The San Francisco 49ers dropped the season finale to the Seattle Seahawks, losing 13-3. And it didn't feel like it was even that close, as the offense and defense (especially the offense) were awful. It wasn't fun to watch, either.
With the loss, the 49ers lose the division and have to watch Seattle get the number one seed. And for a team that really needed a bye week, the 49ers will now have to travel to play on the road next weekend. That leaves little time for the injured players to recover.
Here are my rapid reactions. These are my live thoughts as the game progressed. Unfortunately, there are numerous unhappy observations here.
- The home crowd at Levi's Stadium is loud tonight! Keep it up, Faithful.
- So many missed tackles early on. That can't continue.
- Deommodore Lenoir is not playing as well this season as he did a year ago.
Easy to see why DMO is among the league leaders in penalties. The technique is flawed. pic.twitter.com/KlLMAsX841
— John Chapman (@JL_Chapman) January 4, 2026
- Big sack by Tatum Bethune. That's his first of the season.
- The 49ers' defense held despite the Seahawks having 1st and goal from the one-yard line. Huge stop!
The 49ers stand tall on 4th & goal! pic.twitter.com/kPRPLB08Wn
— Coach Yac 🗣 (@Coach_Yac) January 4, 2026
- The offense followed that big stop with an ugly three-and-out. And now, Seattle has excellent field position.
- Pitiful defense. The 49ers can't tackle, and they trail 7-0. Just horrible.
- The 49ers need new safeties.
- Another bad three-and-out. This could get ugly.
- The defense isn't coming close to stopping the run.
- Missed tackles and no pass rush are a recipe for disaster.
- What a great tackle by Upton Stout to force a field goal attempt—which is no good.
- Nice play by Ji'Ayir Brown on that pass breakup. But Seattle makes this field goal. It's 10-0.
- Even when Brock Purdy completes a pass, he's having to do it on the run. The offensive line does not look good tonight.
- Nice job by Eddy Piñeiro to get the 49ers on the board.
- Dee Winters leaving the game with an ankle injury is not just a concern for this game, but for the postseason, as well. The 49ers will likely be playing next week, which will make it even tougher for Winters to return.
- It's like pulling teeth for the 49ers to pick up any yards.
- The offensive line isn't giving Purdy any time to throw.
- The 49ers don't look like they were ready to play, even though all week they talked about how important it was to win this game. If they lose tonight, you have to wonder how that will affect them next week.
- Big stop by Lenoir on that 3rd down.
Deommodore Lenoir just made an incredible play pic.twitter.com/iV0C5aP6RU
— Coach Yac 🗣 (@Coach_Yac) January 4, 2026
- The offense is worse than the defense tonight.
- The Seahawks put the ball on the ground, but, of course, the 49ers can't recover it. And the ball literally hit Yetur Gross-Matos in the facemask.
- And the defense just gave up a first down on 3rd and 17. Just absolute garbage. That play is a picture of how this game has gone.
#49ers GM John Lynch reacting to the #Seahawks offense converting a 3rd-and-17 on a toss play:
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) January 4, 2026
- That will do it. The ball goes off the hands of Christian McCaffrey, and it's picked off at the two-yard line. Just a back-breaker of a play. And the offense was finally moving the ball.
And it's intercepted… pic.twitter.com/AdcmfbTef7
— ???????????????????????????????????????????? (@TheSFNiners) January 4, 2026
- And now Bethune is down—again. Winters is already out. The 49ers are literally running out of linebackers.
- Scoring only three points, even against a good defense, is pathetic.
- This terrible offensive line just got their QB hurt. Purdy is down after getting sandwiched by two defenders. Austen Pleasants and Colton McKivitz both allowed their guy to hit Purdy at the same time.
- I hate the Seahawks. And I'm not crazy about their fans, either. Congrats, Seattle. You dominated the 49ers' backups.
The 49ers will be playing a wild-card game next weekend. With all the injuries and struggles, especially on defense, I'm not optimistic they'll be able to win a postseason game. However, it's been a fun season, and fans should be proud of what the team has accomplished despite facing so much adversity.