49ers–Seahawks rivalry

San Francisco 49ers–Seattle Seahawks rivalry

San Francisco 49ers Seattle Seahawks
First meeting	September 26, 1976 49ers 37, Seahawks 21
Latest meeting	November 22, 2015 Seahawks 29, 49ers 13
Next meeting	September 25, 2016
Statistics
Meetings total	35 (including the playoffs)
All-time series	Seahawks lead 20–15 (including the playoffs)
Postseason results	Seahawks lead 1–0 January 19, 2014: Seahawks 23, 49ers 17
Largest victory	49ers: 38–7 (1988) Seahawks: 41–3 (2005)
Longest win streak	49ers: 4 (2010–2012) Seahawks: 6 (2003–2005)
Current win streak	Seahawks: 5 wins (2014–present)

The 49ers–Seahawks rivalry is an American football rivalry between the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks in the National Football League (NFL). The Seahawks currently lead the all-time series record 20–15, including 1–0 in the playoffs.

The two teams were not rivals until 2002, when the Seahawks returned to the NFC for the first time since their inaugural 1976 season.^[1] Prior to 2002, the 49ers led the all-time series 4–2, but since they became NFC West divisional rivals in 2002, the Seahawks lead the series 18–11. The rivalry was once considered not very significant, due to the two teams having little history against each other and with both suffering significant stretches of mediocrity.^[2] For example, while the Seahawks won four straight division titles from 2004–2007, the 49ers finished in third or fourth place each season and did not have a winning season from 2003–2010. Likewise, the Seahawks suffered four straight losing seasons from 2008–2011. Despite their stretch of mediocrity, the Seahawks have remained competitive in games against the 49ers in those years, especially games at CenturyLink Field, where their worst loss to the 49ers there was by only ten points in 2006.

The rivalry intensified in 2011, when long-standing college rival coaches — former USC coach Pete Carroll and former Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh — took over as head coaches, with Carroll becoming the Seahawks' coach in 2010, and Harbaugh becoming the 49ers coach the following season. Both teams drafted young, mobile quarterbacks to lead their franchises, Seattle's Russell Wilson and San Francisco's Colin Kaepernick.^[3] Both coaches turned their respective franchises into perennial playoff contenders, and from 2010 to 2014, either the Seahawks or the 49ers have claimed the NFC West championship.

Since Russell Wilson became the starter for Seattle in the 2012 season, the 49ers have been outscored 179-74 in the regular season.

The two teams met in the 2013 NFC Championship Game in CenturyLink Field with a trip to Super Bowl XLVIII on the line, with the Seahawks winning by a score of 23–17. The game ended when Seahawks' cornerback Richard Sherman, whom Jim Harbaugh previously coached at Stanford, tipped an end zone pass that led to a game-ending interception. Seattle went on to defeat the Denver Broncos 43–8 in Super Bowl XLVIII to win their first Super Bowl championship. San Francisco had represented the NFC in a losing effort in Super Bowl XLVII the previous season.

Game results

49ers' victory

Seahawks' victory

Tied Game

Post-Season Meeting

Overtime Result

Note: All game dates occur on Sunday unless indicated otherwise.

Pre-NFC West (49ers 4–2)

Year	Date	Winner	Result	Loser	Series	Location
1976	September 26	San Francisco 49ers	37–21	Seattle Seahawks	SF 1–0	Kingdome
1979	October 7	Seattle Seahawks	35–24	San Francisco 49ers	Tied 1–1	Candlestick Park
1985	November 25 (Mon.)	San Francisco 49ers	19–6	Seattle Seahawks	SF 2–1	Candlestick Park
1988	September 25	San Francisco 49ers	38–7	Seattle Seahawks	SF 3–1	Kingdome
1991	December 8	San Francisco 49ers	24–22	Seattle Seahawks	SF 4–1	Kingdome
1997	December 21	Seattle Seahawks	38–9	San Francisco 49ers	SF 4–2	Kingdome

2000s (Seahawks 10–6)

Year	Date	Winner	Result	Loser	Series	Location
2002	October 14 (Mon.)	San Francisco 49ers	28–21	Seattle Seahawks	SF 5–2	Seahawks Stadium
	December 1	San Francisco 49ers	31–24	Seattle Seahawks	SF 6–2	San Francisco Stadium at Candlestick Point
2003	October 12	Seattle Seahawks	20–19	San Francisco 49ers	SF 6–3	Seahawks Stadium
	December 27 (Sat.)	Seattle Seahawks	24–17	San Francisco 49ers	SF 6–4	San Francisco Stadium at Candlestick Point
2004	September 26	Seattle Seahawks	34–0	San Francisco 49ers	SF 6–5	Qwest Field
	November 7	Seattle Seahawks	42–27	San Francisco 49ers	Tied 6–6	Monster Park
2005	November 20	Seattle Seahawks	27–25	San Francisco 49ers	SEA 7–6	Monster Park
	December 11	Seattle Seahawks	41–3	San Francisco 49ers	SEA 8–6	Qwest Field
2006	November 19	San Francisco 49ers	20–14	Seattle Seahawks	SEA 8–7	Monster Park
	December 14 (Thur.)	San Francisco 49ers	24–14	Seattle Seahawks	Tied 8–8	Qwest Field
2007	September 30	Seattle Seahawks	23–3	San Francisco 49ers	SEA 9–8	Monster Park
	November 12 (Mon.)	Seattle Seahawks	24–0	San Francisco 49ers	SEA 10–8	Qwest Field
2008	September 14	San Francisco 49ers	33–30 (OT)	Seattle Seahawks	SEA 10–9	Qwest Field
	October 26	Seattle Seahawks	34–13	San Francisco 49ers	SEA 11–9	Candlestick Park
2009	September 20	San Francisco 49ers	23–10	Seattle Seahawks	SEA 11–10	Candlestick Park
	December 6	Seattle Seahawks	20–17	San Francisco 49ers	SEA 12–10	Qwest Field

2010s (Seahawks 8–5)

Year	Date	Winner	Result	Loser	Series	Location
2010	September 12	Seattle Seahawks	31–6	San Francisco 49ers	SEA 13–10	Qwest Field
	December 12	San Francisco 49ers	40–21	Seattle Seahawks	SEA 13–11	Candlestick Park
2011	September 11	San Francisco 49ers	33–17	Seattle Seahawks	SEA 13–12	Candlestick Park
	December 24 (Sat.)	San Francisco 49ers	19–17	Seattle Seahawks	Tied 13–13	CenturyLink Field
2012	October 18 (Thur.)	San Francisco 49ers	13–6	Seattle Seahawks	SF 14–13	Candlestick Park
	December 23	Seattle Seahawks	42–13	San Francisco 49ers	Tied 14–14	CenturyLink Field
2013	September 15	Seattle Seahawks	29–3	San Francisco 49ers	SEA 15–14	CenturyLink Field
	December 8	San Francisco 49ers	19–17	Seattle Seahawks	Tied 15–15	Candlestick Park
	January 19, 2014	Seattle Seahawks	23–17	San Francisco 49ers	SEA 16–15	CenturyLink Field
2014	November 27 (Thur.)	Seattle Seahawks	19–3	San Francisco 49ers	SEA 17–15	Levi's Stadium
	December 14	Seattle Seahawks	17–7	San Francisco 49ers	SEA 18–15	CenturyLink Field
2015	October 22 (Thur.)	Seattle Seahawks	20–3	San Francisco 49ers	SEA 19–15	Levi's Stadium
	November 22	Seattle Seahawks	29–13	San Francisco 49ers	SEA 20–15	CenturyLink Field

References

1. Banks, Don (May 22, 2001). "Seattle moved to NFC in approved realignment plan". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
2. Iyer, Vinnie (June 18, 2013). "49ers-Seahawks rivalry: Get ready for a long-running drama". Sporting News. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
3. Farrar, Doug (December 5, 2013). "Second-year starting quarterbacks Kaepernick, Wilson are key men in revived Seahawks/49ers rivalry". SI.com. Retrieved January 1, 2014.