Rashid Shaheed's Kick Return Touchdown Jumpstarted The Seahawks' 41-6 Win

The Seattle Seahawks jumped out to a very early lead thanks to a Rashid Shaheed kickoff touchdown return that, “built momentum for the rest of the game.”

Jan 17, 2026 at 11:24 PM

Ari Horton

Seahawks.com Writer

After a 20-minute delay because of the earlier NFL game between the Buffalo Bills and the Denver Broncos going into overtime, the Seahawks final took the field to face off against the San Francisco 49ers, a team they'd seen just two weeks ago. With the 20-minute delay, players spent time in the locker room trying to re-stretch and get warmed back up.

"That was kind of crazy," Ernest Jones IV said. "Strength staff started getting guys ready and at the end of the day, we were just ready to play."

Despite the change in schedule, Seattle didn't need a pick-me-up to get the game going. Receiver Rashid Shaheed was the pick-me-up, returning the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown to give Seahawk an early lead that helped build momentum.

"That was electric," Jones IV said. "To be off two weeks, start the game off like that in front of 70 some thousand people, that's a great way to start. Gave us a boost, but it also just confirmed what we knew. Let's go out here, play our game and this will happen often."

Jaxon Smith-Njigba said, "It was awesome. I've never started a game like that. So, for him to do that it was just, I was in awe and super excited and we talked about starting fast and it don't get no faster than that."

Shaheed's kick return was just another play to add to the list of reasons why Seattle's decision to trade for him may have been one of the best NFL moves of the season.

"Well, he was someone that I know that we were targeting throughout the process," head coach Mike Macdonald said after the game. "And I mean that's John (Schneider) and the personnel folks that made it come to life. So, shout-out to him. Turns out, it was a luxury, initially, because of our receiver situation, but with Tory (Horton) going down it ended up being a great move. It was a great move initially. But from my perspective and the coaches' perspective he's a player that we really respect. When he's catching the ball in kickoff return, you're like, 'Oh, here we go, we've got to contain this guy.' When he's on the field on offense, you can't let him get behind you as well. The receiver run game is something you have to account for as well. It really does help the team big time. So, shout out to John."

This is the second time this season Shaheed had a momentum-changing play. First was the punt return to start the second half of the Week 16 Thursday night matchup against the Rams that jolted the Seahawks to an overtime win. And on Saturday it was the kick return that seemingly energized the entire team.

"That was a crazy moment," Shaheed said. "Just built momentum for the rest of the game. Yeah, I don't know what to say. That was just a crazy experience. Shout out to Jay Harbaugh for putting us all 11 guys on the right page each and every week. So big shout out to him."

Shaheed's kickoff returned for a touchdown was the longest postseason kickoff return in franchise history.

Related Links

On the return, Shaheed was able to get about six key blocks but also show off his track-like speed to outrun defenders. He even outran a defender lunging at his feet, as well as an attempted tripping attempt that was later flagged as a penalty.

"Yeah, it's cheat code," receiver Cooper Kupp said on Shaheed's speed. "I'm so angry at him for being so fast. It drives me crazy. Just jealous, I guess, at the end of the day, because he's special. I remember the first day he got to the facility remember asking him, "Is it cool lining up and knowing that you could run past anyone that lines up across me? " He's like, "Yeah, it's pretty cool."

While the defense was on the sideline watching Shaheed return the kick for six points, the defense started "grabbing their helmets."

"We was ready to go out there and get the ball again," DeMarcus Lawrence said. "So it's just a testament to the camaraderie that we on build here in Seattle and man, we just going to keep playing Seahawk football."

To make what Shaheed was able to do even more impressive is the fact that he wasn't returning kicks to begin the season. If you didn't watch any or very little New Orleans Saints football earlier this season, then you wouldn't know that Shaheed didn't start the season returning kicks, he was mostly a punt returner and took up the kick returning job once he was in Seattle.

"When I came here, that's when I finally got the opportunity to get back there," Shaheed said. "So I knew that I just had to stick with the game plan and just follow the 10 guys. I knew that this group is super special and they put in a lot of effort throughout each and every week. So all I got to do is just follow those guys and I just handled the rest."

Shaheed added, "Just to come out here and be a part of this team, it's super special. Being a part of the wide receiver room, it's just nothing like I've ever experienced and it's been nothing but a dream come true and we just got to keep stacking wins."