The last time these two teams met, on the final day of the 2019 regular season, they decided the Super Bowl.
Let me explain.
The Seahawks had beaten the Super Bowl bound 49ers in a midseason game at Levi’s Stadium, and while San Francisco had led the NFC West all season and had a near lock on the number one seed in the NFC playoffs, that advantage came into serious jeopardy in Seattle last December.
The 49ers had lost a pair of December games, to the Baltimore Ravens and Atlanta Falcons, and a third loss would have knocked them out of both the division title and top seed in the playoffs. That crumbling defeat looked likely in the waning moments of the game in Seattle last December when the Seahawks nearly overcame a 12 point fourth quarter deficit while driving to a first-and-goal at the one-yard-line while trailing 26-21.
A delay of game pushed the Seahawks back five yards, but on fourth down Russell Wilson completed a pass to Jacob Hollister and he headed for the endzone when 49ers linebacker Drew Greenlaw made a game saving tackle. The play needed an official review to confirm Greenlaw had stopped Hollister short, and when it was confirmed the defensive play for the 49ers could be compared to the one Dan Bunz handed the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl XVI. The Bunz tackle saved a Super Bowl lead and eventual win, the Greenlaw stop ended the game and locked up both the division title and top seed in the playoffs for the 49ers. Ironically, both games, the Super Bowl win over Cincinnati and victory last December against Seattle, ended with the same score, 26-21.
Had the Seahawks beaten the 49ers last December, they would have won the NFC West and been plotted as a third seed in the postseason. The 49ers would have dropped to a Wild Card and fifth seed.