Seahawks' defense overwhelmed the 49ers. Now it's the Patriots' Super Bowl problem

Last year, when his team's next game was against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium, Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald casually posed a question during a defensive meeting: Any interest in becoming the most dominant group in the NFL?

"Seriously, that's how he said it," safety Julian Love said. "‘What if we set out to be the best defense in the league? '"

The unfortunate news for the 49ers? Macdonald's players, who beat the 49ers 20-17 shortly after their confab, thought that sounded splendid.

Fifteen months after the Seahawks took a 4-5 record into that date with the 49ers, they'll return to Santa Clara on Sunday to play the Patriots in Super Bowl LX after leaving tire tracks all over the 49ers last month, limiting them to nine points in eight quarters in two high-stakes games.

Owners of the NFL's top-scoring defense, Seattle has won 22 of 27 games since Macdonald gauged his players' interest in being elite. And they appear poised to just keep overwhelming offenses beyond this Sunday: Nine of the 11 defensive starters from Seattle's 41-6 win over the 49ers in the divisional playoffs will return in 2026, a group that includes their three Pro Bowl selections in cornerback Devon Witherspoon, defensive tackle Leonard Williams and pass rusher DeMarcus Lawrence.

And they'll also retain Macdonald, 38, the NFL's third-youngest head coach who is poised to make history in his second season of his first head-coaching job. With a victory Sunday, Macdonald will become the first head coach who doubles as his team's defensive play-caller to win a Super Bowl.

They used to label such precocious coaches "geniuses." Williams' description of Macdonald is fitting for the ChatGPT age.

"We always joke that he has a little bit of AI tendencies - like he's been planted and he's learning how to be a human day by day," Williams said. "He's tremendously smart. We joke about needing a Harvard education to play in this defense because he's constantly adding new pressures, new defenses."

Macdonald's players have given plenty of credit for their 13-3 win over the 49ers in Week 18 - a victory that clinched the NFC's No. 1 seed - and their 35-point postseason evisceration of their NFC West rival two weeks later. The 49ers, who had the NFL's seventh-ranked offense (351.4 yards per game) and led the league in third-down conversion percentage (50%), averaged 12 first downs, 204.5 yards and went 8 of 26 on third and fourth down in those games.  

How did that happen? See if you can spot a theme.

"Our coaches did a great job preparing us through the week," linebacker Drake Thomas said. "We went with a really the right mentality … Really mastering the game plan and what they were asking us to do, watching the film and knowing what (the 49ers) were doing."

Said safety Coby Bryant: "We have coach Macdonald. He prepared us the right way. And we went out there and executed."

And defensive tackle Jarran Reed: "Our preparation, that brings confidence."

Has Macdonald solved 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan's offense, which has ranked among the NFL's top 10 in six of the past seven seasons? If so, familiarity has played a r

ole. Macdonald has faced the 49ers five times since Dec. 25, 2023, a stretch that began when QB Brock Purdy threw a career-high four interceptions in a 33-19 loss to Baltimore on Dec. 25, 2023, when Macdonald was the Ravens' defensive coordinator.

Macdonald recently majored in the Shanahan system, a variation of which the Seahawks run under offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, a former 49ers assistant. After the Seahawks' win over the 49ers in Week 18, they had a first-round playoff bye before preparing for the 49ers again in the divisional round.

"It was pretty much almost a month of 49ers prep and knowing what they've got going on," Love said. "And I think, scheme-wise, Shanahan is an incredible coach, an incredible play-caller. Our guy (Macdonald) is as well."

The potential good news for the 49ers? Macdonald vs. Shanahan in January may not have been a fair fight. In their playoff loss, for example, the 49ers didn't have All-Pro George Kittle (torn Achilles), wide receiver Ricky Pearsall had no catches while playing with a balky knee and All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey was limited after suffering a shoulder stinger in the first quarter.

"In terms of people in the matchups, I think we felt really good about who we had on defense matching up with their offense," Love said.

It wasn't that long ago that the script was flipped. The 49ers beat the Seahawks 36-24 on Oct. 20, 2024, a game in which the 49ers had 483 yards and scored four touchdowns, three on Purdy passes. 

Five weeks later, after Macdonald's memorable defensive meeting, the Seahawks beat the 49ers. It was the start of a four-game stretch against the 49ers in which the Seahawks have a 3-1 record and the 49ers have scored just four touchdowns, three on Purdy passes.

The 49ers will get a chance to punch back next season. In the meantime, they'll have to watch their rivals play in the Super Bowl in their stadium, the place where they began to make their dream a reality.

"I'm thinking of a meeting we had, and actually, ironically enough, going into our San Francisco game here last year," Macdonald said. "We made a kind of pact with each other. Like, we're going to be a great defense no matter what it takes."

This article originally published at Seahawks' defense overwhelmed the 49ers. Now it's the Patriots' Super Bowl problem.