The Seattle Seahawks begin with a very difficult Week 1 game. The team will take on NFC West rivals, the San Francisco 49ers, as both teams could contend for the division crown. One game shouldn't make or break the year, but it could be important late in the season.
Seattle should have the advantage, too. The team is playing at home, and San Francisco won't have all of its best players available. Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, for instance, will be out for the first part of the season. The 49ers also traded Deebo Samuel this offseason.
Still, the game will be a tough one as the 49ers have plenty of talent and are well-coached. One [veteran new to the Seahawks](https://12thmanrising.com/sam-darnold-poised-smash-seattle-seahawks-records-2025) could decide the fate of the game, and the season as well.
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold might make or break the team in Week 1
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Quarterback Sam Darnold has had one good season out of seven in the league. That came last year, but he also had a fantastic Minnesota Vikings offensive staff to work with, and some excellent skill position players. Seattle has talent, too, but it doesn't have Justin Jefferson.
As Darnold has had one good year out of seven, it is likely safer to assume he will regress this year than play as well as he did in 2024. That could be the pessimistic way of looking at things, but it could be the realistic way. General manager John Schneider is certainly taking a gamble.
Schneider hedged his bets this offseason as well. The Seahawks signed Drew Lock in free agency and drafted Jalen Milroe. Should Darnold start the season badly, especially if the team is in a position to win otherwise, Lock might need to replace him.
Or, Sam Darnold could be terrific, just as he was for most of last year. In his one series in the preseason, he was great. But that was the preseason when the opponent wasn't scheming against him. The 49ers know Darnold well, as he played for them in 2023. In other words, if a team is fully prepared to game-plan against the opposing QB1, it is the 49ers with Darnold.
The game could simply [come down to Kubiak](https://12thmanrising.com/klint-kubiak-playcalling-powering-revived-seattle-seahawks-offense) outcoaching his San Francisco counterpart, Robert Saleh. If Kubiak zigs with the Seattle Seahawks quarterback instead of zags, Saleh will be kept off-balance. That might also give Sam Darnold the confidence he needs to excel this coming season.