49ers: Game breakdown and prediction for Week 17 against the Seattle Seahawks
By Sean Basile
Revenge is on the mind of the San Francisco 49ers and there’s no better time to exact that revenge than right now up in Seattle. I’m excited for this one!
The San Francisco 49ers have already made the playoffs, but the question is where will they play if at all on Wild Card weekend?
That question will be resolved this week as they head to Seattle and the Land of the 12th Man to take on Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks who handed them their first loss back in November.
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The 49ers have not won in Seattle since 2011 and on top of that, the Niners have only beaten the Seahawks once in their last 12 tries. So, a lot is going to have to happen here in order for the 49ers to come out of this weekend with the No. 1 seed in the NFC and home-field advantage.
But I think they can pull it off. My feeling on this game is that the 49ers are hungry and the Seahawks are hampered right now due to the influx of injuries they’ve been hit with recently.
There is no better time to catch this Seahawks team than right now if you’re the 49ers vying for that No. 1 seed.
The Seahawks have run the ball on about 46 percent of their offensive snaps this year (nearly half the time), and as of last weekend, both Chris Carson and C.J. Prosise are down for the season with injuries.
That’s now three of the Seahawks’ main running backs on the injured reserve along with Rashaad Penny. They’re set to bring in Marshawn Lynch and Robert Turbin to suit up for this week’s game, but the way I see it, the Seahawks run game is not going to be the same.
That tells me this game is going to 100 percent on Russell Wilson’s shoulders, which, actually isn’t the worst place to be if you’re the Seahawks because he’ pretty much carried this team anyway.
But the fact that the run game has taken such a blow with the injuries it’s suffered is going to go a long way in the 49ers having success defensively.
They already pushed ‘Danger Russ’ to the brink back in Santa Clara. What are they going to do now that they know he’ll be dropping back 40+ times?
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No, the 49ers defense hasn’t looked all that good these past few weeks, but at the same time, look at who they’re going up against — a Seahawks defense that’s allowing 381 total yards a game, 264 passing yards a game, and 25 points per game.
I think the 49ers pull this game off, but don’t pat me on the back just yet. I have the score going 30-28 in favor of the Niners. That means I’m taking the Seahawks +3.5. I can’t bet against Russell Wilson in such an important game to not at the very least cover this spread.
Even if the 49ers wind up winning this game, which I think they will, I bet it’s going to be decided in the fourth quarter perhaps on a field goal like last week’s game against the Los Angeles Rams.
Close victory for the 49ers. Seahawks +3.5 just in case and because of Russell Wilson’s greatness. Niners snag the number one seed in the NFC.
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Let’s try to hit all those points and make some money on a bold play, shall we?