By DaVince “Dino” Wright
Game Info
Seattle Seahawks vs San Francisco
Saturday – January 14 – 3:30 p.m.
TV: FOX
Levi’s Stadium – Santa Clara, CA
Records Before the Game
Seattle Seahawks (9-8, 4-4 Away)
San Francisco 49ers (13-4, 8-1) Home
The Seahawks have bounced up and down like a rubber ball this season. Some games the Seahawks looked as if they would be kings of the NFC and in others, they looked mediocre at best. The 49ers are a team that has a complete defense that has an offense to match. The 49ers are more than capable of winning the NFC this year. Let’s take a closer look at this season’s NFC Wild Card matchup between the Seahawks and the 49ers at Levi’s Stadium.
Finishing Up Strong
Both teams are solid for the first three quarters but the team that finishes the strongest in the 4th quarter will move on to the next round. The key for the 49ers will be controlling the clock while the Seahawks will need to score points and not give up big plays.
Seattle Seahawks
The Seahawks have to be one of the luckiest teams in NFL history. They started off strong and hit the proverbial wall and had a losing streak. In their last 5 games the Seahawks are 2-3 with losses to Kansas City, San Francisco and Carolina. However they ended their season winning their last two games, beating the New York Jets and the LA Rams for the second time this season to get the sweep and to get into the playoffs. The key for the Seahawks offense will be quarterback Geno Smith. Smith has passed for a career high 4282 yards with 30 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He will be the x-factor for Seattle this week. RB Kenneth Walker III is the workhorse for the Seahawks, but he hasn’t fared well against the 49ers in two games this season, 16 carries for 57 yards and no touchdowns. He has to perform and his o-line has to create lanes otherwise it’ll be a long day for Geno Smith and company. The air attack will rely on the experience of Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf to stretch the field.
San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers are one of the leagues most complete teams. They are strong on both sides of the ball. They are top 10 on offense and defense. The team is on a 5-game win streak with a young quarterback that no one saw coming. Brock Purdy has 1374 passing yards with 13 touchdowns and 4 interceptions since starting after Jimmy Garoppolo went down with injury. Head coach Kyle Shanahan has all the weapons once could ask for with RB Christian McCaffrey, TE George Kittle and WRs Debo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk. Keep an eye on the 49ers defense. They will be the x-factor for a win at home this week.
Prediction
ESPN has the 49ers with a 77.2% chance of winning at home and moving on to the next round. The over/under is 43, so take the over in this one. The 49ers put up a lot of points at home and the Seahawks give up a lot of points on the road. I don’t see this trend changing this week.
Final Score
49ers – 34
Seahawks – 10
