NFL pundit says Seahawks 'end of the line' for 49ers' Cinderella season

Nick Wright doesn't see Santa Clara going any further in the postseason.

Aug 23, 2025; Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA; General view of a Seattle Seahawks helmet prior to the game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

This evening we will get to witness the biggest game the Seattle Seahawks have played in five years. That was the last time they advanced to the divisional round of the NFL playoffs. This team is far more capable than the 2020 group, though - and expectations are as high as they've been since the peak of the Legion of Boom era.

First, the Seahawks will have to dispatch their most-bitter rivals. The San Francisco 49ers will be visiting Lumen Field, two weeks removed from an embarrassing 10-point loss to the Seahawks on the same stage.

While it probably won't go down the same way, we'd be stunned if the Niners can actually pull off this upset. Here's what Nick Wright had to say about the 49ers and their Cinderella season coming to an end tonight in Seattle.

Nick Wright on Seahawks-49ers

“The realist in me says this is the end of the line for San Francisco, that this has been a magnificent coaching job and roster-building by Lynch.”@getnickwright doesn’t think the Seahawks are on upset alert vs. 49ers: pic.twitter.com/Rd0z85Wkfl

— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) January 15, 2026

What slim hope the 49ers may have had at a shocking upset went out the window this week when they lost superstar tight end George Kittle to an Achilles tear. They also won't be getting middle linebacker Fred Warner back in the lineup as they had hoped.

And so they head into today's matchup with the NFL's worst pass rush, a linebacker corps held together by duct tape and only one of their once-loaded offensive skill group leaders still healthy and in the lineup.

As things stand, the Seahawks outmatch the 49ers in all three phases and are vastly more-talented all around.

San Francisco can hope for a weird and wild game featuring a bunch of turnovers - and an all-time playcalling performance from head coach Kyle Shanahan. Realistically, it's not going to happen. Even when Sam Darnold is coughing the ball up like a ginger cat with a hairball the Seahawks have proven too tough to beat this season. Seattle is 5-1 when Darnold commits two or more turnovers.

The real challenge for the Seahawks will be staying healthy so they're at 100% when they advance to the NFC Championship, where the Los Angeles Rams should be waiting.

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