Solak: How Seahawks’ Macdonald has ‘big edge’ over 49ers’ Shanahan

On paper, Sunday’s NFC West clash with the San Francisco 49ers looks like a big test for the Seattle Seahawks and their “Dark Side” defense.

How Seahawks and 49ers stack up in NFL power rankings

San Francisco is one of three unbeatens remaining in the NFL, and its offense has been humming through the first four weeks.

The 49ers rank second in the NFL in points per game (30.5) and seventh average yardage (389), and they’re one of just three teams ranked in the top 10 in both rushing offense (sixth) passing offense (eighth) along with the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Rams.

Quarterback Brock Purdy has been stellar through four weeks. He has thrown 11 touchdowns to only one interception while completing 69.9% of his passes for 1,007 yards, hasn’t been sacked yet this year and leads all quarterbacks with an 89.7 QBR.

But if recent history is any indicator, it’s really San Francisco’s offense that is in for the big test.

Including the playoffs, the 49ers haven’t eclipsed 17 points in a game while losing three of the past four matchups between the teams dating back to 2024. In the past two meetings, they failed to reach the end zone, including during a 41-6 loss during the divisional round of the playoffs last season.

Seattle has made life hard on Purdy in the past two matchups in particular. In those two games, Purdy has combined to go 34-of-54 passing for 267 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions. He’s also been sacked five times and lost a fumble.

During a conversation with Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy, ESPN analyst Benjamin Solak explained why Mike Macdonald’s Seahawks defense has had the upper hand against Kyle Shanahan’s 49ers offense.

“This is why the Seahawks have just absolutely taken a club to the 49ers last couple years: One of the big weaknesses in Kyle’s offense is that the quarterback cannot change protections at the line scrimmage because they are baked into the play call, they are controlled by the head coach,” Solak said.

“So, Mike has a really good bead on how Kyle wants to pass protect, so whenever you get into second-and-long, third-and-long, clear passing situations, Mike is the guy who gets to hold the pen last. And as of right now, he has a big edge on Kyle Shanahan in that particular part of the chess match.”

Hear the full conversation at this link or in the audio player above. Listen to Bump and Stacy weekdays from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app. 

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