Seahawks deliver emphatic statement in taking NFC No. 1 seed 

That is bad news for the rest of the NFC.

Not only because Seattle is one of the toughest environments for road teams to play in the entire league, but also because the Seahawks are one heck of a football team that is going to be difficult to beat anywhere.

They showed it all season. They emphatically showed it again on Saturday night.

Seahawks' smothering defensive performance should be warning to NFC

While the 13-3 final score may not paint the picture of a totally dominant performance, this was still a game that never really seemed to be in doubt. The Seahawks took an early lead, never looked back and let their dominant defense run the show.

They did exactly that.

The Seahawks entered play on Saturday with a defense that was near the top of the league in almost every meaningful category.

They were fifth in the NFL in terms of total yards against at 292.6 per game.

They were 12th against the pass at 198.6 in passing yards against.

They were third against the run at just 94.4 yards against.

They were second in the NFL in total points against per game at just 18.1.

They were also sixth in total takeaways with 24 of them. 

All of that was on display against a 49ers team that looked completely hopeless for most of Saturday's game. While the 49ers were dealing with some significant injury issues (starting left tackle Trent Williams and wide receiver Ricky Pearsall did not play), this was still an incredible showing by the Seahawks.

Seattle limited the 49ers to just three points, only nine first downs, just 173 yards of total offense, they recorded two sacks and forced a crucial turnover in the red zone just as the 49ers seemed to be on their way in for a touchdown to cut the deficit to a one-score game. 

Question the upside of Sam Darnold and his ability to lead a team to the Super Bowl all you want. The bottom line is this is a Seahawks team that has averaged 29 points per game (second most in the NFL), has a dominant defense that flexed its muscles on Saturday night in the biggest regular-season game of the season and now has home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. That 14-3 record is not by accident or a fluke. None of this is. 

That defense can travel and win anywhere. Now it does not have to travel. Every playoff team in the NFC should be ready for a fierce challenge. 

Every time they have been the No. 1 seed in the NFC, they have reached the Super Bowl. This particular team and roster is very capable of doing it again.