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January 4, 2026 14 mins

Richard Sherman breaks down the Seattle Seahawks’ dominant defensive performance and the San Francisco 49ers’ lack of urgency in a hard-fought NFC West battle. Sherm analyzes Kenneth Walker, Charbonnet, Sam Darnold’s mistake-free football, Mike Macdonald’s scheme, and why Seattle looks like the true No. 1 seed in the NFC. Sherman also dives into Christian McCaffrey’s key drop, the 49ers’ struggles stopping the run, playoff scenarios, and what this loss means for Brock Purdy, Kyle Shanahan, and a potential 49ers-Eagles rematch. Plus breakdowns of the Panthers–Buccaneers finish, NFC South chaos, and a preview of Ravens–Steelers on Sunday Night Football. If you love elite defense, playoff breakdowns, and real football insight, you’re in the right place.

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Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, everybody, I appreciate you joining us as always. You
guys are phenomenal. You're the best in the world. You're
watching the Richard Sherman Podcast. But if you could do
me a huge favor and hit that sub button, it
would be greatly appreciated. You would do a service for
your boys. Sherm And I'll tell you what. I got
your back, you got my back, all love. Welcome back

(00:27):
to the Richard Sherman Podcast. And what a game. What
a defensive battle. I love defensive battles, and the Seattle
Seahawks put on an absolute clinic all game long. And
it wasn't just about the scheme. It wasn't just about schematically. Sure,
Mike McDonald does some incredible things schematically, but it was
the effort and intensity they were playing with that impressed

(00:49):
me the most. And I said it during the game
while I tweeted it during the game, I said that
effort got rewarded with the interception, and the fans were like, well,
they didn't have to do anything. Christian just dropped that,
No question about it. Christian, that was a drop. That
was one I'm sure he wishes he has had back.
But in order to take advantage of that. You gotta

(01:10):
be running to the football, you gotta be hustling, you
gotta have energy. And that was the frustrating thing all
night watching his forty nine ers defense, is they didn't
have that kind of energy. And sure they held the
Seattle Seahawks second highest scoring offense to thirteen points. That
should be applauded. They did a phenomenal job. So tell
if it was a benefit of a missfield goal and

(01:30):
some mistakes about the Seattle Seahawks, but sure, it still
goes on the record. They held them to thirteen points
for the second time in a row. But there was
a turnover, There was a point in this game. There's
a couple points in this game that were really the
turning points for me for this defense, because they couldn't

(01:51):
stopped Run, they couldn't stop Kenneth Walker, they couldn't stop
sharper Nay, and it just seemed like the Seattle Seahawks
were resetting the line of scrimmage every single play, on
every single possession, and they were owning it. They were
the more aggressive, they were, the more dominant team. They
had the mindset, they went in there with a plan
and they executed it. Sam Donald played really solid football.

(02:13):
He didn't turn the ball over, but the one play
where he had a chance to turn the ball over
where he got stepped on and he flumbled the ball
away and it was down. It was a free ball
for anybody to go get. I didn't feel the sense
of urgency. And that's what I mean when fans are like,
oh man, they played really good, or we watching the
same game. Yes, we're watching the same game, but I

(02:34):
watch it with a different lens because I know the
frenetic pace in the desperation and sense an urgency that
you have to have to play great defense. And I
saw that with the Seattle Seahawks. I did not see
that with the San Francisco forty nine ers. And now
I didn't care either way, you know, I'm not. I
just was loving a great game. But I was like,
that was missing when I watched the Seattle Seahawks defense

(02:56):
get on the field. They're running, they're playing with swagger,
they're running, hitting everything moving. You see three four guys
at the football every play. Every time you look like, hey,
you gotta help these guys on the field, is it twelve?
Because they're running and hitting And then you look at
the San Francisco forty nine ers, and it just seemed
like it maybe they just running out of gas. You know,

(03:18):
this is a team that's been through a lot this season,
dealt with a lot of injury, dealt with a lot
of heartache. But on third and seventeen, with your offense
need to get the ball back, they run a play
not even expecting to get the first down. I don't
think Klink Kobiek when he when he drew this up,
when he called this play expected, you know, he expect

(03:38):
this is a give up play. Hey, We're gonna run
the ball, get us a couple of yards, punt the
ball away, and nobody was there to tackle him. Like,
he's not gonna stop running if nobody's gonna tackle him.
He's not gonna just give up on the play if
nobody's gonna tackle him. And that was the play that
really frustrated me as a as a as a person

(04:00):
watching the game. And it would frustrate me watching either
defense play like that because I'm a guy who loves
to watch great defense, and the Seattle Seahawks gave me
that today. They filled my cup up with great defense,
flying around, hitting, interception, SATs guys in the secondary playing
with swagger, Ernest Jones, playing with Nick mm and Warri
look like he fight. He looked like a guy out

(04:21):
there today. He's been looking like a guy, but he
looks like he's found his confidence on the field, his swagger,
his leadership. He's comfortable doing what he's doing. But even
my guy Reek, Reek was still was swagging out there
a little bit too. But outside of a play by
Diamador leonore On. I think it was fourth down on
Charbonnay where Tarberney tried to bounce it, Giamdro made an

(04:44):
incredible play. But again he made the play by himself,
by himself. The play, the third and seventeen play, is
a play you cannot put on tape, not a team
fighting for the one seed, not a team that's won
twelve games like that's as a defense because those things
take no talent. The effort and attitude that you play with.

(05:06):
It takes no talent. Running to the ball, it doesn't
take talent. It just takes one two. It takes mindset.
And that was the most concerning part watching this team.
It's just that that part wasn't there, and they still
had a chance. They still had a chance to San
Francisco forty nine Ers offense march down the field, got

(05:26):
inside the red zone and had a chance to win
this game. And that's what you knew. That's what we
talked about earlier today when I had did the preview.
It's gonna come down to the end of this game.
It's not gonna be a blowout by any stretch of
the imagination. If the San Francisco forty nine er score
right there, which it looked like they were gonna do,
if Christmas McCaffrey catches that football, then it's a It's
a thirteen to ten ball game, and they got their

(05:49):
timeouts and we're trying to figure out what happens at
the end. And that's with the Seattle Seahawks playing dominant
football on both sides of the of the ball, and
that's what you them to look like going into the playoffs.
They look like the number one seed in the NFC.
They deserve it. Everything's going through Seattle and I can't
wait to watch it. The San Francisco forty nine Ers

(06:09):
likely are going to play the Philadelphia Eagles at the
if the Chicago Bears can come pull out a win,
but If not, then they'll go to Chicago and it
will be a rematch of a couple of weeks ago,
and and that was a fun game to watch as well.
But let's let's talk about these playoff scenarios. Like I said,

(06:31):
if the Rams win, they're the five seed, they play,
they play whoever goes out of the NFC South, either
Carolina or Tampa Bay, depending on what happens with the
Saints and Falcons game. And we'll get to that in
the second. Uh, then you got the San Francisco forty
nine ers playing either the Bears or the Philadelphia Eagles.

(06:52):
And that Philadelphia Eagles matchup could be interesting because I
think that's a matchup it's a revenge game. And I
know it it was a couple of years ago, but
when when brock Perty got hurt and that that developed
into a little bit of a rivalry between Philadelphia and
San Francisco for a while, and it was you know,
Juwan Jenning's going back and forth with him. If we
would have had our quarterback, you know, it wasn't even

(07:13):
men close. And I think that's a game the Seattle
I mean, the San Francisco forty nine ers can win
if they if they if they get that matchup, I think,
you know, obviously they beat the Bears, so they can
clearly win that game. But it's gonna be a doll
fight either way. And if not, then the Bears play
the Packers and that's gonna be a cool matchup and
the Seattle Seahawks are waiting for for the lowest winner

(07:36):
of all of it. And it's gonna be a fun
ride on the NSC side, no question about it. I
can't wait. But right now, the Seattle Seahawks look like
the class of the division. Mike McDonald, this is the
reason they hired him. This is I think the Seattle
Seahawks front office and an ownership group saw Kyle Shanahan

(07:56):
and Brock Party and this offense struggle versus the Baltimore
Ravens and multiple multiple matchups with Mike McDonald, and I
think that went into the decision to hire him because
he does a good job against Kyle, and he's done
a good job this year in both matchups against Kyle Shanahan.
He's finally got the system installed the way he wants

(08:17):
to this year two, and he has a deep rotation
at the defensive line. I think they're the only team
with with over four guys with forty pressures, and they
look like a team that knows what they're doing. They're confident,
they're swagging. My guy DeMarcus Lawn said, hey, they're a
dark side because they turned the lights off on people,

(08:37):
and everybody got to come through Seattle and see the
dark side. And that's what's gonna it's gonna be in
the playoffs. If you want to win a Super Bowl,
you're gonna have to come in Seattle and turn the
lights on. And I don't know if anybody can do that.
We'll see, we'll see. But Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the
Carolina Panthers sixteen to fourteen. A lot of the game

(08:57):
was was was back and forth, a little bit sloby.
The con editions were bad. A missed field goal. There
were miss field goals by Jason Myers in the Seattle
Seahawks game, uncharacteristic. He had made I think eighteen straight,
so I expect him to get that cleaned up. But
in this Carolina Tampa Bay game, Bucky Irvin, you know,
they tried to establish a run game and they did

(09:19):
a good job with that. The defense for the Tampa
Bay Buccaneers forced two sacks, were covered two fumbles, and
had an interception, and the Carolina Panthers still had a
chance in this game at the end. Obviously, there's that
offensive pass interference on Tylor Roald McMillan that I don't
think was a great call. I think inside the five
yard bots for both sides, let him play rest. If

(09:44):
you can't battle within the first five yards, then no
reason to play this game like he was being physical.
Was he being overly physical? Yes, If you can't handle
that as a dB, probably shouldn't be pressing it. And
the same is true on the other side. If a
receivers getting pressed up, can't call p I on me,
I'm I'm within five yards, and I don't think you

(10:04):
can call that he bullied. That was a good play
by him. He bullied him. That's good football, that's physical football.
That's playoff football. And if you call that in the playoffs,
oh my god, I hope you never call another game.
So I don't agree with that call. I think it
was terrible. I thought the fleet ficker play that they
called where they fumbled the ball was a terrible call.

(10:27):
You don't run no play like that in bad conditions.
Obviously you're struggling, you're looking for a spark, but in
bad conditions. And then of course Carolina quarterback and not
died on the football. That's gonna just make that headline
is gonna right itself. Thankfully it wasn't in the Super Bowl.
But I you know, it's weird. It's so weird. The
NFC South is so weird because even though Tampa wins

(10:47):
this game, there's still a chance they don't wander to
the playoffs. So you think this game was like, oh man,
this dessert determines the winner of the NFC South. And
it just seems like every year it comes down to
some weird scenario for the NFC South. And and again
it's that's the case. If the Saints win, the Bucks go.

(11:07):
If the Falcons win, the Carolina goes. And if you
know anything about the South NFC South, you know the
Saints don't care for the Bucks very much at all.
And so uh with with Chris o'lavae out for the season,
I don't know, I don't know. Football is a were sport.

(11:29):
I don't know if they're gonna win that game, but
we'll see. I thought Carolina and Bryce Bryce Young. I mean,
he's he's starting to play better football. I kind of
wanted for Carolina this year. Tampa Bay's won it the
last few years because I just wanted for Canalist and
I wanted for for Bryce Young. I think he he
can he can finally feel good, you know, getting that

(11:50):
weight off his back, taking his team to the playoffs,
the team that's struggled nightily, he's been under a lot
of scrutiny and pressure. So I think that'd be really fun.
It'd be good for football in my opinion. But who knows.
We can talk about this Sunday night matchup that's gonna
come up between the Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers,
a good classic AFC North battle for the AFC North Crown.

(12:15):
All odds and lines come from our partners at hard
Rock Bett. We've got the Ravens at the Steelers on
Sunday Night football. Hard Rock Bett has the Ravens as
a four point spread in this game. I really, I
really don't know. I don't know if you can call
it it's a dogfight. How is Lamar Jackson gonna play? It?
Is his back steel stiff. You know, there's been a

(12:36):
lot of speculation there. How's this Pittsburgh Steelers offense gonna
play DK Metcalf. They struggled without DK Metcalf in the
last game, so I can understand why Vegas has his
team favorite. Derrick Henry is going to King Henry is
going to be the biggest factor in this game in
my opinion, for either team, and if he plays well,
then I agree with with with hard Rock. It's gonna be.

(12:58):
It's gonna be at least a four point game, and
the Baltimore Ravens are going back to the playoffs. But
who knows. We gonna see. As always, I appreciate you
guys joining me. You could be anywhere in the world,
but you're here with me, whether you're a Niners, Baked
for or a Seattle twelve. Always appreciate you all, love
and respect. What a game, what a season. I hate

(13:19):
that it's coming to a close, but this is the
money time. It's playoff time. In the Seattle Seahawks only
go to super Bowls when they're the one seed. They've
gone to three super Bowls. They've been the number one
seed three times. We'll see if they can make it
a fourth. And Sam Dry take them to the Promised Land.
Will be at Luman Stadium to see in a couple

(13:39):
of weeks. I can't wait. And the forty nine ers,
you still got a chance, you still got life. Can
you go on the road and find a way to
pull out a win. If anybody can do it, it's
Kyle Shanahan Robert Sala at the Helm. I can't wait
to watch it. We'll see you next time. Make sure
you hit that sub button. If you knew tho
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