Seattle Seahawks: 3 Bold predictions vs. 49ers, Week 17
By Samuel Teets
After suffering severe injuries and losing in Week 16, the Seattle Seahawks need to rebound against the San Francisco 49ers.
Entering Week 16, the Seattle Seahawks controlled their destiny and the first seed in the NFC. While Pete Carroll’s squad already clinched at least a Wild Card spot, Seattle wanted home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Those hopes took a massive hit with a loss to the Arizona Cardinals in Week 16. Now, the Seahawks will battle the San Francisco 49ers for the NFC West crown.
If the Green Bay Packers and the New Orleans Saints lose in Week 17 and Seattle wins, then Seattle owns the top seed in the NFC. What are the chances of those three outcomes happening? Slim to none, but the top seed is still in play.
Of course, there’s still the chance Seattle loses and stays in the fifth spot. Obviously, the difference between the top seed and a Wild Card spot is huge. The first seed gets a bye during the Wild Card round and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. With all of their injuries and a dedicated fanbase, the Seahawks want both of those advantages.
However, Seattle doesn’t get either if they don’t take care of the 49ers first. Seattle and San Francisco square off in the final Sunday Night Football game of the 2019 regular season.
3. Seahawks turn over Garoppolo twice
The 49ers are one of the best teams in the NFL, but it’s debatable how much credit Jimmy Garoppolo deserves for their record. While he is completing 68.5% of his pass attempts this season, Garoppolo also has 13 interceptions. With so much on the line in Week 17, Garoppolo may be San Francisco’s undoing.
Against the Los Angeles Rams last week, he threw more interceptions (two) than touchdowns (one). Garoppolo did not throw an interception in just five games this season. Three of those games came against Arizona, Atlanta, and Cleveland. Against decent defenses, Garoppolo throws at least one interception the majority of the time.
When the Seahawks and 49ers clashed back in Week 10, Garoppolo completed less than 53% of his pass attempts and threw an interception. While he’s a talented player, Garoppolo makes plenty of mistakes. Seattle’s secondary can victimize him at least once in Week 17.
In Week 10, the Seahawks sacked Garoppolo five times. He fumbles the ball twice, and Seattle recovered in both instances. Seattle’s pass rush hinges on whether or not Jadeveon Clowney plays. The star edge rusher missed the last two games, and it is unclear if he will suit up in Week 17.