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NFL playoffs: San Francisco 49ers will face familiar foe in Wild Card round

By Ronnie Eastham

NFL picks; San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (23) walks off the field after defeating the Washington Commanders at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports
NFL picks; San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (23) walks off the field after defeating the Washington Commanders at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports /
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The 2022 NFL regular season concluded this past Sunday night when the Detroit Lions knocked the Green Bay Packers from playoff contention with a 20 – 16 victory.  The NFL’s Super Wildcard Weekend is now set.  Who wins, who advances each week and who will represent their respective conferences in Super Bowl LVII?  I’ll put out my thoughts and predictions on each game, each week of the NFL Playoffs.

The first Saturday of the NFL Playoffs gives us a matchup of two teams that are very familiar with one another in the Seattle Seahawks and the San Francisco 49ers.  The 49ers are a 10-point favorite heading into this weekend and swept the Seahawks this season for the first time since 2011.

The Seahawks are top 10 in scoring but San Francisco is number one in the league in scoring defense. Can the Seahawks find a way to win this game?  Most seem to think Seahawks running back, Kenneth Walker will have to have a day, which will be difficult given the 49ers are the number one run defense in the NFL.  Maybe the Seahawks with their duo of DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett could be the difference.

The matchup between these two wasn’t close the first time around, with the 49ers winning 27 – 7; however, the second time around, with Walker now in the lineup, it was a much closer game.  The 49ers came out on top 21 – 13.  But even with Walker, the Seahawks were not successful on the ground.  Walker managed only 47 yards on 12 carries.  Smith threw the ball 44 times in that last meeting.

I do believe this game will come down to the play of Kenneth Walker.  The Seahawks will need to get him more than 12 carries to win this game.  They need to try to wear down the 49ers’ defense and keep Christian McCaffrey off the field.  On the other side with San Francisco, Mr. Irrelevant will get his first career playoff start and while he’s played very well throughout his five starts this season after the 49ers lost Garappolo and Trey Lance, this is the playoffs and the intensity is levels above that of the regular season games.

That said, I think the 49ers’ offense will be too much for the Seahawks and they won’t be able to keep up.

San Francisco prevails, 24 – 17

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