Six Biggest 49ers Takeaways from the NFL's Conference Championships

Two teams will face off in the Super Bowl at Levi's Stadium in a couple weeks, and as we know, the 49ers won't be one of them.

Instead, the teams will be the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots. Which means there's a high likelihood that Sam Darnold will win a Super Bowl in the 49ers stadium before the 49ers win a Super Bowl for the first time since 1995.

With that in mind, here are the six biggest 49ers' takeaways from the AFC and NFC championship games.

1. The 49ers might have signed the wrong quarterback

Jan 17, 2026; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) is interview by Fox Sports Erin Andrews follow — Kevin Ng-Imagn Images

Remember, Darnold was on the 49ers in 2023. He was Brock Purdy's backup. Since then, Darnold has improved tremendously, while Purdy has not. What's more, this past offseason, the 49ers gave Purdy a five-year, $265 million contract, while the Seahawks signed Darnold to a three-year, $100 million deal.

What did the 49ers get for all that money? Just nine regular season starts from Purdy, who misses lots of games, and his worst performance of the season when they needed him to play his best against the Seahawks in the divsional round.

Meanwhile, Darnold hasn't missed a start in two seasons and just produced the best performance of his career in the biggest game of his life. And he's almost twice as cheap as Purdy. And he's bigger than Purdy, and his arm is much stronger.

The 49ers overpaid.

2. Brock Purdy needs a better offensive line

Jan 17, 2026; Seattle, WA, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) is strip sacked by Seattle Seahawks defensiv — Kevin Ng-Imagn Images

In three games against the Seahawks this season, Purdy threw 2 touchdown passes, 4 interceptions, and led the 49ers to just 26 points. Meanwhile, Matthew Stafford also faced the Seahawks three times this season, and he threw 8 touchdown passes, 0 interceptions, and led the Rams offense to 85 points against that team.

And that's because Stafford had time to throw, and Purdy did not. The Rams actually invest in their offensive line because protecting their future Hall of Fame quarterback is the top priority for that franchise, as it should be.

If you're going to spend more than $50 million per season on a quarterback, you need to make a corresponding investment in the offensive line. Because when Purdy has time to throw, he's excellent. And he's always under pressure against the Seahawks.

3. The 49ers can't trade Mac Jones

Dec 14, 2025; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Mac Jones (10) warms up prior to the first half — Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

They're extremely lucky to have him. Just ask the Denver Broncos, who had to suffer through four quarters of watching Jarrett Stidham play quarterback in an AFC championship game. He played with no poise and gave away the game by throwing the ball backward instead of simply taking a sack.

Jones wouldn't have done that. Jones has the perfect temperament for a quarterback. He doesn't get rattled, and he gives you a real chance to win when the starting quarterback goes down, as opposed to Stidham, who gave the Broncos a real chance to lose.

Until Purdy shows that he can play a full 17-game schedule, the 49ers have to have a quality backup, and Jones is as good as there is.

4. The 49ers' defense isn't nearly good enough

Jan 17, 2026; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III (9) carries the ball for a touchdown as San — Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

All four teams in the conference championship games had killer defenses with great defensive coaches. Meanwhile, the 49ers have a terrible defense and no defensive coordinator.

To be fair, Fred Warner, Nick Bosa and Mykel Williams were injured this season and will return in 2026. But Robert Saleh left, and it seems the 49ers intend to replace him with Gus Bradley, who's a cheap imitation of Saleh.

No defense coordinated by Gus Bradley in 2026 can be elite. That's the cold, hard truth. Offenses figured him out more than a decade ago.

5. There's a big gap between the 49ers and the two teams in the NFC championship

Jan 25, 2026; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike MacDonald greets Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay on f — Kevin Ng-Imagn Images

When the Seahawks and Rams faced each other this season, all three games went down to the wire.

When the 49ers faced those teams this season, they played progressively worse. The first time the 49ers faced them, the 49ers won. The next time, they got dominated.

That's because the Seahawks and Rams both have good offensive lines, good run games, good wide receivers, good defenses, and good quarterbacks, while the 49ers have Purdy and that's about it.

They're roughly two good drafts away from catching Seattle and LA.

6. Kyle Shanahan needs to learn from Sean McVay

Jan 11, 2026; Philadelphia, PA, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan against the Philadelphia Eagles in an NFC W — Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

Nothing Shanahan calls against the Seahawks works anymore. Meanwhile, McVay goes up and down the field against Seattle with a bunch of tight ends in the game. He makes it look easy.

Shanahan needs to copy whatever McVay is doing, because it works, as opposed to what Shanahan is doing. Invest in younger, faster players. Ditch the old fullback. Evolve.