It’s hard to put a bow on the San Francisco 49ers‘ 2025 season because of how messy the entire year was.
Perhaps Saturday’s blowout loss in Seattle against the Seahawks perfectly encapsulated the year. The 49ers were overwhelmed from the opening kick as the vastly more talented Seattle roster took over the game early and never stopped.
Here’s what we took away from a dreary 49ers performance in the divisional playoffs:
49ers needed the bye week
San Francisco looked like a team that didn’t run out of gas, but rather showed up to the game on empty. They got off to a horrendous start and put themselves in a 17-0 hole against a Seattle club that was fresh off its bye week. As the game wore on, the 49ers looked substantially worse and the 17-0 lead turned into a rout. They were never going to stop the avalanche once the game got out of hand.
Loss happened in first 13 minutes
The game was effectively over in the first two possessions. Seattle returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown to go ahead 7-0. San Francisco got the ball at the 40 to start their first possession and had a little success moving the ball. They got into a second-and-3, and running back Brian Robinson was stopped short with a two-yard run. On third-and-1 the 49ers lost a yard with a handoff to Christian McCaffrey. Then they tried some trickery with an option play that lost three yards on fourth-and-1. Seattle took the short field and made it 10-0. On the 49ers’ next drive they were moving again with Jake Tonges catching a throw for 11 yards on second-and-7, but he fumbled. Seattle took over on the 49ers 43 and cruised in for a touchdown to go ahead 17-0. That was it.
Brock Purdy’s no-good, very bad night
The game script didn’t help the 49ers offense and Purdy for most of the second half was under heavy pressure, but he was also not effective. He missed some key throws, turned the ball over twice, and in general didn’t do enough to elevate his club. Injuries matter, but the Seahawks are in the 49ers’ division and not going away any time soon. Purdy has to be better moving forward because he was not good enough to keep the game from getting out of hand.
Ricky Pearsall’s big drop
It looked like the 49ers were going to get on the edge of the red zone when Brock Purdy fired a throw in to Pearsall for a first down on third-and-6 in the second quarter. With the score 17-3, a touchdown on the drive would’ve made things very interesting. Replay assist ruled the catch an incompletion, however, forcing the 49ers to settle for a 56-yard field goal that trimmed the deficit to 17-6. Field goals were never going to get it done with this 49ers defense.
George Kittle’s absence felt
Tonges played well, but the 49ers’ offense just has a little less juice when Kittle isn’t on the field. His blocking was missed in the run game where the 49ers had a rough time getting to the edge. Purdy was also clearly uncomfortable without his favorite target on the field. Kittle not being on the field wasn’t why the 49ers lost, but it was very clear how much he matters for their offense.
Marques Sigle wasn’t ready
The rookie safety started with Ji’Ayir Brown on the sidelines because of a hamstring injury. Sigle’s long stint on the sideline as a reserve came back to bite the 49ers in the biggest game of the year. Sigle got lost on the Seahawks first touchdown, and then got thrown in the blender on their second score before missing a tackle on Kenneth Walker. Saturday night doesn’t define him, but it was clear San Francisco’s young player who didn’t get a ton of burn this year wasn’t ready to contribute in a meaningful way.
Darrell Luter Jr. wasn’t ready
Luter got flambeed twice in the first half. First, he got cooked by Jaxon Smith-Njigba for a touchdown. Then on a vital third-and-10 late in the first half he was beat bad by Jake Bobo who had only two catches during the regular season. The 49ers probably need to invest in their CB depth in the offseason.
Jordan James debuted on offense
Good for the rookie fourth-round pick. He got in the game early in the third quarter because Christian McCaffrey was on the sideline with a shoulder issue. James took his first-career carry for seven yards. He finished the game with 28 yards on six carries.
Dee Winters a silver lining
When the 49ers defense did pop Saturday night it was typically Winters making a play. He racked up nine tackles, including three tackles for loss.
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This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: 49ers vs. Seahawks: 7 takeaways, standout players from dreary SF loss