Seahawks 42, 49ers 13
Rookie Russell Wilson threw for 171 yards and a career-high four touchdown passes as host Seattle powered its way into the postseason by steamrolling NFC West leader San Francisco.
Marshawn Lynch rushed for 111 yards - his ninth 100-yard game of the season - and scored twice as the Seahawks (10-5) locked up the No. 5 seed in the playoffs. Seattle remained perfect at home by bolting to a 21-0 lead less than a minute into the second quarter en route to their fourth consecutive victory.
The Seahawks, who have outscored their last three opponents 150-30 and avenged a 13-6 loss to the 49ers (10-4-1) in Week 7, still can win the division title with a win over visiting St. Louis next week and a San Francisco loss at home to lowly Arizona.
The Seahawks jumped out to a 14-0 first-quarter lead, getting a 24-yard scoring run from Lynch only 72 seconds into the game and a 9-yard TD pass from Wilson to Lynch. The crushing blow came in the first minute of the second quarter when Red Bryant blocked David Akers' 21-yard field-goal attempt and Richard Sherman scooped it up and raced 90 yards for a 21-0 lead.
Colin Kaepernick, making his sixth start, threw for 244 yards with one TD and one interception for the 49ers, who didn't get into the end zone until there was only 1:40 to play. San Francisco dropped behind Green Bay for the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Doug Baldwin caught a pair of short TD passes for Seattle, which joined the 1941 Chicago Bears as the only teams in NFL history to hold a first-half lead of at least 24 points in three consecutive games. ... San Francisco's receiving corps suffered a pair of key losses. TE Vernon Davis was knocked out of the game with a concussion when he absorbed a jarring hit by Seahawks S Kam Chancellor and Mario Manningham exited with an injury to his left knee. ... Wilson's 24 TD passes moved him past Charley Conerly (1948) for the second-highest total by a rookie quarterback in league history. Peyton Manning holds the record with 26.