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Sam Darnold was not 100% on Saturday night. The Seahawks quarterback suffered an oblique injury on Thursday at practice, and his mobility was clearly affected.
Seattle’s ground game needed to step up, and it did.
The Seahawks ran for 175 yards and averaged 5.3 yards per carry en route to a 41-6 demolition of the San Francisco 49ers at Lumen Field. Running back Kenneth Walker III led the way with 19 carries for 116 yards and three touchdowns, earning himself Tom Brady’s LFG Player of the Game honors.
“We won all week preparing for this game,” Walker told Brady after the game as he accepted the award. “We was real detailed in the run game and the offensive line did their job and made my job a lot easier.”
Tom Brady’s LFG Player of the Game: Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker III 🏆 Divisional Round
Walker finished the regular season in peak form. In the Seahawks’ final three games, all wins, he had 42 carries for 248 yards (5.9 yards per carry) and a touchdown. He also hauled in nine receptions for 106 yards. That included 16 carries for 97 yards in Seattle’s regular-season finale, a win over the 49ers.
Coming off the bye week, the Seahawks easily could have started flat. Instead, Rashid Shaheed returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown and Seattle dominated.
“On that bye week, we really went back and critiqued our stuff,” Walker said. “We watched film and this week we prepared well, and the score shows for itself.”
Kenneth Walker III rushes for seven-yard TD to extend Seahawks’ lead over 49ers | NFL Highlights
The Seahawks have one more test in between them and the Super Bowl. They will play the winner of Sunday’s Rams vs. Bears game next Sunday in Seattle.
Seattle started the regular season 1-2 in its first three home games but has now won six straight at Lumen Field. One of those games was a wild 38-37 win over the Rams on Dec. 18, 2025. In that game, Walker had 164 yards of offense (100 rushing and 64 receiving) and a touchdown.
Regardless of who the opponent is, the Seahawks will be a tough team to beat if they can replicate their performance against San Francisco.
“We just got to go prepare, watch film and critique what we did wrong tonight and get ready for whoever we played coming up this weekend.”
Walker, a Michigan State alum, closed the interview with Brady by saying, “Go green!” to which Brady, a former Michigan quarterback, very quickly responded, “Go blue!”
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