Games between the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks are typically intense with the two rivals often competing for NFC West supremacy.
The Seahawks came out on top last season, winning a Week 18 showdown for the division title and a blowout in the divisional round against the 49ers before winning the Super Bowl on San Francisco's home field with a raucous celebration in their rival's locker room.
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San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan walks on the sideline during the first half of an NFL football game against the Denver Broncos in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Kelley L. Cox)
San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle (85) runs past Denver Broncos defensive end Zach Allen to score during the second half of an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Justine Willard)
Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald speaks during a news conference after an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Chargers, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (10) is tackled by Seattle Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Kevin Ng)
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) rolls out during the first half of an NFL football game against the Denver Broncos in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Justine Willard)
The teams are now set to meet for the first time in the 2026 season when San Francisco (4-0) visits Seattle (3-1) on Sunday.
“I think it’s unspoken,” 49ers safety Malik Mustapha said about the lingering feelings from how last season ended. “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.”
San Francisco couldn't do that late last season after injuries decimated their roster. The Niners fell 13-3 at home in the regular-season finale to lose the division and then 41-6 two weeks later on the road to end their season.
The Niners will look very different with George Kittle and Fred Warner healthy and playing at a high level after missing the playoff loss with injuries, and offseason acquisitions such as Mike Evans, Deebo Samuel, Osa Odighizuwa and Dre Greenlaw providing big boosts.
“I just feel like with us, we don’t totally get into that outer stuff very much,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said about looking for revenge. “Every game is so tough no matter who you play and you don’t really attach years before to certain games. I feel like we’re a new team, they’re a new team and we’ll see how this series starts this year.”
The Seahawks want to repeat the formula that worked well at the end of last season when their dominating defense once again frustrated Brock Purdy and the 49ers.
They allowed just three field goals, forced four turnovers, had five sacks and didn't give up a single play from scrimmage that gained more than 20 yards.
“We tackled well. We limited extra yardage. We rushed the quarterback with discipline and married the coverage," coach Mike Macdonald said. "That’s what it takes to play good football in general. The guys played hard, played physical. Played well situationally.”
San Francisco (4-0) vs Seattle (3-1).
When/where to watch: Sunday, 4:25 p.m. EDT, Fox.
Latest odds: Seahawks by 3.
Against the spread: 49ers 3-1; Seahawks 1-1-2.
Last week: 49ers beat the Broncos 24-14; Seahawks beat the Chargers 30-23.
Last meeting: Seahawks beat Broncos 41-6 in divisional round on Jan. 17, 2026, in Seattle.
Series record: Seahawks lead 33-24.
Purdy vs. Macdonald. Purdy has been one of the most efficient quarterbacks since taking over in 2022 with a 105.7 career passer rating that is on pace to rank No. 1 all time when he has 34 more attempts to reach 1,500 for his career. He hasn't had that kind of success against Macdonald. He threw four INTs in a loss to Baltimore in 2023 when Macdonald was defensive coordinator and has struggled in five starts since Macdonald took over in Seattle. His 75.8 passer rating in those six starts against Macdonald are significantly lower than his career average.
— The 49ers look to start the season 5-0 for the third time since 2019 and seventh time in franchise history. They made the Super Bowl after 5-0 starts under Shanahan in 2019 and '23.
— San Francisco has allowed six plays from scrimmage of at least 20 yards, second fewest in the NFL.
— The 49ers have allowed no sacks in four straight games for the first time since 1965 and are the fifth team since at least 1963 to allow no sacks in the first four games of a season. Only the 1989 Dolphins and 1975 Cardinals did it five straight games to open a season.
— San Francisco ranks sixth in the NFL in averaging 6.39 yards after the catch after finishing fifth lowest last season at 4.54.
— The Seahawks have the third-most penalty yards this season with 327 after having 14 for 150 yards last week. The Niners have been penalized 17 times for the second fewest in the NFL.
— Seattle hasn't allowed a 100-yard rusher in a franchise-record 33 straight games, including the playoffs, for the longest current streak in the NFL.
— The Seahawks have scored at least 30 points in three straight games, one shy of the franchise record last done in 2020.
— Seattle WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba leads the league with six TD catches (six) and is third with 481 yards receiving. He is one of two players with at least five catches and 75 yards receiving in all four games this season.
— Seattle is holding opponents to 28.6% on third down after leading the league last season in that category at 32.1%.
See AP’s full NFL coverage here
San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan walks on the sideline during the first half of an NFL football game against the Denver Broncos in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Kelley L. Cox)
San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle (85) runs past Denver Broncos defensive end Zach Allen to score during the second half of an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Justine Willard)
Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald speaks during a news conference after an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Chargers, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (10) is tackled by Seattle Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Kevin Ng)
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) rolls out during the first half of an NFL football game against the Denver Broncos in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Justine Willard)
CORONADO, Calif. (AP) — Sailors disembarked the USS Lincoln on Thursday following a deployment that included a record 265 uninterrupted days at sea supporting the Iran war and reports of supply shortages and deteriorating mental health among the crew.
Families waiting for the aircraft carrier’s arrival in San Diego Bay described crying and losing sleep after hearing about the ship’s food shortages and tough conditions. Many said the sailors had sent lists of the food they were craving.
Abel Ramirez, 20, walked off the carrier with a big grin, overjoyed that his first deployment was over.
“It feels amazing,” he said while headed out to search for his parents who drove from Texas. “There was a certain point when I never thought I would come off.”
The carrier drew national attention following reports of stress among the crew and poor mental health, as well as supply shortages, including food and hygiene products, during its Iran war mission.
Dozens of sailors stood atop the Lincoln as it glided past the cityscape of downtown San Diego toward cheering families who were carrying flowers and balloons and ringing cowbells.
Cassity Garduque, 14, waved as her mom in her sailor uniform frantically waved back from the top deck. "It feels really overwhelming,” she said about being reunited, adding she's glad her mom won't need to eat ramen almost every day.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth flew out to the Lincoln on Wednesday to give the crew the Presidential Unit Citation, the highest honor a unit can receive.
Hegseth pushed back against what he said were efforts to turn the “Lincoln into some sort of a symbol, a symbol of dysfunction or a symbol of low morale or a symbol of a failed mission.”
Capt. Daniel Keeler, the ship’s commander, said most of the crew was on their first deployment and that the issues they faced were normal for such a long deployment, adding everyone had access to four meals a day.
Among the first to depart the carrier at the naval base in Coronado were 64 fathers meeting their babies for the first time, the Navy said.
Waiting for the Lincoln to bring her husband home, sailor Kathy Monterrosa held her 6-month-old daughter, Sarahi, outfitted in a tiny blue and white sailor dress.
“She’s our deployment baby,” said Monterrosa, of Virginia Beach, Virginia.
It was tough to hear about the ship’s conditions while she was pregnant, she said. “I was crying a lot and worried. I wasn’t sure if he was OK or not,” she said.
When she finally heard from her husband, he told her it was “pretty bad.”
Sailor Steven Rivas beamed as he held is 7-month-old daughter.
“I couldn’t grasp the reality of it,” he said about coming home. He said he became overwhelmed as they pulled into the bay, “seeing everyone and knowing my family was waiting for me.”
Alma Solano Velez said her husband gave his family an extensive list of the foods he has been craving over the past 10 months: oxtail, barbecue chicken, broccoli and shrimp empanadas to name a few.
He had told his wife about “the lack of food and showers” on board and was looking forward to seeing their daughter, who turned 4 while he was away, she said.
The Navy initially downplayed any problems during the deployment, and President Donald Trump commented in August that the Lincoln’s lengthy deployment was “not nearly long enough.”
Hegseth told the crew that “what makes the U.S. military and the U.S. Navy and all these sailors different is that you adapt and that you’re resilient and you overcome — you finish the mission nonetheless.”
The carrier left San Diego in November and arrived in the Middle East in January. U.S. and Israeli forces launched airstrikes against Iran on Feb. 28.
Navy leaders eventually acknowledged there were some issues aboard.
In August, acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao said the Lincoln maintained adequate food supplies, but because combat operations limited resupply opportunities, meal options were reduced for a short time.
After more than 10 months at sea, the Lincoln’s crew got a stop in Thailand early last month on the way back from the Middle East.
Extended naval deployments can wear on service members who are away from home for long periods and increase strain on the ship and its equipment.
The Navy told lawmakers that eight sailors attempted suicide during the record-setting deployment, though experts say that number is low in a strike group of 6,000 sailors over 10 months.
According to the citation that Hegseth read to the crew, the Lincoln and its strike group executed nearly 3,700 combat missions, launched 450 Tomahawk cruise missiles, shot down 77 one-way attack drones, sank 64 Iranian warships, and destroyed 21 anti-ship cruise missiles.
The Lincoln, which set a record for days between ports of call, is the second carrier to endure an unusually long deployment during the Iran war and to receive the Presidential Unit Citation afterward, typically reserved for significant achievement in combat.
The crew of the USS Gerald R. Ford returned in May from a 326-day deployment — the longest for an aircraft carrier in the past 50 years and a record in the post-Vietnam War era. The deployment didn’t include as many uninterrupted days at sea as the Lincoln.
Another carrier, the usually Asia-based USS George Washington, relieved the Lincoln in the Middle East in August.
Seewer reported from Toledo, Ohio.
Captain Daniel J. Keeler, Commanding Officer of the USS Abraham Lincoln, greets his family after the aircraft carrier returned to Naval Air Station North Island after deployment Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, in Coronado, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Family and friends cheer as the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier returns to Naval Air Station North Island after deployment Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, in Coronado, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier returns to the San Diego Bay after deployment Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Sailors wave aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier as it returns to Naval Air Station North Island after deployment Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, in Coronado, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier returns to the San Diego Bay after deployment Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Karl Anderson)
The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier returns to the San Diego Bay after deployment Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Ofelia Woodruff waits to greet her son, sailor Michael Woodruff, as the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier returns to Naval Air Station North Island after deployment Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, in Coronado, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Family and friends gather to welcome sailor Frankie Valdovinos as the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier returns to Naval Air Station North Island after deployment Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, in Coronado, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier returns to the San Diego Bay after deployment Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier returns to the San Diego Bay after deployment Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
