SF 49ers vs. Seahawks: 5 reasons why Niners pull off upset

While the SF 49ers are facing the league’s toughest offense in the Seahawks in Week 8, there are reasons to believe the Niners stage an upset.

According to The Action Network, the SF 49ers enter their Week 8 road matchup against the Seattle Seahawks as three-point underdogs in what could be a crucial bout to determine the NFC West’s pecking order halfway through the 2020 season.

Seattle enters this divisional contest with the No. 1 offense in the league, and quarterback Russell Wilson is playing at an MVP-caliber level despite his three-interception performance against the Arizona Cardinals last week, which ultimately led to the Seahawks’ first loss of the season.

Meanwhile, head coach Kyle Shanahan’s 49ers squad is dealing with a plethora of injuries, joined recently by running back Jeff Wilson (ankle) and wide receiver Deebo Samuel (hamstring), who’ll miss Sunday’s contest.

It doesn’t look particularly great for San Francisco, right?

On the surface, no. There are plenty of reasons why Seattle is favored. At the same time, though, the Niners were underdogs for their last two contests against the LA Rams and New England Patriots, yet Shanahan and Co. won both of those matchups rather decisively.

Perhaps this contest offers up a similar outcome.

Here are five reasons why the SF 49ers pull off the upset.

No. 5: Week 8 between SF 49ers and Seahawks will be close

Every year, it seems as if the Seahawks pull off some last-second victory over their opponent each and every week. Aside from last week’s loss to Arizona, 2020 hasn’t been much different.

Outside of Seattle’s 38-25 Week 1 win over the Atlanta Falcons, in which Atlanta desperately staged a fourth-quarter comeback, the Seahawks have won all their games this season by a one-score margin. The Patriots closed the gap uncomfortably in Week 2, while quarterback Russell Wilson and wide receiver D.K. Metcalf had to engineer some fourth-quarter magic to pull off a last-minute win over the Dallas Cowboys in Week 3.

Week 4’s win over the Miami Dolphins was close, while another Russell-to-Metcalf connection in Week 5 gave Seattle a 27-26 win over the Minnesota Vikings.

Seriously, it seems like every week.

But this is a good indication the SF 49ers will be in a position to win late, taking into consideration the Seahawks’ plus-5.2 point differential this year — the lowest out of all teams with one loss or fewer.

All the Niners have to do is be on the right side of the one-score margin.