49ers-Seahawks takeaways: Seattle's defense shines again

When these two teams played in Week 18, the Seahawks held the 49ers to just 173 total yards and 53 rushing yards in a 13-3 win. This time around, they forced three turnovers and kept San Francisco out of the end zone once again.

This year's playoff field was as unpredictable coming in as it has been in a long time, but Seattle's defense has it in the driver's seat right now after laying another beatdown on the 49ers.

49ers had no answers for Seahawks defense

San Francisco was completely dominated in the Week 18 meeting, but it got much worse this time. Quarterback Brock Purdy was just 15-of-27 for 140 yards with one interception and one fumble, while running back Christian McCaffrey had 11 carries for 35 yards and a lackluster 3.2 yards per carry.

The 49ers never reached the red zone all night and had three turnovers on downs to go with their three total turnovers (one interception, two fumbles). Even though they just faced the Seahawks two weeks ago, the 49ers still had difficulty moving the ball and were never really in the game from the opening kick.

Rashid Shaheed's opening kickoff return set the tone

Speaking of the opening kick, the Seahawks' wide receiver wasted no time getting things started with a 95-yard kickoff return to start the game.

Not only was that his third return TD of the season, but he is the only player in the league with a kickoff and punt return for a TD this season. The defense was the story and continues to be the driving force behind Seattle's success, but you cannot discredit the impact that Shaheed's kickoff return had at the beginning.

Kenneth Walker III carries Seahawks offense

Quarterback Sam Darnold deserves some recognition as well for protecting the ball once again and making throws when he needed to, but Walker was instrumental to the offensive production.

Walker had 19 carries for 116 yards and three TDs. According to Next Gen Stats, Walker recorded a 63.2% success rate, which was the second-highest of his career. In addition, he averaged 13.51 miles per hour when crossing the line of scrimmage, his third-fastest in a game in his career.

Even with teammate Zach Charbonnet forced to exit the game in the second quarter with a reported knee injury, Walker had no issue stepping up and leading the ground game. Darnold only had 124 passing yards, but he did not have to do much with Walker having his way running the ball.