The assumption before the season was that the Seattle Seahawks would be on the outside looking in at the Super Bowl, but just about everyone was wrong.
The team's offseason included a major overhaul, trading away Geno Smith, signing Sam Darnold, and even letting DK Metcalf go to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Those moves turned out to be for the better, as they clinched the NFC's top seed with a 14-3 record and are now one win away from their first title in 12 years.
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The Seahawks dismantled their division rival, the San Francisco 49ers, in Week 18 to clinch the top seed and then did so again two weeks later in the divisional round.
"They're a hell of a team. You know, they beat us in both those games. They definitely had our number in both those games. We had to play better, we needed to limit our mistakes," Christian McCaffrey told Fox News Digital on Radio Row.
"They're a really well-coached team. Obviously, they got talent across the board, their defense is good, Sam leading the offense with Klint Kubiak," added Brock Purdy. "They've done a really good job, man. They've earned it. They're a team that we have to obviously be ready for every single week, or every time we play them. Across the board, a really good team."
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McCaffrey, though, said the Niners weren't exactly given the benefit of the doubt against the juggernaut with some schedule craziness.
"I don't want to make excuses, but the NFL did put us on three short weeks at the end of a season when we had a Week 14 bye. So they didn't do us any favors in that," McCaffrey said. "When you have so many injuries and you're kind of decimated already, and then you put a team like that on short weeks, it makes it more challenging.
"But at the same time, those guys beat us, they beat us in every facet of the game. And if we want to win, we got to play better. Simple as that."
Jaxon Smith-Njigba led the NFL with 1,793 receiving yards while catching 119 passes, 10 for touchdowns. Darnold also became the only quarterback to win 14 or more games for two different teams in back-to-back seasons.
They'll face the New England Patriots in Santa Clara's Levi's Stadium, where McCaffrey and Purdy call home, on Sunday.
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