Why SF 49ers shock Seahawks with Week 8 win in Seattle

The SF 49ers head into Seattle looking to pull off yet another upset, this time against the NFC West-leading Seahawks. Here’s why an upset happens.

The SF 49ers just played their most complete game of 2020 by walloping the New England Patriots 33-6 in Week 7, and now they seem to be trending in the right direction. Despite numerous injuries throughout the lineup, San Francisco is still receiving many contributions from the reserves.

After the last two dominant performances, the SF 49ers seem to be back on track, and I’m going to give five reasons why the Niners pull off the upset in Week 8.

How SF 49ers pull off upset vs. Seahawks

Going into the Week 7 matchup against New England, the 49ers were sitting in last place in the NFC West and not looking so great. However, after back-to-back quality wins to begin their seven-game gauntlet, San Francisco has been slowly building confidence and regaining its 2019 form.

It was such an impressive win for the organization because of the incredible amount of talent on the roster. When the roster is filled with a ton of untapped potential, the only thing standing in the way of success is space and opportunity.

Fortunately for those players looking to shine, the opportunities may present itself earlier than expected.

Which brings me to my first reason why I believe Niners pull off the upset: the Element of Surprise.

It’s no secret how decimated San Francisco has been due to countless injuries. The Niners have a league-high 26 players currently on injured reserve, or on some other unable-to-play list, and they also deployed 70 different player combinations through the first seven games. The current depth and player development have been nothing short of spectacular. Head coach Kyle Shanahan and defensive coordinator Robert Saleh are getting maximum production out of their guys from every position.

Undrafted free agents, practice-squad players turned starters, you name it and the SF 49ers have featured them on game day.

Guys like third-year running back Jeff Wilson Jr., who had a career day by racking up 112 yards on 17 carries. Another relatively unknown player is running back JaMycal Hasty, an extremely shifty back with great balance and someone who finishes his runs with an explosion.

These are just a couple of the “unknowns” who are making solid contributions whenever their numbers are called.

The second reason the SF 49ers pull of the upset is momentum. San Francisco comes into Week 8 riding a nice two-game winning streak and looking a lot more like the defending NFC champs that we’ve grown accustomed to seeing.

Over the last two games, San Francisco has completely controlled time of possession (75:78–43:42), by converting timely third downs and outgaining their opponents 857 to 552 total yards.

Another reason they’ll pull off the upset over Seattle is that Shanahan’s offense is slightly better than Seattle’s defense. The Niners come into the game with one of the league’s top five rushing offenses, while Seattle struts out a skittish middle-of-the-pack defense.

Combine those factors with the quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo effect, and you have yourself another reason Niners pull off the upset.

Garoppolo is a very capable quarterback who receives way too much flak for a guy with fewer career starts than other younger starting quarterbacks, such as the Cleveland Browns’ Baker Mayfield or Chicago Bears’ Mitchell Trubisky. My gut feeling is Jimmy G will have a signature moment and remind folks why he was such a coveted backup during his New England days.

My final reason why I believe the Niners pull off the upset is desperation. Sitting with a record of 4-3 after the first seven games is not an ideal situation to be in, unless of course, you represent the NFC East.

Ouch!

The SF 49ers seem like they may have regained their sense of urgency and are looking to consistently stack good days together. After dropping their season opener to division rivals, the Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco knows it can ill afford to lose another crucial matchup at this juncture of the season.

I expect to see the maximum effort and steady improvements to an already solid unit. Even at the halfway mark of the season, there are still a bunch of games to be played with very little room for error. If the Niners actually pull off this upset, it’ll be a huge confidence builder moving forward to close out the gauntlet.

Stay faithful, Faithful!