Takeaways from Seahawks PFF grades in dominant win over 49ers

Seattle's loaded young roster shined in several different places in Saturday night's playoff win.

Jan 17, 2026; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) reacts after an interception against the San Francisco 49ers during the second half in an NFC Divisional Round game at Lumen Field. | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

The Seattle Seahawks put together a landmark, statement win last night over their most-bitter rivals. The San Francisco 49ers never stood a chance, getting dominated in all three phases from the first kickoff to the last kneeldown. Along the way, the Seahawks got huge performances from several of the young rising stars on their roster.

Let's see what we can learn from Seattle's grades from Pro Football Focus this week.

Kenneth Walker III is going to get paid

The highest grade for the Seahawks this week went to starting running back Ken Walker, who ran all over the 49ers, put it in reverse and then rolled over them again en route to 145 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns. Walker earned an 89.0 run grade and a 75.6 grade as a receiver, coming out to 90.6 overall. Whether it's with the Seahawks or another team, Walker has set himself up for a huge pay-day come March.

Ernest Jones finally gets some respect

All season long PFF has been giving Seattle's middle linebacker awful grades, seemingly blaming him for any completion in the middle of the field. They had little choice but to give him an elite mark for last night's game, though. Jones was responsible for two devastating turnovers against the 49ers offense, including a strip forced fumble and a pick against Brock Purdy. For his efforts, Jones earned a 90.9 in coverage and a 90.3 overall grade, the best on defense for the Seahawks.

Jan 17, 2026; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) intercepts the ball in the third quarter in an NFC Divisional Round game against the San Francisco 49ers at Lumen Field. | Kevin Ng-Imagn Images

Sam Darnold earns decent grade for light work

If the Seahawks were trying to protect Sam Darnold's oblique injury from getting aggravated, they did a good job. In the end, Klint Kubiak ran the ball 33 times and dialed up just 17 passes, making light work for Darnold. He held up his end, completing 12 of those attempts for 124 yards. His lone touchdown to JSN in the corner of the end zone proved he can still rip it. Darnold got a solid 73.5 overall grade from PFF for his trouble.

Interior offensive line still a work in progress

Abe Lucas, Grey Zabel and Charles Cross all put in good work last night, earning grades of 88.7, 80.4 and 74.3 overall, respectively. The other two starters up front are still lagging behind, though. Center Jalen Sundell posted a 25.8 grade in pass blocking and right guard Anthony Bradford came in at 54.4 in that department. All together, their overall grades (64.5 and 59.0) were the lowest for any offensive starters.

Uchenna Nwosu hits bottom

The lowest grade on the other side of the ball went to veteran outside linebacker Uchenna Nwosu, who had some tackling issues. He earned a 26.0 grade in that area, bringing down his overall score to just 34.8, the lowest mark on team this week. For the season, Nwosu earned a 57.4 overall grade, which is the worst grade of his career to date.

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