Wild Card Weekend: 49ers vs Seahawks (Round 3)

By Scooter_McG

The rivalry continues in the first week of the playoffs as the #2 seed 49ers face the #7 seed Seahawks for the third time this season. The 49ers will be looking to extend their current 10-game unbeaten run, while the Seahawks will be hoping they can turn their form back to early season as they have struggled down the stretch and needed a Lions upset to get them into the playoffs.

The 49ers won the past two contests this season, largely on the back of the ground game. They ran for 189 yards in their week 2 win and 170 yards in their week 15 victory, and in both of those games the air and ground yards gained were pretty similar. And on defense the 49ers made the Seahawks one dimensional, allowing only 36 rushing yards in week 2 and 70 rushing yards in week 15. Turnovers were also a key factor in both of those games as the 49ers didn't turn the ball over while they had four takeaways across the two games. As razor outlined earlier in the week, the Seahawks have scored only one offensive touchdown against the 49ers this season (they did have a TD in week 2 as well, but it was on STs).  

This game is shaping up to be a wet weather contest and we could see heavy rainfall during the game. If we do see heavy rain during the game that will likely impact how the two teams play and we saw against the Bears that this can level the playing field. But given the advantage the 49ers have in the running game it feels to me like this should still favour the 49ers (or at least not be a big disadvantage for the 49ers). Even so, in consideration of the weather this is a game where getting out to an early lead could be sufficient to steal a win, so the 49ers need to make sure they don't have any blown assignments early (which has been an issue this year) and that on offense they are mistake free and efficient. 

Looking at these two teams, both in terms of personnel and in terms of form, it is one that is hard to see how the 49ers don't win so long as they play good football and don't beat themselves. In fact, I would say the same about any matchup for the 49ers in the NFC bar the Eagles, who I think are the only team in the NFC capable of matching them. But the NFL is a funny beast and upsets happen all the time. The 49ers need to be locked in to come away with the win, and make sure they don't beat themselves. The good news is that in 2019 and 2021 Shanahan showed his ability to have his team ready for the big games, so there should be little reason to believe they won't be ready for this one. 

However, there is one player that could make this all fall apart - rookie QB Brock Purdy. He's been fantastic over the past six games and the 49ers offense has never run so efficiently. He's on an historic pace at the moment having won all five of his starts and thrown for multiple TDs in each contest. But if there is one player that Sneaky Pete will see as the potential weak link for the 49ers it is Purdy, and he will no doubt have a plan devised to try and make him uncomfortable and make mistakes. It will be imperative that Shanahan has a game plan in place that allows Purdy to get into the game and gain confidence early and not put too much on his shoulders in his first playoff start. It will also be on Purdy to retain the calm and poised demeanour he has displayed so far this season.