The San Francisco 49ers travel to kick off Week 6 of the NFL season at the Seattle Seahawks, with both teams seeking to rebound from surprising losses last Sunday.
With a win, the 49ers (2-3) would pull even with the Seahawks (3-2), who have dropped consecutive games following a 3-0 start.
ODDS & TRENDS
The 49ers are a 3.5-point favorite at BetRivers, where they have been backed by 77 percent of the money wagered on the spread line. Their -190 moneyline to win the game outright has been even more popular, drawing 76 percent of the total bets to go with 85 percent of the money.
The 49.5-point Over/Under has seen heavy action on the Over with 76 percent of the money. Six of Seattle’s past eight home games have gone over the total points line, while the Seahawks have failed to cover the spread in seven of their past eight games.
PROP PICK
Jordan Mason Anytime TD (-220 at BetRivers): This has been the most popular player prop in terms of total bets at 2.8 percent, and is second with 1.5 percent of all player prop money wagered on the game. Mason has three rushing touchdowns but more importantly, the Seahawks’ run defense has been carved up in consecutive losses to the Lions and Giants. Seattle is now allowing an average of 128 rushing yards per game.
KEY STAT
San Francisco has won each of the past five meetings, including one in the playoffs. The 49ers have also won the first half in seven consecutive games against NFC West rivals.
THE NEWS
Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith leads the NFL in completions (143), pass attempts (199) and passing yards (1,466). He has also thrown for at least 284 yards in four consecutive games.
Seattle nearly rallied from a 10-point deficit in the final 2:09 against the Giants, but Jason Myers’ potential tying 47-yard field-goal attempt with about one minute left was blocked and returned for a touchdown.
“Seems like when the game’s on the line, we find ways to get things done,” Smith said. “But that’s got to be our mentality throughout the entire game. We can’t wait until the end of the game to try and save it.”
The Seahawks will look to establish the running game after Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet combined for just seven carries against the Giants. Seattle has thrown on a league-high 67.4 percent of its plays.
“We all know we need to run the ball more,” Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said. “Everybody knows that, our opponents know that. Our players in our locker room know that, (offensive coordinator Ryan) Grubb knows that, our coaches do, I do. We have to create more situations where we can run it as well.”
The 49ers, who won 11 of 12 games the past two seasons against NFC West foes while capturing back-to-back division titles, have blown 10-point, fourth-quarter leads against both the Los Angeles Rams and Arizona Cardinals this year.
The latter came at home Sunday, as the Cardinals rallied for a 24-23 victory.
“We don’t have time to sit here and have a pity party,” All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams said. “We’ve got another really good football team, another division opponent. Short week, so got to go.”
Without running back Christian McCaffrey (Achilles tendinitis), the 49ers have struggled offensively, especially when approaching the opponents’ goal line. They rank 29th in the NFL with touchdowns on 40.9 percent of red-zone drives, after leading the league last season at about 68 percent. McCaffrey, the reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year, had 18 red-zone TDs last season.
“It’s early in the season and we’re still trying to find our true identity as a team and we’re getting there,” 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy said. “It’s a couple plays away and a couple drives away from gelling and gluing together. But I’m confident that we’ll find it. We’ve just got to get into a rhythm and play complementary team football.”
INJURY REPORT
The 49ers had several kickers in for tryouts this week after Jake Moody sustained a high right ankle sprain on Sunday, and they signed Matthew Wright before ruling out Moody for the Thursday game. Safety Talanoa Hufanga, who has torn wrist ligaments, was placed on injured reserve on Wednesday. Also ruled out were defensive tackle Jordan Elliott (knee) and linebacker Demtrius Flannigan-Fowles (calf).
San Francisco cornerback Charvarius Ward (knee) and wide receiver Chris Conley (oblique) were listed as questionable.
The Seahawks on Wednesday ruled out defensive tackle Byron Murphy II (hamstring) and cornerback Tariq Woolen (ankle), as well as linebacker Uchenna Nwosu (thigh), who eventually will be placed on injured reserve, according to Macdonald. Linebackers Boye Mafa (knee) and Derick Hall (foot) and safety Julian Love (hamstring) are questionable.
THEY SAID IT
“We’ve got a quick turnaround. Tough opponent Thursday night. Divisional opponent. It means everything to us. This is a big game. It’s about as big of a game we’ve had this season. We better be ready.” –Smith
PREDICTION
The Seahawks built their 3-0 start by beating a rookie quarterback (Bo Nix), a since-benched journeyman (Jacoby Brissett) and an injury replacement (Skylar Thompson). In consecutive losses since, the inability to run the ball consistently on offense or stop the run on defense have stood out. Seattle is also banged up across its defensive front, giving the 49ers the ability to control the line of scrimmage, field position and time of possession. –49ers 27, Seahawks 20
–Field Level Media