Shanahan was desperate and clueless from the very start

Lessons learned from Seahawks-49ers and legacies for Sam Darnold and Mike Macdonald

Kyle Shanahan’s 49ers went 0-for-5 on fourth down against the Seahawks over their last two games. Which is like saying that Seattle forced an additional five turnovers on top of the four turnovers they forced from interceptions and fumbles.

That would be NINE turnovers in two games for a 49ers team that had nine turnovers in their last eight regular season games combined prior to Week 18.

Signs that the division game was going downhill from the start for Shanahan were apparent from the moment the very first drive (after Rashid Shaheed’s return of course), when the Seahawks stuffed Christian McCaffrey on third-and-1 (SF was the #1 third down team in 2025), then after a timeout by Seattle, tracked down a pedestrian call by the Niners to have Kyle Juszczyk either run it or pitch it on fourth down and he’s basically running like this:

Juszczyk didn’t come within six yards of a first down on that play. Are we sure the Niners have any real ‘weapons’?

The "Geronimo” film analysis I shared last week between Shanahan and Fangio did a full hour long vid for Shanahan vs. Macdonald:

Watching it back again, it felt like Shanahan gave the game away on the first drive.

• Number one, the 49ers were on the 40 and they have a kicker who has the leg to make a field goal from 57.

• Number two, if the narrative was to “make Darnold beat you” why not punt it and force Seattle to go 90 or 95 yards?

• Number three, it’s 2026 and the 49ers don’t have a tush push play?

If the 49ers were so good, why did it feel like they went into desperation mode only down 7-0 with THE ENTIRE GAME left on the clock?

Having gone 2-of-9 on third down and 0-of-3 on fourth down in Week 18 (so, 2-of-12 on money downs), Shanahan turned down a kick to cut the lead, a punt to pin Seattle back, and also doesn’t have confidence in any straightforward plays to gain ONE yard against the Seahawks.

I’m not saying Shanahan is a bad play caller, but how do you not have a one-yard play in 2026? And you’re running away from Trent Williams with the ball in the hands of your fullback instead of McCaffrey?

The 49ers converted six third downs, but half of them came in the fourth quarter when Seattle was ahead by 35. Unable to win on fourth down, San Francisco’s decision to be aggressive actually played more into the game that Macdonald wanted to play against the Niners, not the other way around.

Isn’t that sort of a theme right now?

You want to hear an insane stat? Caleb Williams threw three interceptions in two playoff games…on fourth down! That’s more fourth down interceptions in the playoffs than the rest of the NFL combined.

Ben Johnson’s fourth down decisions (Chicago had 1 first half punt in two playoff games compared to SEVEN attempts to convert) is one of the reasons that the Seahawks are hosting the Rams instead of the Bears. Seattle hasn’t had to look desperate many times this year as their 12 attempts in the regular season was the fewest by a mile.

(can you believe that the Seahawks didn’t attempt a single fourth down in their OT victory against the Rams?)

But at least when they need a yard, they have a Barn. When Shanahan needed a yard against Seattle, the 49ers lacked the Juice.

Here are some of your (over 100) comments from the post-game reaction on Saturday night. If you want to join the conversation, get a premium membership for only $5:

PNW Rider: Is the “ can’t win big games “ label off of Darnold now ?

I don’t know if what I’m about to say will be controversial, but I really do not care about Sam Darnold’s personal success or any narratives about him.

Not saying that I don’t like Darnold or that he can’t be the MVP of the next two games because he IS capable of that. But if the Seahawks win the next two games without throwing a single pass that would be perfectly fine with me as well … and I kind of think that’s an exaggerated version of what will actually happen.

In Rocky II, Apollo Creed is haunted by the fact that boxing fans aren’t giving him the credit that he feels he deserves for beating Rocky because the decision wasn’t obvious. “I won, but I didn’t beat him!”

Now if you’ve seen Rocky II, you know that Apollo could have walked away 1-0 against Rocky Balboa. But he let the narratives get to him and eventually so too does Rocky.

(Good thing they did since we did need a movie after all.)

Darnold has won 29 games since last season, which is more than CAREER wins for Colin Kaepernick, Jordan Love, Byron Leftwich, Joey Harrington, and Rick Mirer. He had a handful of amazing throws to beat the Rams in a game that was essentially “the regular season’s Super Bowl”. He doesn’t really have to prove anything to anybody except for his co-workers because as a quarterback my teammates and the coaches are the only opinions I’d really care about.

Now to actually answer your question, absolutely not. As of this week, the media isn’t really talking about Darnold at all because Seattle could have scored 0 points after the opening kickoff and still beat the 49ers.

So literally speaking, no. Most people haven’t changed their opinions of Darnold after the last game.

If the Seahawks win the Super Bowl then Darnold will move into a slightly different category but it probably only lumps him into the Trent Dilfer, Brad Johnson, Joe Flacco division. If he wins another one, then he probably joins Eli Manning in the “two-timers but we’re still skeptical” club.

Important distinction on what I just wrote: That’s my belief on what the PERCEPTION of Darnold will be, not whether it’s fair or unfair.

On Saturday morning I told someone that if Drew Lock played against the 49ers, it wouldn’t really matter and he asked “But don’t you want Darnold to have a good game though?” I don’t relate to why I should care if the Seahawks win with Darnold or Lock or Milroe or no quarterback. The “Seahawks winning” part is good enough for me.

Bob Johnson: I love these games where you're never remotely worried.

(I honestly don’t think it’ll be the last time that happens to the Seahawks in these playoffs.)

Danno: I’m embarrassed I predicted the Seahawks to win by 17+, (yes, I was technically right) but at least I wasn’t one of the many experts who felt 7 points underdog San Francisco was an easy pick over the Seahawks.

Most either picked the 49ers to win outright or to cover the spread. I am still dumbfounded at how many “experts” ignore very basic, easy-to-read and understand empirical evidence that made it extremely clear how much better the Seahawks are than the 49ers AND Seattle was playing at home.

Wake up, it’s not the 80s or 90s anymore. I bet they’re probably still making Rocky references!

Signature Seahawks: Reps, rest and more reps. Long time reader, brand new poster. Masterclass tonight, message sent.

“Long time reader, first time caller” are my favorite types of comments! Welcome to the club and I hope to meet more of you in the future. Seaside Jay also loves it when readers post pictures of themselves rooting for the Seahawks in the game day live chats, so keep ‘em coming.

We had a record number of comments (over 1k) in the last one and I would expect to shatter that on Sunday:

Largentium: I'll say it. This defense is better than the LOB.

Kind of alluded to this on Monday, but I don’t think anyone was really allowing a defensive nickname like “Legion of Boom” to be relevant until after the Seahawks embarrassed the number one offense in the Super Bowl.

As elite as Seattle’s defense was in 2013, the flip didn’t totally switch until December.

Similarly, the Seahawks defense went from great to “all-time great” conversation when they pitched the Vikings shutout at the end of November. That was Max Brosmer, but now Seattle has held six of their last seven opponents to 16 points or fewer and the one exception is the team they face next.

If the Seahawks do to Matthew Stafford what they did to Peyton Manning, no question that what you’re saying has to be up for discussion going into the Super Bowl.

(Statistically, the edge clearly belongs to 2013…however, if you adjust for inflation of offenses then maybe 2025 gets an advantage? Surprisingly, the worst EPA game of both 2013 and 2025 came against the Buccaneers in years when Tampa Bay wasn’t even good.)

Defjames: Shout out to Bobo for his one reception that was a huge 1st down. This was the most complete game I’ve seen from this team all year. A masterclass. I am ready to exorcise some demons! Revenge tour is beat Rams and Pats for the SB!

How’s this for revenge?

• Seattle’s last playoff loss was to the 49ers

• Seattle’s previous playoff loss was to the Rams

• Seattle’s last Super Bowl loss was to the Patriots

I’m kind of not sold on Drake Maye against the Broncos defense, but if all goes as scheduled it does seem like New England is more likely to reach the Super Bowl than Denver. Which just so happens to be the previous Super Bowl team that Seattle faced.

KHammarling: This team just gets it done. Darnold doesn’t need to air it out, he needs to get it done. KW3 doesn’t need to blast off 60yard runs, he just needs to get it done. JSN doesn’t need hundreds of yards, he just needs to get it done.

The defence doesn’t need to embarrass you, pull your pants down, push you over, take your lunch money, and humiliate you. But they will because it’s fun and it gets the job done.

Kenneth Walker III didn’t blast off a 60-yarder, but he had nine runs where he hit 15+ MPH, according to Next Gen Stats. Only one player (James Cook) had more 15+ MPH runs than that in a single game…ALL YEAR.

With Zach Charbonnet tearing his ACL and potentially missing the start of 2026, I don’t think Seattle can let Walker leave the team. Their options are to draft somebody (and they don’t have that many picks) or to sign somebody. Well, if you have to pay somebody why wouldn’t you pay Walker? Why would you pay Breece Hall or Javonte Williams when you can just keep Walker?

Unless John Schneider just hardcore believes in “running backs don’t matter” and will roll out George Holani and Velus Jones in Week 1, I can’t imagine why he’d let Walker walk.

Stephen LeGrand: All Kenneth Walker doubters must concede that he has the ability to break games wide open.

Charley Filipek: i 1st read that as "All Kenneth Arthur doubters ... " hah, hah, ... that too.

Chuck Turtleman: Mrs. Turtleman has called K9 "Kenneth Arthur" since his rookie season. Started as an accident twice, but now it's just become his nickname.

Let’s just give a blanket pass to all Kenneths of all-time.

Stephen Pitell: With 4:30 left in the first half, I said we needed to run Wide Zone but stay in bounds, and we took 4 minutes to go down and the field using Wide Zone left and WZ right. More right than left, but I remember seeing the entire offensive line in front of Shaheed 20 yards down the field. I don’t remember ever seeing that at any level of football.

The rest of the NFL is on notice, this is the Hawks year to take the Lombardi.

Great call, Stephen!

Rozone: I expect Shaheed jerseys will be the #1 seller at the Hawk stores this week.

Have we ever seen a Seahawks player do more with less contributions on offense or defense? In the last four games, Shaheed has 10 receiving yards and 58 rushing yards, but he’s averaging a return touchdown every other game since Week 14.

Also when Eddy Pineiro did this:

I think it angered the Seahawks sideline and made them realize that it had to be one of those nights where they made sure Mac Jones would make an appearance.

Chris H: Jalen Sundell is our centre of the future. He had a really, really good game. His speed getting out on blocks, his effectiveness at the second level, and his smarts in pass pro, he's going to be elite.....perhaps by next year. We only need depth there. We have our long-term answer.

Does anyone remember when Trey Lance was at North Dakota State and during the Covid year they put on a showcase game for Lance because their entire season had been cancelled? Well, fun fact, there were two players on that team who have started more NFL games than Lance:

Jalen Sundell and Grey Zabel.

(Zabel was a freshman, Sundell was a sophomore.) And they’re going to keep starting next to each other on the same team for a while.

In The O-Line Committee podcast on Monday, they talked about how “that Seahawks offensive line is playing out of their minds” with a lot of credit to Sundell. I queued it up to the relevant section here:

Bryant: Not a game comment, but a question- I know there are a couple of us in Nova Scotia. If the Hawks reach the SB is there any interest in a SB party in the province?

Stay active in reading the comments and the live chat and let’s see if any Seasiders are able to organize any get-togethers in your areas:

If anyone needs help making a connection to another reader for non-nefarious reasons, just let me know.

Seaside Joe 2514