Since 1976
49ers vs. Seahawks
The NFC West's modern-era war
The 49ers-Seahawks rivalry evolved from a geographic curiosity into one of the NFL's fiercest battles. While the teams first met in 1976, the rivalry truly ignited when Seattle joined the NFC West in 2002. The Pacific Northwest versus the Bay Area became a collision of football philosophies: San Francisco's West Coast offensive tradition against Seattle's Legion of Boom defensive identity.