San Francisco 49ers, Malik Mustapha
49ers S Malik Mustapha sends blunt message ahead of Seahawks playoff rematch 1
October 6, 2026 Featured, NFL, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks
San Francisco is 4-0 and will head to Lumen Field on Sunday, the same stadium where its 2025 season ended with a 41-6 divisional-round loss to the Seahawks in January. Seattle went on to win the Super Bowl. The 49ers’ first trip back comes with safety Malik Mustapha moving into the lineup for an injured Marques Sigle.
Mustapha was asked how excited he was to go to Seattle and get the taste of that playoff game out of his mouth, in a clip shared on X by Coach Yac as the 49ers turned from Sunday’s win over the Denver Broncos to the Seahawks.
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Oct 6, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers safety Malik Mustapha (6) after the game against the Arizona Cardinals at Levi’s Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images
“I think it’s unspoken,” Mustapha said. “Everyone knows what it is. Everyone knows the mindset going into it. We don’t like them, and we have to go after it and get the job done.”
Mustapha never mentioned the score, and the rest of the locker room has been just as direct about January. Siran Neal’s forced fumble and recovery on a punt return swung the Denver game. He keeps a video on his phone of Rashid Shaheed’s 95-yard kickoff return touchdown that opened the playoff loss.
“That’s a highlight from their team that I saved on my phone,” Neal said. “I hated that feeling. I just remember seeing the back of his jersey, and that play swung the whole momentum of that game. I put that loss on my back, and I know this is going to be a hard-fought game.”
“It feels legendary to be 4-0. … It feels great,” linebacker Fred Warner said. “It feels like we got a great test ahead of us in Seattle coming up. And we wouldn’t want it any other way.”
Malik Mustapha was asked how excited is he to go to Seattle to get the taste out of his mouth from last year’s playoff game:
“I think it’s unspoken. Everyone knows what it is. Everyone knows the mindset going into it. We don’t like them, and we have to go after it and get the job done.”
The squad is already locked in for Sunday
— Coach Yac 🗣 (@Coach_Yac) October 6, 2026
Los Angeles Rams , Tyler Higbee, NFL
Nov 9, 2025; Santa Clara, California, USA; Los Angeles Rams tight end Tyler Higbee (89) runs after a catch against San Francisco 49ers safety Malik Mustapha (6) during the second quarter at Levi’s Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images
Why Kyle Shanahan is downplaying the playoff rematch angle
“I see two totally different teams,” head coach Kyle Shanahan said when asked about using the playoff loss as motivation. “I know we’re a much different team now, and I don’t like to correlate many things to the previous year.”
Shanahan also has a piece of his offense to rework this week. Fullback Kyle Juszczyk went down with a knee injury against Denver and will miss a few weeks. Juszczyk was central to the dash motion San Francisco runs before the snap. Shanahan said tight ends Luke Farrell and Brayden Willis might be able to replicate some of it.
The players’ version and the coach’s version can sit side by side for a team that opened in Australia and then won three straight at home. Sunday tests both against a 3-1 Seahawks team that beat the 49ers twice in three weeks to close last season.
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