Stakes are High
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After combating lesser known NFC North opponents over the last three weeks, the San Francisco 49ers return to familiarity and their own divisional play when they host the Seattle Seahawks this Sunday at Monster Park.
This marks the 15th time these teams have gone head to head, and the stakes are high. The 49ers trail Seattle by two games, and could keep the division title within reach by coming away as the victors on Sunday.
However, Mike Nolan is directing his team to not look ahead and instead focus all efforts on this single game.
“We’re going to play a team that’s got a gold medal, if you want to say,” said Nolan of Seattle. “What we need to do is just to focus on what we need to do to win that game and not get too far in front of ourselves.”
As last year’s conference champions, it’s unlikely this up and coming 49ers squad would overlook this particular opponent, but they will feed off the confidence that has developed after back-to-back wins over Minnesota and Detroit.
“I’ve always said, winning gives you confidence, and it also breeds success,” said Nolan. “Confidence is what leads to that. The more confident we get in the things we’re doing, the more success we’ll have.”
Seattle also looks to keep a two-game winning streak alive this Sunday, as well as exert their divisional dominance. After easily handling the Arizona Cardinals in week two, the Seahawks swept the Rams with game-winning field goals by kicker Josh Brown.
What’s been impressive about Seattle’s 6-3 record is that they’ve gotten it done without some of their explosive offensive playmakers. Last year’s NFL MVP Shaun Alexander has missed the last six games with a broken foot, wide receiver Bobby Engram has been out with a thyroid condition for the last five, and team general, Matt Hasselbeck, has missed three games with a knee injury.
In Hasselbeck’s absence, Seneca Wallace is 2-1 as the team’s starter and has shown a very capable command of Mike Holmgren’s offense. Maurice Morris has also done his duty, clearing 100-yard rushing days in his last two starts.
While Hasselbeck and Alexander could return to action this week, an arguable boost for the Seattle franchise, the Seahawks have proven they can win without them.
The 49ers defensive unit has held the last two opponents without a 100-yard rusher while tallying six sacks, but those vast improvements up front need another volume boost this Sunday to contain Seattle's offense.
The 49ers secondary has also been bolstered as of late with strong play out of Keith Lewis, but the hard-hitting safety and his cast face its steepest challenge in weeks as Seattle has no shortage of downfield targets. Hasselbeck or Wallace will aim to spread the ball to receivers Darrell Jackson, Deion Branch, Nate Burleson, and tight end Jerramy Stevens.
When it comes to the 49ers offense moving the chains, Alex Smith’s frontline faces a familiar face across the line of scrimmage. Linebacker Julian Peterson returns to play the team he called home for six seasons, looking back to full form with 8 sacks and 58 tackles on the season.
Fans can expect an interesting game of cat and mouse between Peterson and bookends Kwame Harris and Jonas Jennings, who will do their utmost to spoil Peterson’s homecoming. If the 49ers do get top pick Vernon Davis back in the lineup this week, Seattle could opt to use Peterson to cover the rookie tight end in the passing game, which would be an interesting matchup to watch between these two speedy and swift athletes.
After jumping leaps and bounds defensively a year ago, Seattle has struggled statistically this season, especially defending explosive passing plays. In addition to dealing with injuries in the backend, Seattle opted to rework their secondary by benching Michael Boulware in favor of Jordan Babineaux.
Antonio Bryant, Arnaz Battle, Bryan Gilmore, Eric Johnson, and hopefully Davis, should find some open space downfield against a Seattle secondary that has given up one of the highest average yards per pass play in the NFL.
Meanwhile, Frank Gore and his offensive line will rev up for the challenge of churning out yards against the strength of Seattle’s unit, their 13th ranked run defense. Gore tallied an impressive 159 yards against Detroit after just 2 ½ quarters and with another performance like that one, the 49ers could move one step closer to a win, and the NFC West division.
With the team celebrating the retirement of Jerry Rice at halftime, the 49ers Faithful can hope that some of his special magic will be infused in the latest to don the red and gold.
