Legion of Boom 2.0 suffocates 49ers to lead Seahawks down historical Super Bowl path

The Seattle Seahawks are NFC West champions. And the Legion of Boom suddenly has company.

In a surprisingly dominant performance led by a suffocating defense and relentless running game, the Seahawks beat the San Francisco 49ers, 13-3, on Saturday night at Levi's Stadium to earn their first division title since 2020 and the No. 1 seed in the upcoming NFC Playoffs.

The NFC's road to Super Bowl LX now goes through Lumen Field and the 12s.

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"We didn't do exactly what we wanted to do," said Seahawks' quarterback Sam Darnold, "but the defense picked us up like they have all year."

Darnold was efficient, and avoiding any big-game gaffe that has plagued his career. Seattle ran the ball down San Franciscos throat, gaining 180 yards. But this game - this division title - was won by head coach Mike Macdonald's defense.

The Niners entered this showdown as the NFL's hottest offense. In their last three games they scored 37, 48 and 42 points. In December, they scored 16 touchdowns and punted only twice.

But in this one the Seahawks - Legion of Boom 2.0? - made them look like a punchless JV outfit. They intercepted quarterback Brock Purdy once, sacked him three times and generally harassed him all night. Star running back Christian McCaffery was held to 57 total yards. San Francisco didn't reach the end zone, and its longest play of the night was 20 yards.

You want vintage domination? The 49ers had eight possessions ... and only nine first downs.

Then: Richard Sherman. Earl Thomas. Bobby Wagner. Kam Chancellor. Now: Ernest Jones. Byron Murphy. Nick Emmanwori. And yes, even the player a lot of fans wanted traded away at the deadline in October - Riq Woolen.

The Seahawks didn't miss tackles. They didn't blow coverage. They bent on a fourth-quarter drive, but refused to break and produced the game's biggest play - Boye Mafe's tip of a Purdy pass that resulted in a McCaffery bobble and an interception at interception inside Seattle's 5-yard line by Drake Thomas.

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How big was this one? This is the fourth time in franchise history that the Seahawks have been the No. 1 seed. The previous three - in 2005, 2013 and 2014 - they reached the Super Bowl.

Rest up 12s. Lumen Field is about to host the Seahawks' Divisional Round playoff game since 2014 ... when the original Legion of Boom fueled their run.

Drake Thomas | Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

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