Before the San Francisco 49ers can become a playoff team, they need to beat their rival Seattle Seahawks. We take a look at the film behind Kyle Shanahan’s success against the Seahawks, through his use of three effective passing concepts.

The San Francisco 49ers’ main rival in recent years has been the Seattle Seahawks. And with good reason.

When the 49ers are able to beat the Seahawks, they’re usually playoff bound. When the Niners lose to the Seahawks, the 49ers’ players watch January football at home from the comfort of their couches.

The San Francisco 49ers have lost their last seven games against the Seahawks. This is a trend that will have to change before the team can be considered a viable playoff candidate.

The 49ers front office hopes the hiring of head coach Kyle Shanahan bucks the team’s recent losing trend to their NFC West rivals.

Shanahan boasts a 3-2 record as an offensive coordinator against the Seahawks, with many games coming during Seattle’s best years in the league. In fact, his record could have been even better; in his two losses, one game was decided by two points, and in the other, he lost his starting quarterback to injury.

Does Shanahan hold the key to defeating Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll’s vaunted pass defense?

A review of the game film reveals Shanahan takes commonly used offensive concepts and adds wrinkles and shifts in order to keep the defense guessing. He uses the same concepts multiple times in a game but from a number of different looks and formations.

Shanahan uses play action off the threat of a strong running game to pull defenders out of position and create passing opportunities for his quarterback. He also often attacks cornerback Richard Sherman, a player the 49ers have shied away from in recent years.

Shanahan uses three general concepts to attack the Seahawks’ pass defense. The first concept is a vertical stretch — specifically through the use of strong-side floods.