San Francisco 49ers - Know Your Rival 2026

Know Your Rival season kicks off with the team the Seahawks have held without a touchdown in their last two matchups - the San Francisco 49ers. Seattle closed out the regular season with a 13-3 win at Levi's Stadium, blew the doors off them in a 41-6 divisional round rout, and then celebrated a Super Bowl in the Niners' own locker room. So what's left of San Francisco after a season like that?

We break down a defense that finished dead last in the NFL in sacks and somehow worse in interceptions, a coaching staff that just lost its DC to the Titans (and lost their OC to us), and a receiver room that has almost completely turned over. Then there's Brandon Aiyuk, whose contract standoff and new beef with Jayden Daniels might be the messiest subplot in the NFL. We also dig into the cap sheet. Brock Purdy's deal won't be ugly for a couple years, but Nick Bosa's coming off his third ACL tear and it could be his last season if things don't go well for him ahead of a potential out in his contract. While San Francisco is sitting on the league's biggest amount of cap space, it seems as though there nothing obvious to spend it on apart from future obligations coming due.

In the second half of the show, we look at where ESPN's roster power rankings actually put the Seahawks compared to the rest of the NFC contenders, announce our group tickets for the home opener banner-raising game, and hand out Do Better and Better at Life honors, including a former member of the Seahawks front office who just became the Vikings general manager.