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Seahawks vs. 49ers Divisional Round scheduling has Tony Dungy upset

The Divisional Round date is set, and for Mike Macdonald’s Seattle Seahawks squad, it’s the next game. For his opponent… the NFL is unfair.

Kyle Shanahan, great coach but known complainer about scheduling issues, said in the post-game conference following the San Francisco 49ers’ win over the Philadelphia Eagles that it would be “cool” if the NFL was “understanding” and gave them a Sunday game.

They didn’t, and the 3rd matchup between the Seahawks and 49ers is another Saturday game.

Throwing his chips in the 49er / Shanahan camp, out of the deepest corner of left field came…Tony Dungy?

NFL playoff scheduling is not fair. It might produce good ratings but it’s not fair.
This late in the season recovery time is crucial and it is not given equally. Rams & Bears played Saturday games. They will face each other on Sunday with an extra day of rest. 49ers played on… pic.twitter.com/JSwYeZTAEX

— Tony Dungy (@TonyDungy) January 12, 2026

This one is odd because it is resolutely not on brand for Tony Dungy. The Hall of Fame coach has authored Quiet Strength: The Principles, Practices & Priorities of a Winning Life, in which he says the following:

“You can’t always control circumstances. However, you can always control your attitude, approach, and response. Your options are to complain or to look ahead and figure out how to make the situation better.”

You win the games in front of you and let the rest sort itself out, coach(es)!

At the end of the day, the advantage the No. 1 seed gets isn’t fair either, and neither is the fact that pass interference can’t be challenged. These things exist.

So on to the business at hand: Shanahan and his band of Overcomers have to come back home, prepare for a game on five-day rest that they haven’t had to do since…Week 17 of the 2025 regular season when they went from Monday to Sunday. The rest disadvantage is also something Shanahan has benefited from as the No. 1 seed twice before.

2019 playoffs: #49ers have round 1 bye, Vikings play on Sunday then go to San Francisco on short week for Saturday divisional round game

2023 playoffs: 49ers have first round bye, Packers play on Sunday and then go to SF on short week for Saturday divisional round game

The…

— Josh Dubow (@JoshDubowAP) January 12, 2026

In the meantime, it certainly was something watching nearly every potential opponent lose a starter for the rest of the season while on bye. The Seahawks will face a 49ers team without George Kittle and linebacker Tatum Bethune, both of whom suffered respective season-ending injuries over the past two weeks.

At home, on rest, the real question is whether San Francisco can surpass, or even meet, their 3-point total from Week 18 against Seattle.

Source: https://www.fieldgulls.com/seattle-...ahawks-vs-49ers-schedule-unfair-rest-nfl-news