The San Francisco 49ers is seeking three-game sweep vs. the Seattle Seahawks in a wild-card game at Levi’s Stadium.
— San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan knows the challenges of trying to beat an opponent three times in a season after falling short a year ago in the playoffs against the Los Angeles Rams.
The 49ers open this postseason with a similar challenge when they host NFC West rival Seattle in a wild-card playoff game Saturday less than a month after beating the Seahawks for the second time this season.
“I don’t really look at it as you have to beat someone three times. I just look at it as we have to beat them on Saturday,” Shanahan said. “That’s the game, I don’t think the other games have to do with it.”
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The Niners (13-4) are seeking a better result against the Seahawks (9-8) than they had last year against the Rams, when they blew a 10-point fourth-quarter lead and lost 20-17 to Los Angeles in the NFC title game.
“Once you know each other that well, usually the game becomes simpler,” Shanahan said. “You don’t trick each other after that and usually teams are playing at a higher level by that third time.”
That game last year was decided on a few key plays down the stretch, like a potential dropped interception by San Francisco, a failed short-yardage conversion and then an interception by Jimmy Garoppolo on the final drive with the Niners attempting a comeback.
The Niners have had the advantage so far this year against the Seahawks, winning 27-7 at home in Week 2 and then going to Seattle for a 21-13 victory Dec. 15 in rookie quarterback Brock Purdy’s first road start.
The constant has been the defense led by edge rusher Nick Bosa and linebacker Fred Warner that limited Seattle to one TD drive on 20 offensive possessions.
