- Joined
- Jun 28, 2010
- Messages
- 49,225
- Name
- Burger man
Saturday January 14, 2023
NFC Wild Card Prediction: Red-Hot San Francisco Aims for a Third Win This Season Over Division Rival Seattle
Our NFL experts predict, pick and preview the NFC Wild Card game between the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers with kickoff time, TV channel and spread.
athlonsports.com
NFC Wild Card: Red-Hot San Francisco Aims for a Third Win This Season Over Division Rival Seattle
After an embarrassing Monday night for the College Football Playoff with Georgia annihilating TCU in its national championship game, the NFL gets to take the keys back, so to speak, and embark on its 2023 playoff journey. The Seattle Seahawks (9-8) head south to Levi’s Stadium to take on the San Francisco 49ers (13-4) to get things started on Saturday afternoon. San Francisco swept the season series by outscoring Seattle 48-20 in the two games.It wasn't easy for the Seahawks, but they punched their ticket to the playoffs in dramatic fashion when Jason Myers redeemed himself with a 32-yard field goal in overtime to give them a 19-16 win over the Los Angeles Rams. Myers had a chance to win it on the final drive in the fourth quarter but hit the upright on a 46-yard field goal attempt. Seattle then had to wait for part two of the equation to get into the postseason, as the Detroit Lions, led by Dan "MCDC" Campbell, finished their own season sweep of Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers 20-16 at Lambeau Field. In the win over the Rams, Geno Smith was far from perfect, completing 19 of 31 passes for 213 yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions. Kenneth Walker III did his part with 114 rushing yards on 29 carries. The defense did enough to keep the Rams' offense in check, holding them to 269 yards with Baker Mayfield throwing for just 147. The Seahawks also did a nice job of getting off the field on third down, allowing Los Angeles to convert on just four of 14 opportunities.
San Francisco enters the playoffs as the hottest team in the league with 10 straight wins. The 49ers made it look easy in their regular-season finale, blowing out the short-handed Arizona Cardinals 38-13. Brock Purdy continued his strong play, completing 15 of 20 passes for 178 yards and three touchdowns. The defense gave up just 61 rushing yards and forced four turnovers, including a pair of interceptions by safety Tashaun Gipson Sr. If there was one sore spot in the victory, it was allowing the Cardinals to go for 4-for-10 on third down — but that's really nitpicking in a game the NFC West champs thoroughly dominated.
This will be the second time these division rivals have met in the playoffs. Seattle won the first such matchup, defeating San Francisco 23-17 at home in the NFC Championship Game on Jan. 9, 2014. The Seahawks then went on to blow out Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos 43-8 in Super Bowl XLVIII.
NFC Wild Card: Seattle (9-8) at San Francisco (13-4)
Kickoff: Saturday, Jan. 14 at 4:30 p.m. ET
TV: FOX
Live Stream: fuboTV (Start your free trial)
Spread: 49ers -10
Tickets: As low as $113 on SITickets.com*
Three Things to Watch
1. Quarterbacks making their postseason debuts
Even though there's a big gap in overall experience between Seattle's Geno Smith and San Francisco's Brock Purdy, one thing both quarterbacks have in common is that this will be their first playoff game. It's been a tale of two seasons for Smith, as a 6-3 start gave way to a 3-5 finish for the Seahawks. Smith's stats in those two splits don't vary much (15 touchdown passes across both stretches) although he did throw more interceptions (four in the first nine games, seven in the final eight). Another factor contributing to Seattle's second-half slump was injuries, but the bigger concern entering this game is San Francisco's defense. The 49ers enter this game ranked No. 1 in the NFL in both total (300.6 ypg) and scoring (16.3 ppg) defense and second against the run (77.7 ypg). The charge is led by Defensive Player of the Year contender Nick Bosa, who had a league-high 18.5 sacks in 16 games. For his part, Smith fared pretty well against this defense in the regular season, completing 74 percent of his passes (55 of 74) for 435 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He also was sacked five times, and the 49ers limited Seattle to a total of 20 points in those contests.
On the other side is Purdy, who will be making his sixth career start on Saturday. Compare that to Smith, who has made 51 across his 10 seasons in the league. But all Purdy has done is gone 5-0 as the starter while completing 69 percent of his passes. He's not a prolific passer (219.6 ypg as the starter), but he has been efficient with a sparkling 11:2 touchdown-to-interception ratio (also run in a score) and 8.1 yards per attempt and has done what has been needed to keep San Francisco rolling. The playoffs are a different challenge, especially for someone making their first postseason start, but Purdy has already faced the Seahawks before. In Week 15, Purdy made his second career start in Seattle on "Thursday Night Football." In a hostile environment in the prime-time spotlight, Purdy threw for 217 yards (17 of 26 passing) and two touchdowns with no turnovers in a 21-13 victory that clinched the NFC West. And let's not forget that the Seahawks enter this game on the opposite end of the defensive rankings, checking in at 26th in yards (361.7) and 25th in points (23.6) allowed per game.
2. The 49ers hoping for a repeat performance
One thing that can help Purdy have success in his first playoff game is for head coach Kyle Shanahan to continue to lean on his running game. The combination of Christian McCaffrey and Elijah Mitchell should find room to run against a Seattle defense that finished the regular season ranked 30th (150.2 ypg) against the run. In Week 15, McCaffrey gashed the Seahawks for 108 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries while Mitchell didn't play due to a knee injury. Mitchell, who was limited to five games in the regular season due to this injury, returned last week against Arizona and picked up 55 yards and two touchdowns on just five carries (11.0 ypc). If San Francisco has its way on the ground, that should make it easier for Purdy to distribute his passes to wide receivers Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk, as well as tight end George Kittle, who also had a big game (4 rec., 93 yds., 2 TDs) the last time these two teams met. Getting pressure on Purdy will be key since Seattle needs to disrupt his rhythm and try and rattle his confidence, but the Seahawks only got to him once the first time, and they won't have the crowd noise advantage on Saturday. Seattle must hold up early against the running game and force a few turnovers or it could be a long afternoon in Levi's Stadium.
3. The challenge of beating a divisional rival a third time in the same season
Last season, San Francisco entered the NFC Championship Game against the Los Angeles Rams having swept the season series against their divisional rival. The 49ers built a 17-7 lead entering the fourth quarter at SoFi Stadium only to watch the Rams rally with 13 unanswered points. After going ahead 20-17 with less than two minutes remaining, Los Angeles picked off Jimmy Garoppolo to seal the 20-17 come-from-behind victory and went on to defeat Cincinnati in Super Bowl LVI. Now a year later, San Francisco finds itself in familiar territory — trying to beat a division rival three times in the same season. This isn't an easy feat, according to a Tweet earlier this week from Seattle-area KCPQ (FOX 13) sports director Aaron Levine.
So even though the 49ers will enter this game as heavy favorites with clear advantages in most areas on paper, they also will bear the most pressure. Anything can happen once the playoffs start, and the challenge is often tougher when you're facing a team that already knows you pretty well. San Francisco needs to stick to the game plan that has worked so well during this 10-game winning streak, but that's easier said than done, especially when the stakes are raised.
Final Analysis
Head coach Pete Carroll will not be fazed by his team's status as a heavy underdog, since he has led the Seahawks to 10 playoff appearances in his 13 seasons as head coach. In this era of the NFL, it is extremely difficult to maintain that level of consistency. So, expect Seattle to put up a fight in this game, but in the end, until the offensive line can prove otherwise, it won't be enough, and the 49ers will play clean enough football to advance to the Divisional Round next weekend.
Prediction: 49ers 24, Seahawks 16
