SEATTLE _ Richard Sherman was back in Seattle.
And so were the LOB-esque good times.
Not that the two were necessarily related.
But with Sherman (and Super Bowl MVP Malcolm Smith) making a return to CenturyLink Field, the Seahawks turned in a performance that felt an awful lot like 2013 in demolishing the 49ers, 43-16.
They did so with four touchdown passes from Russell Wilson _ the first three punctuated by gleeful receiver celebrations, the first replicating Sherman's famous tip that beat the 49ers in the 2013 NFC title game.
The Seahawks then capped it off with a 98-yard interception return for a touchdown by Bobby Wagner, the longest in team history, breaking the record of 94 by Brandon Browner against the Giants in 2011.
49ers QB Nick Mullens tried to hit Jeff Wilson over the middle and Wagner stepped in front of the pass and sprinted down the sideline in front of the 49ers' bench, where Sherman had no choice but to sit and take it all in.
The Seahawks have now won three in a row, five of seven and seven of 10 since an 0-2 start.
The win only further improved the Seahawks' playoff hopes. Coupled with Minnesota's loss to New England, the victory assured that Seattle will have one of the NFC's two wild-card spots by the end of the weekend.
Much was made pregame of the return of Sherman, a member of the Seahawks from 2011-17 and founding member of the famed Legion of Boom. And despite some verbal barbs directed at Wilson this week, Sherman even offered a quick hug to Wilson during pregame warmups.
But Sherman wasn't involved in much early on as none of Wilson's six first-half passes went to his side of the field.
Sherman then was beaten for a short pass on a curl route to Doug Baldwin in the third quarter, with Baldwin breaking his tackle and going for 21 yards to convert a second-and-21.
Later in the fourth quarter Wilson's fourth TD pass, an 18-yarder to Jaron Brown, came in zone coverage in front of Sherman.
Otherwise, the return of one of Seattle's most famous players felt like a minor sublot by the time the game was over.
Not that it was all positive for Seattle as the victory might have come at the cost of two key players, starting right guard D.J. Fluker and tailback Chris Carson.
Fluker departed with a hamstring injury in the fourth quarter. Ominously, after initially being examined on the sidelines he was carted into the locker room.
Fluker was replaced by Jordan Simmons and Seattle then gave up two sacks after having reached the 1-yard line and forced to settle for a field goal.
Carson also left in the fourth quarter with a finger injury and was having X-rays as the game ended.
The Seahawks went three-and-out the first time they had the ball.
But they scored TDs on their next two possessions and never looked back.
The first came on a 7-yard pass from Wilson to Brown that was set up by a 45-yard pass from Wilson to Brown.
The Seahawks receivers celebrated with what was either a troll job of Sherman or maybe an homage, re-creating his famous tip and interception in that same end zone that clinched Seattle's win over San Francisco in the 2013 NFC Championship game.
Wilson then hit Lockett on a 52-yard TD on the next series, Lockett just barely sneaking behind Smith, to make it 13-0 and leading to another celebration. (This one apparently mimed the action of digging for gold _ 49ers, get it?)
San Francisco responded with its one decent drive of the half. But Wagner, kicking off one of his most memorable performances as a Seahawk, then stole the ball from Wilson on a fourth down run to the 5-yard-line, returning it to the 14.
Later in the half, San Francisco's Richie James Jr. fumbled a punt and Seattle's Neiko Thorpe recovered at the 33.
That led to a 1-yard pass from Wilson to Baldwin five plays later, a 20-0 lead and yet another celebration by the receivers (this one from the movie "Martin").
Lockett then returned the opening kickoff of the second half 84 yards to set up Rashaad Penny's 20-yard TD run on the next play, and the rout was on.
The rest of the game meandered a bit, with 49ers rookie Dante Pettis _ a former star at the University of Washington _ scoring two touchdowns in the second half, the latter on a 75-yard catch-and-run, the longest play allowed this year by the Seattle defense.
The 49ers were threatening to add another score when Wagner picked off Mullens' pass and turned the game into an official laugher. Seattle's 43 points were the most since the Seahawks' 46-18 win at CenturyLink against the Colts last October.
Seattle now hosts Minnesota in what looms as another game key for Seattle's postseason hopes.
The win over the 49ers, meanwhile, was Seattle's ninth straight in the regular season and 10th straight overall _ a streak that began with the NFC title game and Sherman's famous tip.
