49ers’ 5 keys to starting 5-0 with a win over Seahawks in Seattle

SEATTLE – Ho hum, first place is at stake again Sunday at Lumen Field.

That is where the 49ers stood after winning here in 2019, ’23, ’24 and after the ’25 season opener.

Their most recent trip was in last season’s NFC divisional playoff round, and the Seahawks used that 41-6 rout of the short-staffed 49ers as a springboard to an eventual Super Bowl LX win at Levi’s Stadium.

“They were a juggernaut at that point; it was in their stadium, and I remember how electric the environment it was,” linebacker Fred Warner. “They were obviously a better team that day and went on to do exactly what they earned.”

Warner could only watch that finale, with his comeback from ankle surgery hinging on a 49ers upset. George Kittle, with a torn Achilles, watched from home in an Eddy Piñeiro jersey.

Both are eager to play again in Seattle, as are reincarnated 49ers Dre Greenlaw and Deebo Samuel, and Mike Evans, who only played in that raucous amphitheater once in his 12-year Tampa Bay Bucs career.

Now he’ll suit up for an undefeated squad that again has injury issues but proudly puts its 4-0 start up against the Seahawks (3-1).

Here are five ways to get to 5-0:

1. PASSING FANCY

Of course the 49ers want to run Christian McCaffrey, Kaelon Black and Samuel through one of the NFL’s fiercest defensive fronts. It won’t be easy. It never is.

Brock Purdy is the NFL’s most efficient passer, which the 49ers should use to their advantage. He’s had mixed results against Mike Macdonald’s defenses in the past, but he’s also 4-0 in regular-season action in Seattle.

Purdy has thrown 11 touchdown passes since his only interception this season. If he can stay on target, and if a speedy receiver can stretch the field, then that will open up the run game. Look for Evans to help in that regard, if he can valiantly play through injured ribs as he did a week ago. Same goes for Samuel, who has rediscovered his yards-after-catch prowess.

“Even when you get through that front seven, it’s tough to get past those safeties,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “The safeties back up everybody for big plays, yet they’re still very aggressive and it doesn’t just feel like you can dink-and-dunk them the whole game. The combination of those two things is rare.”

2. PROTECTING PURDY

This rivalry comes down to the 49ers’ offensive line against the Seahawks’ mauling defenders, all due respect to Macdonald’s defensive disguises and Nick Emmanwori’s roaming excellence.

Kudos have come to the 49ers’ linemen – and Purdy himself – for yielding no sacks through four games. The only other teams to do so: the 1975 St. Louis Cardinals, the 1984 and ’89 Miami Dolphins, and the 2005 Indianapolis Colts.

It’s bound to end, maybe in Seattle, but the roof can’t collapse all at once. The 49ers must anchor in and buy Purdy enough time for a couple of those downfield shots. And he must keep dodging hits. Remember, he endured a turf-toe injury when tackled by Julian Love on a scramble in last season’s opener, before that injury shelved him eight games.

Leonard Williams, the Seahawks’ No. 1 bruiser, is battling an ankle injury. His supporting cast is dominant. Trent Williams, the 49ers’ iconic left tackle, is healthy, unlike late last season, when he had a hamstring injury. Bring on trench warfare, at its finest.

The Seahawks got flagged for seven personal fouls and a franchise-record 150 penalty yards in last Sunday’s 30-23 home win over the Chargers.

3. THE JSN FACTOR

Jaxon Smith-Njigba followed up last season’s NFL-best 1,793 yards by opening this season in historic fashion. He joined Jerry Rice as the only receivers in NFL history with at least 120 yards and a touchdown in each of the first three games. He leads the league in touchdown catches (six) and receptions of 20-plus yards (seven), while ranked third in yards (481) and fourth in receptions (32).

“I look forward to every matchup. I wouldn’t put this one more than the other,” cornerback Deommodore Lenoir said. “He’s a great player. Much respect.”

“He’s the engine of their offense, for sure,” said safety Malik Mustapha, who replaces injured starter Marques Sigle.

Defensive coordinator Raheem Morris’ mix-and-mash pass rush will be without Nick Bosa (calf) for a third straight game. As much as Morris raved about Smith-Njigba’s “aggressive hands” and ability to find soft spots in zones, also on the radar is Cooper Kupp, who won the NFL receiving triple-crown (catches, yards, touchdowns) five years ago with the Rams when Morris was their defensive coordinator. Kupp has just nine catches on 12 targets for 144 yards and a touchdown.

Final stat: Smith-Njigba accounts for 36.5% of Seahawks’ targets (42-of-115).

4. RUN-GAME EDGE

There’s no doubt the 49ers come in with the better rushing threat, and it must play out that way.

The Seahawks’ defense has not allowed a 100-yard rusher in 33 consecutive games, a franchise record. In last year’s final matchups, McCaffrey had 22 carries for 69 yards in Week 18, then 11 carries for 35 yards in the playoff rout. But he ran for 108 yards in 2022 and 114 yards in ’23. Mix in his receiving yards and he’s averaging 133.3 all-purpose yards in those past four visits.

The 49ers not only have to overcome the Seahawks’ prized front but also the absence of fullback Kyle Juszczyk, who hyperextended his right knee last game. (Perhaps Brayden Willis will become a super-sub in Seattle the way Jake Tonges was with the winning touchdown in last season’s opener.)

As for Seattle’s rushing attack, no one should confuse Emmanuel Wilson and George Holani with last season’s dynamic duo of Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet. With first-round pick Jadarian Price on Injured Reserve, Sam Darnold’s handoffs will mostly go to Wilson (averaging 3.6 yards on 50 carries; just one touchdown) while Holani will try to seize on the 49ers’ short-yardage issues.

In the last two matchups, the 49ers allowed 180 yards (39 carries) and 175 yards (33 carries) to Seattle; Walker had 116 yards and three touchdowns in the NFC Championship Game before parlaying Super Bowl MVP honors into a lucrative deal with the Kansas City Chiefs. Charbonnet remains on the Physically Unable to Perform list because of his ACL tear against the 49ers in the playoffs.

5. BYGONES IN RIVALRY?

Shanahan opened Week 5 preparation by trying to keep the focus on the here and now, not last season’s two defeats in a 15-day span to the Seahawks. He acknowledged that several players could be harboring a grudge over them, but that was then, and this is 2026 Week 5.

“I know we’re a much different team now and I don’t like to correlate many things to the previous year,” Shanahan said.

Added Kittle: “Do you say, ‘Last year was last year,’ and just focus on this year, or do you focus on that and I wouldn’t say a ‘grudge’ but ‘Hey, we didn’t score and how much do you think about it?’”

Nine months ago, Kittle didn’t publicly begrudge the Seahawks as they celebrated the regular-season finale with victory cigars in the Levi’s Stadium visitors’ locker room.

“We afforded them that luxury to be able to do that. They won,” left tackle Trent Williams said this past week. “No, I can’t win a game this year thinking about last year.”

Purdy used the offseason to dissect film from those two defeats (combined stats: 34-of-54, 267 yards, no touchdowns, two interceptions, five sacks, one lost fumble).

“But every game is new. Every moment is different,” Purdy said. “So for me, I’m just excited for obviously Week 5 against these guys back up in Seattle and ready for the challenge.”