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San Francisco vs. Seattle Prediction: Red-Hot 49ers Go for Season Sweep of Seahawks on TNF
Our NFL experts predict, pick and preview the San Francisco 49ers vs. Seattle Seahawks "Thursday Night Football" game with kickoff time, TV channel and spread.
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San Francisco vs. Seattle: Red-Hot 49ers Go for Season Sweep of Seahawks on TNF
"Thursday Night Football" heads to the home of Amazon, its broadcast home, as the San Francisco 49ers pay a visit to Lumen Field to battle the Seattle Seahawks for the second time this season. The 49ers dominated the first meeting, winning 27-7 at home in Week 2, preventing the Seahawks from scoring an offensive touchdown.San Francisco (9-4) has not missed a beat without injured quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, as Brock Purdy was impressive in his first start, leading the 49ers to a dominating 35-7 win over Tampa Bay at Levi's Stadium last Sunday. Purdy completed 16 of 21 passes for 185 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions. Christian McCaffrey added 119 rushing yards and a touchdown on just 14 carries as San Francisco dominated both sides of the line of the scrimmage. The No. 1-ranked defense also did its part in ruining Tom Brady's NorCal homecoming, intercepting him twice and forcing him to settle for short completions (253 yards on 34-of-55 passing). Tampa managed just 69 yards on the ground (on 19 attempts) and went 4-for-16 on third down.
Meanwhile, Seattle (7-6) was caught looking ahead to Thursday night's NFC West showdown and fell behind Carolina 17-0 last Sunday, which proved to be too big of a hole to dig out of. The Panthers pulled off the 30-24 road upset as Geno Smith went 21-of-36 for 264 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions. The lack of backfield depth certainly was a factor with Kenneth Walker III and DeeJay Dallas both sidelined due to injuries. As a result, the Seahawks were outgained 223 to 46 on the ground alone. On the other side of the ball, the defense greatly missed defensive linemen Shelby Harris (illness) and Al Woods (heel) as Carolina ran the ball 46 times, collected 24 first downs, and dominated time of possession (39:16 to 20:44). Seattle has lost three of its last four and is on the outside looking in at the playoffs.
A win by San Francisco on Thursday night would pretty much secure the NFC West for the 49ers, as their three-game lead over Seattle would actually be larger due to picking up the season sweep and tiebreaker.
Thursday Night Football: San Francisco (9-4) at Seattle (7-6)
Kickoff: Thursday, Dec. 15 at 8:15 p.m. ET
Broadcast Outlet: Prime Video
Live Stream: fuboTV (only available in San Francisco and Seattle markets)
Spread: 49ers -3.5
Tickets: As low as $156 on SITickets.com*
Three Things to Watch
1. How will Kyle Shanahan handle Brock Purdy's first road game?
Purdy has not looked the part of Mr. Irrelevant since taking over Garoppolo. In the last two games, he's completed 71 percent of his passes for 395 yards, four touchdowns, and an interception. He's also scored once on the ground. However, both of those games were at home, and this first road test comes in one of the NFL's most raucous environments, Lumen Field. Purdy also suffered an injury last Sunday early in the game, although he was able to play through it. He's considered day-to-day with a rib and oblique injury, but the expectation is that he will be able to play on Thursday night. Between the injury and the crowd noise, don't be surprised if head coach Kyle Shanahan plays conservatively, at least to start, and puts more of the workload on McCaffrey. The 49ers averaged nearly six yards per carry last week against Tampa Bay, and Seattle has had even more trouble stopping the run (160.5 ypg, 31st in the NFL). Success in the running game will set up Purdy to spread the ball around to wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk and tight end George Kittle, who will have bigger roles with Deebo Samuel now out for the foreseeable future. The versatile and dynamic Samuel suffered a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee and a sprained left ankle last Sunday.
2. Can the Seahawks' offense rise to the occasion against the 49ers' defense?
Smith is facing his biggest challenge of the season as Seattle has its backs against the wall after losing three of the last four games. Smith has been a great story so far in 2022, but he'll need to put forth one of his best efforts to help lead the Seahawks to a win against the NFL's No. 1 defense. It would be a huge help if Walker can return. The leading rusher (649 yds., 9 TDs) missed last week's game because of an ankle injury, but the team is hopeful he may be able to play on Thursday. Right now, opposing defenses don’t have much of a reason to respect the running game, which allows pass rushers to tee off on young tackles Charles Cross and Abraham Lucas. And not only does San Francisco boast the league's top rushing defense (75.1 ypg, 3.4 ypc), but the 49ers also feature a productive pass rush that's headlined by Nick Bosa, who is tied for the league lead in sacks with 14.5 (with New England's Matthew Judon). Defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans' game plan won't be complicated, but if the line can hold up long enough to give Smith time to throw, he may be able to hook up with Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf downfield. The 49ers are giving up 212 passing yards per game but have more interceptions (14) than touchdown passes allowed (12), so Smith needs to be sure when he lets it go. Lockett also is trying to extend his franchise record for consecutive games with a touchdown catch, which currently stands at six.
3. Seahawks' defense
The scenario this week is one of a wounded animal with this Seattle defense, which simply hasn’t done much stopping the run this season. Opposing teams have rushed for at least 161 yards in the last four games, and two teams have gone over 200 yards against them. You know that the Seahawks will surrender some yards on the ground this week, so the key for the defense is to limit the explosive run that can flip field position on a dime. Pressuring Purdy when he does throw the football is also a necessity this week. They must get him off his spot and not allow him to comfortably throw the ball wherever he wants without any consistent pressure on him. There's a chance Seattle could get Harris or Woods, or possibly even both, back in the lineup on Thursday night, which would be a huge boost to the defensive line.
Final Analysis
Divisional games are always unpredictable to some extent, as both teams know each other very well. Because neither team will have much time to implement a lot of changes during the short week, they will stick to what they do best. Look for the Seahawks to come out early with a better level of energy and focus as their season is on the line. San Francisco will need to withstand that early surge and then settle into its game plan on both sides of the ball. It will take a little bit of time, but in the end, the 49ers will pull away in the second half for a comfortable win on Thursday night, all but sewing up the NFC West in the process.
Prediction: 49ers 24, Seahawks 13
