Seattle Seahawks

Two weeks ago, the Seattle Seahawks beat a Brock Purdy-led San Francisco 49ers team, which is not something they’ve been able to say much since he became the Niners’ quarterback in 2022.

Four numbers that matter for Seahawks-49ers playoff game

That Week 18 victory was just the second for the Seahawks in six contests against Purdy. And believe it or not, both of those wins came on the 49ers’ home field, Levi’s Stadium. Which means that Brock Purdy is undefeated against the Seahawks in Seattle – a perfect 4-0, in fact.

That may be a cause for concern considering the top-seeded Seahawks will be hosting the sixth-seeded 49ers at Lumen Field in their huge NFC Divisional Round playoff game on Saturday night. If the Seahawks are going to stay on the road to the Super Bowl, they’ll have to do something they’ve never done in four tries before, which is stop Purdy in Seattle.

Can the Seahawks beat Purdy on Saturday? Well, clearly it’s possible since they did already earlier this month in enemy territory. The fact that Purdy has won in every trip he’s made to Seattle is most likely an anomaly and not because San Francisco’s QB has some Undertaker at Wrestlemania-like superpowers whenever he enters Lumen Field. But there is something to be learned from Purdy’s success in Seattle that should provide a roadmap for the Seahawks to finally beat him at home.

Seattle Sports’ Brock Huard, a longtime football broadcast analyst and former NFL quarterback, was asked Friday on Brock and Salk why Purdy has been so successful in road games against the Seahawks.

“Because in four games here, he’s been sacked three times,” Huard responded.

OK, that’s a pretty good explanation. It’s always hard to win if you can’t put pressure on the opposing quarterback.

“Some of that is certainly in (Purdy’s) credit,” Huard continued. “He moves, he gets out of it, he gets the ball out. He knows what he is, he knows what he isn’t. He does not take negative plays. … So actually getting him to the ground in this building has been very, very difficult to do, and it’s going to have to happen tomorrow night.”

The good news: When the Seahawks held Purdy to just 127 yards, no touchdowns and an interception in their Week 18 win, they sacked him three times – so the same amount in one game as they had in Purdy’s four games at Lumen Field. And Seattle’s “Dark Side” defense under head coach Mike Macdonald is a different animal than Purdy is used to seeing from the Seahawks, as they’ve been much better at pressuring QB than in recent years, tying for seventh in the NFL with 47 sacks in the regular season.

“They can also pressure him a ton and do what they did last time, keep a fence around him and not let him get out,” Huard said.

Brock Huard answers three football questions at 7:45 a.m. on each edition of Brock and Salk during the Blue 88 segment. Catch Brock and Salk live from 6-10 a.m. weekdays on Seattle Sports.

More on the Seattle Seahawks

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• What’s changed since Seahawks met 49ers in Week 18

• Full look at Seahawks and 49ers injury reports for playoff game

• Uchenna Nwosu on Seahawks’ rivalry with 49ers: ‘None of us like them’

• Can Seattle Seahawks beat 49ers if QB Sam Darnold can’t play?

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