NFL
(9/18/22) 4:05 PM Eastern.
Spread: Seahawks +9 / 49ers -9
Moneyline: Seahawks +350 / 49ers +450
Total: Over / Under 40.5
The Seattle Seahawks travel to San Francisco to take on their division rival 49ers. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30p.m. eastern time at Levi’s stadium.
Seattle Seahawks (1-0)
Geno Smith came out and shocked the entire world on Monday night, beating the Broncos 17-16. He threw 2 touchdown passes on an efficient 23/28 passing. Rashad Penny ran like a man possessed, breaking multiple tackles while averaging 5 yards per carry. Rookie RB Kenneth Walker out of Michigan State didn’t play in week 1 but he will make his debut against the 49ers. DK Metcalf led the way with 7 receptions, but it was Tight Ends Will Disly and Colby Parkinson that led the team with 43 receiving yards a piece, both had a TD catch as well. The Seahawks put up all 17 points in the first half, they didn’t score in the 2nd.
Their defense won this game. Despite allowing 433 yards of total offense, Seattle gave up just 16 points. The Broncos fumbling twice on the goal-line had a lot to do with that. Jordyn Brooks picked up where he left off last year, racking up 12 total tackles. FA acquisition Uchenna Nwosu played a great game, earning NFC defensive player of the week honors. He had 7 tackles, one sack, one pass defended, and a forced fumble on the goal-line. He appeared to be everywhere during the game. The big news coming out of this game is the loss of Jamal Adams for the season.
San Francisco 49ers (0-1)
The Trey Lance era got off to an ugly start. They managed just 10 points in their season opener in Chicago. The field conditions were atrocious, heavy rain with standing water all over the field. Lance completed just 13 of his 28 passes for 164 yards and an interception. They did have a decent day running the football, gaining 176 rush yards on 37 attempts. Lance was the leading rusher with 54 yards. Starting RB Elijah Mitchell got hurt and was placed on the IR. Jeff Wilson takes over as RB1 but you can expect more handoffs to Deebo Samuel too. Star TE George Kittle is questionable, he didn’t play week 1.
The Defense was playing great until it wasn’t. They shutout the Bears in the first half, intercepting Justin Fields in the process. They held the Bears to just 2.7 yards per carry on the ground, that was on 37 attempts. They eventually fell apart in the 2nd half, allowing a 51-yard TD pass to Dante Pettis, then Fields delivered again with an 18-yard TD pass to St. Brown. Then following a Trey Lance interception, Khalil Herbert punched in a 3-yard rushing touchdown. The Bears managed to score 3 touchdowns on just 204 total yards.
The Pick
49ers -9. Two different level of football teams in this game. Geno Smith’s “run” of success is going to come to an abrupt end on the road vs this 49ers defense. It really only lasted a half anyway, once the Broncos settled into the game, Geno couldn’t keep a drive going. Their rookie offensive tackles held up alright but have yet to face an edge rusher like Nick Bosa. San Fran also gets great interior play from Javon Kinlaw and Arik Armstead for when they’re inevitably forced to double Bosa. Chicago couldn’t even run-on SF with a mobile QB like Fields, don’t expect Seattle to create rush lanes with their subpar offensive lines. Geno’s going to be forced to move the ball down the field and that’s just not going to happen. Seattle’s defense isn’t very good either and the loss of Jamal Adams takes away one of their best players. This San Francisco offense is going to be just fine, playing on the road in what was basically a swamp led to a lot of their struggles. They still ran the ball with great success in week 1 and that will carry over against a Seattle defense that gave up 5.1 yards per carry last week. This is a 49ers team that’s 4-0 ATS their L4 home games, 5-1 ATS their L5 games overall, and 4-0 ATS L4 games vs teams with a winning record. Seattle is just 4-12 ATS L16 games following a straight up win. 49ers trounce at home at the Trey Lance hype returns.
