declare, and then accelerates decisively once lanes form.
Zone concepts — particularly backside execution — allowed Walker to showcase elite cutback ability. By pressing the front side and snapping back against over-pursuit, he exploited defensive flow and turned sound blocking into explosive gains.
Special teams execution
While special teams often receive less schematic attention, this return touchdown is cleanly executed. On the All-22, split the field down the middle. Seattle’s return unit prioritizes the first defender nearest the midline. A double-team forms to the left, while Brady Russell executes a perfectly timed trap block to the right, creating a defined return lane that Shaheed hits with conviction.
Final Thoughts
Seattle controlled this game from a structural and execution standpoint. The win places the Seahawks one game away from a Super Bowl appearance, but the tape also provides clear coaching points. Pressure must finish with sacks, and rush lane integrity must prevent quarterbacks from escaping structure.
Those details will matter immensely in the next matchup: a third meeting with the Los Angeles Rams and one of the most sophisticated offensive systems in the league.
