49ers won't see Seahawks QB Geno Smith today, Drew Lock to start

The 49ers are going to be squaring off against Seahawks backup quarterback Drew Lock today instead of Geno Smith.

When the oddsmakers over at FanDuel opened up the betting spread for the San Francisco 49ers' Week 14 home matchup against the Seattle Seahawks, the Niners were listed as 10.5-point opening favorites.

That line jumped to 13.5 points the Friday before the matchup.

A likely reason is that the Hawks are electing to sit their starting quarterback, Pro Bowler Geno Smith, who tweaked his groin during practice on Thursday and is expected to need at least two weeks to fully recover. According to earlier reports from Seattle insiders from ESPN, Smith was going to be a gameday decision for head coach Pete Carroll.

It appears as if that decision did not go in Smith's favor.

NFL Network reports Seahawks will start Drew Lock vs. 49ers

Mere minutes before inactives were to be listed for Sunday's NFC West contest between San Francisco and Seattle, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported that Smith would indeed be unable to go, and the Seahawks would start his backup, Drew Lock, instead:

The team confirmed the report shortly thereafter, saying that Lock would get the start against the Niners.

Lock, a second-round pick of the Denver Broncos from the 2019 NFL Draft, hasn't started a game since 2021 and didn't see any regular-season field action for the Seahawks last year.

In 2023, Lock has played in just two games and has 12 passing attempts, completing only four of them for a percentage of 33.3.

The 49ers, meanwhile, own the NFL's No. 2-ranked scoring defense and have to be feeling awfully confident knowing that Lock is going to be under center instead of Smith.

The Niners and Hawks kick off on Dec. 10 at 4:05 p.m. ET from Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California.

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