49ers Seeking 3-Game Sweep Against Seahawks at Wild Card Game

San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan knows how hard it is to try to beat an opponent three times in a season after losing a playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams a year ago.

The 49ers start this postseason with a similar challenge when they take on NFC West rival Seattle in Saturday’s playoff game less than a month after defeating the Seahawks for the second time this season.

“I don’t really look at it because you have to beat someone three times. I’m just looking at it as we have to beat them on Saturday, Shanahan said. “It’s a game, I don’t think other games have anything to do with it.”

The Niners (13-4) are aiming for a better record against the Seahawks (9-8) than last year against the Rams, when they lost a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter to Los Angeles by a score of 20–17. The name of the NFC game.

“When you get to know each other so well, the game usually gets easier,” Shanahan said. “After that, you don’t cheat on each other, and usually by the third time the teams are playing at a higher level.”

That game last year was decided after several key moments, such as an eventual missed interception by San Francisco, a failed short yard conversion, and then a last-pass interception by Jimmy Garoppolo as the Niners tried to come back.

The Niners had the lead over the Seahawks this year, winning 27-7 at home in Week 2 and then going to Seattle for a 21-13 win on Dec. 15 in rookie quarterback Brock Purdy’s first road start.

Constant was the defense, led by winger Nick Boza and linebacker Fred Warner, who limited Seattle to one TD drive on 20 offensive possessions.

“For the most part, we were just behind the sticks,” quarterback Gino Smith said. “We were behind the chains, we were second and long, third and long, and this is not a recipe for winning football for us.”

The Seahawks have done well against the Niners under Shanahan over the years, winning eight of 12 games. But San Francisco took on the most important Week 17 showdown of 2019 so far, which decided the NFC West title.

“Sometimes they get us and sometimes we get them,” said coach Pete Carroll. “I say this about a chess match because I have a lot of respect for what Kyle does, their whole style of play and everything they have developed over the years. It will be a good challenge.”

Third time is awesome

The Nines would become the 25th team in the Super Bowl era to win two games against an opponent in the regular season and play them again in the playoffs.

Those previous teams went 14-10 in their third playoff game, including San Francisco’s loss to the Rams last season on the road. But the teams hosting Game 3 had a record of 13-6.

Discover DC

For the most part, 2022 has been a career season for D.C. Metcalfe of Seattle, with a career-best 90 receptions and a 1,000-yard rushing pass for the second time in four seasons.

Despite these numbers, it has practically disappeared in the last two weeks. Metcalfe held on to one catch for 3 yards in a Week 17 win over the Jets, and last weekend against the Rams there seemed to be more activity chatting with Jalen Ramsey than catching passes. Metcalfe had just three catches for 40 yards on eight targets against the Rams.

“We’ve had very good ball control the last couple of weeks and I know it’s taken a lot of offensive play but as long as we’re winning I’m not angry or anything because the whole purpose of my being here is just to win.” Metcalfe said.

But Seattle could use Metcalfe to influence the 49ers. He had 11 catches in two games against San Francisco, but his longest receiving was only 13 yards as Charvarius Ward did a good job eliminating his big plays.

Landing target

Purdy has been on a remarkable run since replacing the injured Jimmy Garoppolo, winning all five of his starts, extending San Francisco’s winning streak to 10 games.

Purdy had multiple TD assists in six straight games, the longest streak for a rookie. Many of those passes went to tight end George Kittle, who has caught seven touchdowns in his last four games.

“He does a great job of creating space and I know where he will be,” Purdy said. “He’s a freak and we just need to keep that connection going into this playoff.”

Under pressure

One way Seattle might try to get Purdy excited is by putting pressure on the young quarterback. Luckily, Seattle’s pass rush showed up in the last two games. The Seahawks fired four times in Week 17 against the Jets and fired Baker Mayfield from Los Angeles five times over the weekend.

These five sacks were distributed among four different pass rushers, which included Bruce Irwin, Boy Meif, Uchenna Nwosu and Darrell Taylor.

Seattle had just one sack and three quarterbacks at Purdy when the teams met last month. But pressure on Purdy won’t matter if Seattle can’t slow down the 49ers.

“If we can eliminate the flight, we can pursue them,” Nwosu said.

AP Sports columnist Tim Booth contributed to this report.