Sam Darnold, Seahawks Hyped as Super Bowl Favorite By Fans After Playoff Win vs. Brock Purdy, 49ers

The Seattle Seahawks are one step closer to their first Super Bowl in 12 years.

Mike Macdonald, Sam Darnold and the Seahawks advanced to the NFC Championship game with a dominant 41-6 win over the San Francisco 49ers during Saturday night's divisional round matchup.

The win marked the first playoff win both for Macdonald, who is in his second year as head coach, and Darnold, who is in his eighth season in the league.

Brock Purdy and the 49ers ran into trouble early Saturday night as a turnover on downs and a fumble allowed the Seahawks to climb out to a 17-0 first-quarter lead.

Darnold, who was questionable with an oblique injury ahead of the game, helped the Seahawks build on that advantage by going 12-for-17 with 124 passing yards, a touchdown and no interceptions.

Only the Los Angeles Rams or Chicago Bears will now stand between the Seahawks and a trip to Super Bowl LX.

Some fans feel Darnold can take the Seahawks to their first title since the 2013 season, especially now that AFC has lost Josh Allen to the Buffalo Bills' elimination and Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix to a season-ending broken ankle.

The two biggest stars of Saturday night's win were running back Kenneth Walker III and the Seahawks defense.

Walker racked up 19 carries for 116 yards and three touchdowns. That made him the first player in Seahawks history to rack up a triple-digit receiving yard total and three touchdowns in the same playoff game, per the Seattle Times' Tim Booth.

The Seattle defense meanwhile held the 49ers to 236 total yards, including 108 yards rushing, while forcing the Seahawks to go 0-for-3 on fourth down attempts.

The Seahawks will have to wait a day to find out who they'll be playing in the NFC Championship game. The Rams and Bears are set to kick off their own divisional round matchup Sunday afternoon at Soldier Field.

Seattle's ability to compete with either of these NFC opponents will hinge at least in part on the health of Darnold, who suffered an oblique injury Thursday and reportedly did not throw a ball at all the day before the divisional round game, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.

If Darnold is limited heading into the conference championships, the Seahawks may need another big game from Walker and their defensive unit in order to make it past the Rams or Bears and advance to the Super Bowl.