Not surprising that the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers enter the first of their two annual NFC West showdowns with identical records. The big surprise is that they are at the bottom of the division. While the Niners were expected to take some lumps after a nasty off-season, the Seahawks were to be contenders. They might still be, but they’ll need to close games out in the fourth quarter if they want to get there.
ODDS
Seattle opened as a 4-point favorite on the road with a total of 41. The line was quickly wagered to -4.5 while the total spiked to 41.5. The Seahawks have won three straight and five of the last six in the series, but they are just 1-4-1 ATS this season and 1-5 ATS in the last six on the road against SF.
KEY INJURIES
Bobby Wagner – Missed Sunday’s game with a pectoral injury and with a short turnaround is questionable for the Niners game. If Wagner is unable to play, look for K.J. Wright to move to the middle with Kevin Pierre-Louis taking over on the outside.
Carlos Hyde – Has a sore left foot that requires the use of orthotics. He was held out of practice leading up to the Ravens game and went down in pain in the third quarter untouched. He returned, but the ailment could be problematic. Backup Reggie Bush was inactive Sunday, leaving Jarryd Hayne and Mike Davis to fill in for Hyde.
KEY MISMATCH
It might be safe to say 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has his swagger back. One week after throwing for 262 yards with a pair of touchdowns and no interceptions against the Giants, Kap was masterful against a decimated Ravens defense. A series of short, safe passes built his confidence and rhythm. Enough that he was able to take long shots later in the game. His 225 yards passing before halftime was a career high, and he averaged 18.8 yards per attempt against the blitz in the first half after averaging 4.5 yards per attempt on such first half plays entering the game. He finished with 340 yards passing and two touchdowns without an interception. Kap and the Niners will be tested against the Legion of Boom, but the Seahawks haven’t been the dominant team of the past few years.
KEY STAT
26 – Seattle’s NFL-high quarterback sacks allowed. San Francisco has applied little pressure to opposing quarterbacks, registering only nine sacks and failed to get to Baltimore’s Joe Flacco on Sunday.
BETTING ANGLE
For the third time this season the Seahawks coughed up a fourth-quarter lead. More painful, though, this one came at home, where the Seahawks never lose. Miscommunication between cornerback Richard Sherman and safety Earl Thomas led to a 26-yard touchdown pass from Cam Newton with 32 seconds left that put the Panthers up 27-23 and handed Seattle just its third home loss of the Russell Wilson era. The Seahawks dropped to 2-4 after blowing a 17-point fourth quarter lead to the Bengals two weeks ago and the 13 point-point bulge to the Panthers on Sunday. It was Seattle’s first defeat at CenturyLink Field since last year’s Week 6 loss to the Cowboys. Including the Super Bowl, the Seahawks have now lost five of their last seven games, including four fourth-quarter collapses. Winners of the NFC West the past two seasons, Seattle is now tied with the Niners for last place. Keep in mind, though, Seattle started 3-3 last season and finished 12-4.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
After playing two of the league’s undefeated teams the last two weeks, and feeling like they should have won them both, the Seahawks get a team that has more losses than wins on the year. The last time that happened, Seattle shut the door on the Lions and blanked the Bears the week before that. Those did come at home for the Seahawks, but it did prove that Seattle can beat up on the lesser teams in the league. While they are being viewed as an afterthought, the Seahawks rallied from consecutive losses last season where they surrendered 58 combined points, and were just 3-3 after six games. They weren’t taken seriously last year at this time, either. This is still a quality football team that would like nothing better than to climb out of the cellar in the NFC West with a beatdown of their bitter division rival. While Kaepernick has looked good the last two games, the Seattle defense has contained him and the Niners offense, making them look less than ordinary – and that’s when they were decent. I like Seattle to get the cover win on the road.
Seattle 26, San Francisco 13
BookMaker opened the spread for this Thursday game at -4 in favor of the Seahawks. The NFL odds total surfaced at 41. Minute-by-minute spreads, totals and props are available for this game using the live betting platform at BookMaker.
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