The Seattle Seahawks come to Levi’s Stadium for an NFC West showdown with the San Francisco 49ers. At 7-2, Seattle is looking good, coming off a 40-34 overtime home win over Tampa. The Niners beat the Cardinals on Thursday, 28-25, to move to 8-0. Seattle would like to have a statement win going into the bye. And the 49ers could add another notch on their belt and continue to silence the naysayers with a win on MNF.
San Francisco Getting Better?
Being that there was a lot of suffering that led to the success, don’t expect the Niners to slack off like you might anticipate with a team on the run of a lot of success sitting at 8-0. They look to be adding new wrinkles on offense. Jimmy Garoppolo is coming off his best game of the season, tossing three TDs on 317 yards passing with 28/37 completions last Thursday. While he had some talented ball-catchers before with Dante Pettis, TE George Kittle, and others. Getting a dependable and proven receiver like Emmanuel Sanders seemed to elevate the SF aerial game to a new level last Thursday, as Sanders had 112 yards and a TD with some big plays on the night. With difference-makers in the backfield like Matt Breida and Tevin Coleman, a few guys who can also catch passes, the SF offense is starting to develop an identity, along with a well spelled-out cast that has a lot of depth.
More for Seattle to Worry About
Suffice to say that Seattle will be seeing a version of Frisco this season that is unlike anything they’ve experienced in recent years in this divisional matchup. On “D,” it’s a different ball game this time around. There is a lot to like on the SF defense heading into week ten, even if they did allow a season-high to the Cardinals in their last game with a 25-point total. After giving up only a combined 23 points in their previous four games, that could be a source of some promise for Seattle backers.
But it might not be a source of much solace when looking at the big picture. It’s true that Seattle could potentially run the ball well on the Niners. After all, Arizona managed to do so with debuting Cardinal Kenyan Drake, who had over 100 yards on Thursday. But the 49ers’ secondary is top-notch, with one of Seattle’s former stars Richard Sherman looking refreshed with three picks. They’re stout, tough, and make plays. Granted, on Thursday, we saw a muted 49ers’ defense. Dee Ford and DeForest Buckner had sacks, but Nick Bosa was quiet, and the secondary didn’t make a lot of plays. I would expect better this week, as the Niners now get to dig in for the beginning of a three-game homestand. Look for some of this massive menace on defense to manifest during this time.
The Price of Pessimism
For some people, it’s natural to look at things with a discerning eye. The Niners have beaten losing teams like Tampa, Cincy, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Washington, and Arizona. And even the Rams and Panthers seemed to have off-days when playing Frisco—the two winning teams they have faced. There aren’t any real stars on the team, and all these different factors have led to some people withholding praise. But that could come at a cost. Some naysayers might feel bolstered after the Cardinals gave them a run for their money last Thursday, but make no mistake, this is a team with an awfully-high ceiling, boasting of a deep roster with some standout talent on both sides of the ball.
High Flying Seahawks
The 49ers will be dealing with a team that can get it done in a variety of ways. On Sunday, Russell Wilson threw for 378 yards and five TDs. He has Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf, both of whom went off on Sunday. And now they have Josh Gordon, and we’ll see how it works out going ahead. Different guys keep popping up in this offense, and on Sunday, it was TE Jacob Hollister, who burst out with two TDs, including the game-winner. With Chris Carson on a roll and coming off another 100-yard game, this offense can do a lot of things. But just as the Seattle offense will test the Frisco “D,” the Seattle offense will also face a defense that is stout and can make a lot of plays. Things might not come as easy as they did last week against Tampa. In fact, they probably won’t.
- Get more details: Seahawks at 49ers NFL Match-up Stats
