SF 49ers: 4 players who must be on point in Week 17 vs. Seahawks

The SF 49ers play for nothing but pride in Week 17 against the NFC West-winning Seahawks, yet these four players have to be at their best.

Nearly everything that could go wrong for the SF 49ers back when they played the Seattle Seahawks last went wrong.

Back in Week 8, the Niners lost quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to a serious ankle injury, while tight end George Kittle broke his foot. At a time when both San Francisco and Seattle were jockeying for positioning in the highly contested NFC West, the eventual 37-27 outcome suggested a banged-up SF 49ers squad simply didn’t have what it would take to make the playoffs.

And that score made the contest seem much closer than the game actually was.

With the Niners now out of the playoff picture and the Seahawks having clinched the NFC West after beating the LA Rams in Week 16, all that’s left for head coach Kyle Shanahan’s squad is to help hinder Seattle’s playoff push by potentially upsetting the NFC seeding.

For some modest bragging rights, too. And pride. That’ll matter, especially for the high number of pending San Francisco free agents set to hit the open market in 2021.

If the SF 49ers hope to pull off the upset and go into the offseason on a high note, these four players will have to bring their A-game.

No. 4: SF 49ers Running Back Jeff Wilson Jr.

One of the best ways the Niners can keep Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and his potent offense off the field is to control the clock, and there’s no better way to control the clock than by controlling the ground game.

In the wake of starting running back Raheem Mostert‘s season-ending ankle injury, the final contest will feature plenty of fellow runner Jeff Wilson Jr., who is coming off a career-best game in Week 16 against the Arizona Cardinals where he rushed for 183 yards on 22 carries (averaging 8.3 yards per rush) and had 204 all-purpose yards with one touchdown.

Quite the impressive performance.

Wilson, who has averaged 4.9 yards in two career games against Seattle, albeit with two fumbles, could be a key difference-maker against a Seahawks defense that allowed an average of 3.9 rush yards per carry before defeating the Rams and giving up 4.1 yards per attempt in that bout.

If Wilson winds up having another career-type game in Week 17, that could be enough to tilt the balance in favor of San Francisco.