49ers vs. Seahawks: 5 bold predictions for critical NFC West bout
By Peter Panacy
49ers -3. 6-5. 42. Sunday, Dec. 5. 36. CBS. 3-8. 4:25 p.m. ET
The 49ers hope to embarrass the Seahawks in a Week 13 NFC West bout where the Niners want to avoid having their playoff hopes hindered.
The records and recent win-loss streaks for the 6-5 San Francisco 49ers and 3-8 Seattle Seahawks may suggest two teams on completely different trajectories.
But records and trajectories go out the window when these two NFC West rivals meet.
For the bulk of recent years, it was the Niners looking to put a dent in the Hawks’ postseason plans, but those tables have turned with San Francisco currently sitting in the No. 6 seed in the NFC playoff picture, while Seattle is way down and out of the playoff seeding at No. 15.
Not yet totally eliminated. But close. And the 49ers would love nothing more to ensure that trend pushes forward.
Still, the Seahawks would have no trouble “getting up” for this game despite having lost four in a row.
How about some bold predictions? Let’s take a look at some.
No. 5: 49ers are held to less than 100 rush yards
Bold predictions aren’t always good ones that benefit the Niners.
The Hawks have plenty of deficiencies, yes. But one area in which they’ve shown some noticeable improvement from early this season through Week 12 is against the run, currently ranked fourth best in the league by allowing only 3.9 rush yards per attempt.
That could actually work in San Francisco’s favor, assuming a run-first approach is what head coach Kyle Shanahan will want to do.
But running the ball frequently doesn’t always equate to a lot of yards.
With wide receiver Deebo Samuel out with a groin injury, the 49ers won’t be able to rely on his own unique rushing abilities, meaning rookie running back Elijah Mitchell is going to shoulder a sizable amount of the ground load.
Yet the stats suggest Seattle will do a good job preventing a lot of those big runs, meaning Mitchell could end up having 20 carries or so but only netting 80 yards, then the Niners getting little else on the ground elsewhere.
Look for a sub-100-yard rushing effort from San Francisco in Week 13.