49ers–Seahawks rivalry
The 49ers–Seahawks rivalry is an American football rivalry between the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks in the National Football League (NFL). While the teams first met in , the rivalry did not develop until , when the Seahawks were placed with the 49ers in the NFC West, allowing for two annual meetings between the teams. The Seahawks lead the series 30–17. The teams met once in the playoffs, a 23–17 Seahawks win in the 2013 NFC Championship Game. History. Since the teams became NFC West division rivals in 2002, the rivalry has grown considerably. The rivalry was  previously insignificant, due to both teams having little history against one another and both suffering long stretches of mediocrity. For example, while the Seahawks won four straight division titles from 2004 to 2007, the 49ers finished in third or fourth place each season and did not have a winning season from 2003 to 2010. Likewise, the Seahawks suffered four straight losing seasons from 2008 to 2011. Despite their stretch of mediocrity, the Seahawks have remained competitive in games against the 49ers in those years, especially games at Lumen Field, where their worst loss to the 49ers there was by only  ten points in . The rivalry intensified in 2011, when long-standing college rival coaches—former USC coach Pete Carroll and former Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh—took over as head coaches, with Carroll becoming the Seahawks' coach in , and Harbaugh becoming the 49ers coach in . Both teams drafted young, mobile quarterbacks to lead their franchises, Seattle's Russell Wilson and San Francisco's Colin Kaepernick. Both coaches turned their respective franchises into perennial playoff contenders, and from 2010 to 2014, either the Seahawks or the 49ers won the NFC West championship. The two teams met in the in Seattle with a  trip to Super Bowl XLVIII on the line, with the Seahawks winning 23–17. The game ended when Seahawks' cornerback Richard Sherman, whom Harbaugh previously coached at Stanford, tipped an end zone pass that led to a game-ending interception. Sherman had his famous postgame interview immediately afterwards, calling out 49ers receiver Michael Crabtree and claiming to be the "best corner in the game". Seattle went on to defeat the Denver Broncos 43–8 in Super Bowl XLVIII to win their first Super Bowl championship. San Francisco had represented the NFC in a losing effort in Super Bowl XLVII the previous season . The Seahawks lead the all-time series 30–17. After drafting Russell Wilson in 2012, the Seahawks completely dominated the rivalry, holding a 17–4 record against the 49ers in that span.