The San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks will kick off Super Wild Card weekend in style, facing off in the first game of Saturday’s action.
At least, we hope they open things in style. Most objective NFL fans aren’t expecting a whole lot from this contest, and 49ers fans would really enjoy it if the rest of the league becomes very disappointed very quickly by a San Francisco blowout. Perfect time to prep the mini hot dogs for the night game!
In terms of mapping out a game plan, there are certainly more unpredictable pairings in Round 1.
Not only have we seen this matchup twice already this season, but we just saw what these very same 49ers, helmed by Brock Purdy, could do in hostile Seahawks territory on Dec. 15.
That was a 21-13 Niners win that wasn’t all that close; a Noah Fant touchdown towards the end of the fourth quarter, which could be labeled “Garbage Time,” closed the gap from 21-6.
It’s no surprise most pundits believe this game could be a wash. Hell, even Seahawks coach Pete Carroll seemed deferential to Kyle Shanahan’s system and DeMeco Ryans’ defense entering Round 3. To get truly bold with pregame predictions requires a bit of excess, considering the rest of the football world are expecting a powerful performance.
Hopefully, we obliged.
3 Bold Predictions for 49ers vs Seahawks on Super Wild Card Weekend
3. Geno Smith Forced to Throw … Again
When these two teams faced off in mid-December, the 49ers defense took full advantage of a limited Kenneth Walker in the Seattle backfield, holding him to 47 yards on 12 carries.
San Francisco’s swarming defense (and the big deficit they encumbered the Seahawks with) resulted in Geno Smith going to the air again … and again … and again, finishing 31-44 with a late touchdown strike.
Expect more of the same this time around. The only wrinkle the Seahawks plan to import is the return of wide receiver Dee Eskridge, a speed demon who hasn’t played since early in the campaign.
Walker and Co. will likely be bottled up once more, as San Francisco’s team defense allowed the second-fewest rushing yards per game in the NFL this past year — 0.8 more per game than the Tennessee Titans, but 14.4 fewer than the third-place Baltimore Ravens. Damn you, Tennessee!
Add in a two-touchdown deficit early (we’re predicting), and you’ll see over 45 Geno Smith pass attempts in this one — presuming he makes it ’til the end of the game.
2. George Kittle Approaches TJ Hockenson Supernova Status
Allow us to remind those who might’ve forgotten: before heading from the Lions to the Vikings, tight end TJ Hockenson put an all-time smoking on the Seahawks’ pass defense in Week 4 this season.
Hockenson, known as a possession weapon and red zone threat who can occasionally go nuclear, racked up a remarkable 179 yards on 12 catches against Seattle, including an 81-yard scamper. That game was wild, but not entirely out of character for the Seahawks’ containment abilities this season.
Zach Ertz was targeted 18 times in two games against the ‘Hawks, pulling in 12 catches for 110 yards. Travis Kelce caught six balls for 113 yards when he lined up against Seattle. Even lesser names like Tyler Conklin of the Jets nabbed six for 80, when given the opportunity!
The Seahawks pass defense struggles to contain the league’s truly elite tight ends (and also struggles to contain some truly mediocre ones!). In George Kittle’s only start against Seattle this season, he caught four balls on five targets for 93 yards.
This might be an opportunity to double those targets and add easy chunk yardage, en route to between 130-150 receiving yards for Kittle.
1. Huge CMC Day Portends Blowout Win
A variation on a popular parable goes thusly: 1/3 of the 49ers’ offense, per bold predictions, will be covered by George Kittle on Saturday.
The rest might be covered by Christian McCaffrey. A small portion is covered by water. I think.
A healthy McCaffrey gashed the Seahawks on the ground the last time these two teams locked horns, rushing 26 times for 108 yards and a touchdown, choking out the clock, and also adding six receptions on eight targets for 30 additional yards.
The workload should stay the same this time around, but it seems fair to presume he’ll break a longer run (or run after the catch) after gaining a head of steam in recent weeks. McCaffrey’s longest rush was 23 yards last time around, but his longest catch only went for 11. Add a 40-yard catch-and-run — and a second touchdown — and we anticipate McCaffrey will be closer to 180-200 total yards on Saturday afternoon.
38-17, 49ers win. Geno Smith hucks plenty of balls downfield (too many, some might say). CMC handles the dirty work. Kittle is a primary factor. Bring on the Divisional Round.
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