RENTON, Wash. (AP) — For the Seattle Seahawks to host another playoff game and move closer to the fourth Super Bowl appearance in franchise history, they will have to dispose of a familiar foe.
Very familiar.
The top-seeded Seahawks (14-3) host the San Francisco 49ers (13-5) in the NFC’s divisional round on Saturday night. It'll be the second meeting in three weeks between the NFC West rivals and the third time they have squared off in the playoffs.
Seattle won the division and secured the No. 1 seed with a dominant 13-3 win over Brock Purdy and the host 49ers on Jan. 3. That was the lowest scoring output for the Niners since they lost 23-3 to Carolina in coach Kyle Shanahan's debut in 2017.
Purdy said San Francisco will have to make adjustments against the NFL's top-ranked scoring defense.
“We just played them two weeks ago, so looking back at the other game plan as well and having it sort of fresh in your mind,” Purdy said, “picking it up where you left off and obviously making some changes where you need to. But yeah, it feels like we just played them.”
Seahawks defensive lineman Leonard Williams recognizes it will be a challenge to slow down San Francisco’s 10th-ranked scoring offense, even with Seattle's recent success against the Niners.
“They’ve clearly shown that they have a good offense,” Williams said. “But at the same time, I trust our team.”
Seattle finished the season with seven straight wins to finish with a franchise-record 14 victories. However, one of its losses came at home against San Francisco in Week 1.
And the Seahawks' offense had some fresh concerns on Thursday when quarterback Sam Darnold injured his left oblique in practice. He was listed as questionable but said he's confident he'll play.
Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald doesn't expect to see much that's different about the 49ers, given that they've only played once since the last meeting.
“You’re really going off how you felt like you played the game, things you did well, maybe where you think they might take things,” Macdonald said.
The 49ers played their final two games of the regular season with one fewer day of rest than normal, including the Week 18 loss to Seattle. They're in the same situation this week against well-rested Seattle after playing their wild-card game on Sunday.
Coach Kyle Shanahan had lobbied for a Sunday game this week to no avail, leading to the team limiting practices and changing meeting times to give players as much rest as possible.
“We can’t control that kind of stuff,” linebacker Eric Kendricks said. “At the end of the day, we’re playing meaningful football. We want to play meaningful football. These games mean a lot. We know what’s at stake, so we better get ready for it.”
Niners wide receiver Ricky Pearsall has not played since Dec. 28 due to a knee injury, but returned to practice this week in a limited capacity. A return by Pearsalll would be a boost for San Francisco, especially after All-Pro tight end George Kittle tore his right Achilles tendon in the 49ers’ 23-19 win at Philadelphia.
Macdonald and the Seahawks expect to see Pearsall in the lineup.
“They have a lot of talented receivers, but he’s definitely one of them,” Macdonald said. “He definitely complements the rest of the guys well in terms of what he does in his skill set and how they use him.”
Macdonald, who calls the Seahawks' defensive plays, got the best of Shanahan in the last meeting, but the Niners coach — long regarded as an elite play-caller — out-schemed Philadelphia defensive coordinator Vic Fangio last week.
Seattle allowed a combined 20 points to San Francisco in two meetings this season. Macdonald also beat Shanahan in 2023 when he was Baltimore's defensive coordinator and the Ravens intercepted Purdy four times.
“They have a very good scheme that’s very balanced and they can hit you in any way,” Shanahan said. “I think the personnel not only is talented for any scheme, but is perfectly talented for their scheme. I think they’ve been playing with, not the exact same group, but close to the same group, for two straight years. When you have a talented group with a very good scheme that’s been playing together for two years, they get pretty good.”
AP Sports Writer Josh Dubow in Santa Clara, California, contributed to this report.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald speaks at a news conference after an NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara, Calif., Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn)
San Francisco 49ers' Eric Kendricks reacts to defensive play in the third quarter of an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Philadelphia Eagles in Philadelphia, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened to invoke an 1807 law and deploy troops to quell persistent protests against the federal officers sent to Minneapolis to enforce his administration's massive immigration crackdown.
The threat comes a day after a man was shot and wounded by an immigration officer who had been attacked with a shovel and broom handle. That shooting further heightened the fear and anger that has radiated across the city since an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fatally shot Renee Good in the head.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act, a rarely used federal law, to deploy the U.S. military or federalize the National Guard for domestic law enforcement, over the objections of state governors.
“If the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don’t obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of I.C.E., who are only trying to do their job, I will institute the INSURRECTION ACT, which many Presidents have done before me, and quickly put an end to the travesty that is taking place in that once great State,” Trump said in social media post.
Presidents have invoked the law more than two dozen times, most recently in 1992 by President George H.W. Bush to end unrest in Los Angeles. In that instance, local authorities had asked for the assistance.
Trump has repeatedly toyed with the idea of invoking the Insurrection Act, starting in his first term, but hasn't followed through. In 2020, for example, he threatened to use the act to quell protests after George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police.
“I’m making a direct appeal to the President: Let’s turn the temperature down. Stop this campaign of retribution. This is not who we are,” Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, said on X.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said he would challenge any such action in court. He's already suing to try to stop the surge by the Department of Homeland Security, which says officers have arrested more than 2,500 people since Nov. 29 as part of an immigration operation in the Twin Cities called Metro Surge.
The operation grew when ICE sent 2,000 officers and agents to the area early in January. ICE is a DHS agency.
In Minneapolis, smoke filled the streets Wednesday night near the site of the latest shooting as federal officers wearing gas masks and helmets fired tear gas into a small crowd. Protesters responded by throwing rocks and shooting fireworks.
Demonstrations have become common in Minneapolis since Good was fatally shot on Jan. 7. Agents who have yanked people from their cars and homes have been confronted by angry bystanders demanding they leave.
“This is an impossible situation that our city is presently being put in and at the same time we are trying to find a way forward to keep people safe,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of three people who said they were questioned or detained in recent days. The lawsuit says two are Somali and one is Hispanic; all three are U.S. citizens. The lawsuit seeks an end to what the ACLU describes as a practice of racial profiling and warrantless arrests. The government did not immediately comment.
Similar lawsuits have been filed in Los Angeles and Chicago and despite seeing initial success, have tended to fizzle in the face of appeal. In Chicago, for example, last year a judge ordered a senior U.S. Border Patrol official to brief her nightly following a lawsuit by news outlets and protesters who said agents used too much force during demonstrations. But three days later, an appeals court stopped the updates.
Homeland Security said in a statement that federal law enforcement officers on Wednesday stopped a driver from Venezuela who is in the U.S. illegally. The person drove off then crashed into a parked car before fleeing on foot, DHS said.
Officers caught up, then two other people arrived and the three started attacking the officer, according to DHS.
“Fearing for his life and safety as he was being ambushed by three individuals, the officer fired a defensive shot to defend his life,” DHS said. The confrontation took place about 4.5 miles (7.2 kilometers) from where Good was killed.
Police chief Brian O’Hara said the man who was shot did not have a life-threatening injury. O’Hara's account of what happened largely echoed that of Homeland Security, which later said the other two men were also in the U.S. illegally from Venezuela.
The FBI said several government vehicles were damaged and property inside was stolen when agents responded to the shooting. Photos show broken windows and insults made with paint. A reward of up to $100,000 is being offered for information. The FBI’s Minneapolis office did not immediately reply to messages seeking more details.
St. Paul Public Schools, with more than 30,000 students, said it would begin offering an online learning option for students who do not feel comfortable coming to school. Schools will be closed next week until Thursday to prepare for those accommodations.
Minneapolis Public Schools, which has a similar enrollment, is also offering temporary remote learning. The University of Minnesota will start a new term next week with different options depending on the class.
Madhani reported from Washington, D.C. and Golden reported from Seattle. Associated Press reporters Sophia Tareen in Chicago; Bill Barrow in Atlanta; Rebecca Santana in Washington; and Ed White in Detroit contributed.
Federal immigration officers confront protesters outside Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Law enforcement officers at the scene of a reported shooting Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
A woman covers her face from tear gas as federal immigration officers confront protesters outside Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
A protester throws back a tear gas canister during a protest after a shooting on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Federal immigration officers confront protesters outside Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
Minneapolis City Council Member Jason Chavez, second from left, blows a whistle with other activists to warn people of federal immigration officers Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Tear gas surrounds federal law enforcement officers as they leave a scene after a shooting on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
A child and family are escorted away after federal law enforcement deployed tear gas in a neighborhood during protests on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
A protester holds an umbrella as sparks fly from a flash bang deployed by law enforcement on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
Monica Travis shares an embrace while visiting a makeshift memorial for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
A protester yells in front of law enforcement after a shooting on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Tear gas surrounds federal law enforcement officers as they leave a scene after a shooting on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Protesters shout at law enforcement officers after a shooting on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Law enforcement officers stand amid tear gas at the scene of a reported shooting Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
