RENTON, Wash. -- It took Mike Macdonald several weeks to rewatch the Seattle Seahawks' 29-13 victory in Super Bowl LX. It was partly because of his packed schedule and partly because of his perfectionist ways. The head coach and defensive playcaller knew that even though his unit had dominated the New England Patriots, it had also made miscues that would eat at him once he saw them on film.
Macdonald had no such hang-ups about either of Seattle's two January victories over the San Francisco 49ers, a pair of defensive masterpieces in which the Seahawks held their divisional rivals out of the end zone -- first in Week 18, then again in the divisional round of the playoffs.
That was then.
The 49ers (4-0) and their offense are rolling heading into an NFC West clash with the Seahawks (3-1) on Sunday at Lumen Field. San Francisco ranks second in points per game (30.5), Brock Purdy leads the league in Total QBR (89.2), and the quarterback has a few playmakers who weren't on the team nine months ago.
"None of what happened last year matters," Seattle linebacker Ernest Jones IV said. "It's a new year, new season. They've got a hell of a group. They've put together four good games, won every one of them. Just like we have a new team, they've got a new team. They're doing some different things. We've just got to go out there and do our job."
In the first of two defensive performances that even Macdonald might have considered perfect, the Seahawks held Kyle Shanahan's team to 173 total yards in last year's regular-season finale, a winner-take-all affair in which the NFC West and No. 1 seed were on the line. Seattle intercepted one of Purdy's passes, forced two more turnovers on downs and limited Christian McCaffrey to 23 yards on eight carries in a 13-3 victory at Levi's Stadium.
When the Seahawks hosted the 49ers after their first-round bye, it was more of the same. Macdonald's top-ranked scoring defense allowed only 236 yards, generated three takeaways to go along with three more turnovers on downs, and bottled up McCaffrey again (35 rushing yards on 11 attempts) in a 41-6 rout.
While appearing on NBC's pregame coverage of Super Bowl LX, Shanahan said self-deprecatingly that his "expert opinion" on the Seahawks might not be worth much given that his offense couldn't generate a touchdown against them during the past two times they met.
"We tackled really well. We limited extra yardage. I thought we rushed the quarterback with discipline and married the coverage," Macdonald recalled this week. "That's what it takes to play really good football, in general. But the guys played hard, played physical, played well situationally."
Said safety Julian Love: "I think we communicated really well. I think these guys do a lot of stuff pre-snap, motions, shifts, crazy alignment-type things. For the most part, we have a good feel of our communication versus them. And then just man for man, understanding who you're lined up against. I think we match up well with them just body for body. I think that's our biggest advantage compared to any other team."
But the matchup is a bit different this time.
Cornerback Riq Woolen and safety Coby Bryant, who missed the Week 18 game, are two starters gone from the Seahawks' defense. That unit, which is allowing the fifth-fewest points (18.3) this season, will have defensive tackle Leonard Williams on Sunday despite an ankle injury that sidelined him for the end of their win last week over the Los Angeles Chargers.
The 49ers, meanwhile, brought back Deebo Samuel Sr. this summer after adding another veteran receiver in Mike Evans. They also didn't have tight end George Kittle in the divisional round game last season after he tore his Achilles a week earlier.
That trio has accounted for nine of Purdy's 11 touchdown passes, a figure that is tied for the league lead. He's completing nearly 70% of his passes, has thrown only one interception and has yet to be sacked.
"He's playing really good," Jones said, "getting the ball out really decisive, making the throws, not putting the ball in jeopardy. ... He's playing really smart, and then he's out there extending plays with his legs. He's doing it all right now, playing at a high level. We've got to go execute. We have to play at a high level because they are."
The 49ers won't have fullback Kyle Juszczyk. Though that is a significant loss given how much their offense relies on two-back sets -- they've led the NFL by a wide margin in percentage of snaps out of 21 personnel (two running backs, one tight end) under Shanahan -- it also creates a question for Macdonald of how San Francisco will adjust. Juszczyk has missed just seven games since entering the NFL in 2013.
"Kyle's been extremely durable over the years, so there's not a lot of things you can go to and see how they actually did it with the people that are on their current roster," Macdonald said. "Shoutout to him for being able to play all those games. I don't think they're going to end up in 11 personnel [one running back, one tight end] all game. I don't think that's how they want to operate. We'll have a plan for 11, but we're anticipating multiple tight end people out there, and we'll have to adjust throughout the game to test how we think they're going to play it."
There might be one more subplot to this game.
As if those two January losses didn't leave a bad enough taste in the 49ers' mouths, they might be extra motivated after having watched the Seahawks win the Super Bowl at Levi's Stadium, then celebrate in their locker room?
"They might feel a certain way," Love said. "I think regardless of what happened last year, we don't like them, they don't like us, straight up. They might not like us a little bit more because of what happened at the end of last season, but it is what it is. You know, it's going to be a fistfight against a division opponent. That's all of them. We don't like anybody in our division."