The story of two different seasons comes to a head when the Seattle Seahawks and the San Francisco 49ers clash in Arizona on Sunday afternoon. Part of the 1:25 pm PT list, this game has big implications in the post-season, as the Seahawks still have an outside chance to head up the seed for the NFC playoffs, giving them the only goodbye in the first round.
For Seattle to jump to the top, they need to beat the Niners, in addition to having both the Green Bay Packers losing to the Chicago Bears and the New Orleans Saints losing to the Carolina Panthers. What makes this week difficult to assess is that all three games are included in the 1:25 pm time slot, which means that all teams must run with their best players and not rest anyone.
For the Niners, the disastrous season is almost over, as injuries devastated the previously promising team of coach Kyle Shanahan. With his heavy schedule supporting injuries on the offensive line, running backs and even quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, it has been an uphill struggle to produce in the attack, relying on Nick Mullens and CJ Beathard to help drive this team.
1. Tyler Lockett, DK Metcalf receives more praise in the history books
After his great performance earlier this year against Arizona Cardinals, wide receiver Tyler Lockett took second place for DK Metcalf in terms of offensive appreciation, with Metcalf taking off and Lockett falling back into the WR2 / 3 category. But Lockett has a great chance to join the select company of some historically important members of the Seahawks wide receiver core.
Needing just 36 yards a day, the former Kansas State Wildcat would win another 1,000-yard receiving season, becoming only the sixth member in the history of the Seahawks franchise to make more than two consecutive 1,000-yard seasons. With the types of injuries that San Francisco has in its defensive secondary, this total could be reached early in the game.
For Metcalf, he has already crossed the 1,000 yard limit and aims to set the franchise record for receiving yards in one season, which was defeated in 1985 by legend Steve Largent in 1,287. Metcalf only needs five yards on Sunday to overtake Largent in the record books, but if his first clash against the Bay Area club this season is an indication of what this time will be like (12/161/2), then he will be able to clear that record, a new one that will be very difficult for him or any other player out in the future.
Both recipients have a great chance of placing more than 100 receiving yards on Sunday, as they will be “going there”, according to coach Pete Carroll.
2. Russell Wilson sits – but only for good reasons
The train of enthusiasm at the start of the season for Russell Wilson’s chances as an MVP was in full swing, but after a few games that were filled with average results from the ex-Badger, that train was saved with the hope that 2021 would bring him back. .
For Wilson, he always shone at certain times of each season, putting the team on his back and producing astronomical numbers. But its low points appear to be large deviations from its peaks, and those declines have severely damaged its MVP stock.
Fortunately for the Seahawks, their attack is built where Wilson doesn’t have to be a MVP caliber signal caller, something that helps provide an alternative solution to his wide receivers and running backs. But on Sunday, Wilson will be perfectly prepared to enter the postseason in a heat streak, especially against a San Francisco secondary who just wants this season to end.
In his Week 8 fight, Wilson put a modest yard and finish line from 27 from 37 to 261 yards, but his four passing hits were certainly a big part of this game. Now, the accelerated attack was missing Chris Carson and Carlos Hyde, so DeeJay Dallas was handling most of the shipments, meaning that Wilson had more control over the playbook and was consistently played in important passing situations.
A 350-yard day and four touchdowns for Wilson could certainly be on the cards (and only needed three quarters to do so), especially if the Niners ended up rolling in the second half and just let Seattle do what they wanted in the attack.
3. Seahawks defense enters the postseason as a threat
The biggest exploitable factor of this Seattle team is their defense, as they were consistently destroyed both in the air and on the ground, helping other teams to have field days against them, even if Seattle ended up taking the win. But they really came to play in the second half of the year.
The turning point seems to go back to the last match against the 49ers, where he accumulated a modest total of three bags. But he has since led the league in that category, as his 34 sacks in the last nine games of the 2020 season have been a real boost to his defensive production.
Surprisingly, their defense is led in bags by safety Jamal Adams (9.5), showing how big a role he has played since he was acquired from the Jets earlier this season. Six other members of the defense earn more than three bags in the year, so they can spread the fun.
With the offensive tackle Trent Williams having just been added to the Injury Reserve, plus guard Ben Garland already on the IR and pivots Hroniss Grasu and Weston Richburg out, this offensive line will have its hands busy with a charged defensive line looking to make A Beathard’s life is hell.
Five bags? Six? Seven? The possibilities are endless. But what we do know is that it will be a long day for the San Francisco line on Sunday.
4. Seattle goes up, but doesn’t get bye
With Green Bay traveling to face the Bears in Chicago and the Saints facing the Panthers in Carolina, all three current NFC seeders will be on the road to end their regular seasons, so anything can happen.
The Bears can certainly be a tough team and are picking up where they left off when they opened the season in a long winning streak, and are still fighting for their lives in the playoffs. All they need to do is beat Green Bay and they win one of the final NFC spots.
But the Chicago high school is going to drop some of its main curves, and as Davante Adams and Aaron Rodgers have been so far this year, it looks like a difficult task.
For Saints, their game against Christian McCaffrey – less Panthers does not seem to be a very difficult obstacle to deal with, especially with how well their rush pass has worked on the opposing offensive lines this year. But the big caveats will be Drew Brees’s efficiency and how he operates with a converted receiver as his starting defender, as Alvin Kamara, Latavius Murray, Dwayne Washington and defender Michael Burton were all dismissed due to the hiring of COVID- 19 or being in close contact with someone who is positive.
So, Ty Montgomery now becomes RB1 for this team this week (and perhaps more), which will put a greater focus on Emmanuel Sanders and any remaining healthy recipients.
These three teams do not have easy clashes to end their seasons, but at least one of the teams above the Seahawks is expected to win on Sunday, preventing Seattle from securing the much-desired goodbye.
