An NFC West Showdown on Thursday Night Football
Similar to last week’s Thursday Night Football matchup, this one is another divisional matchup that determines who gets control of the NFC West. The 49ers enter into this matchup off a poor performance against the Arizona Cardinals that saw them dropping their third game of the season already. The 49ers are not performing anywhere near where people expected, and if they lose this game, it would likely mean the end of their Super Bowl window as a franchise. The Seahawks started the season off with three straight wins, but have come up short as of recently dropping two straight games to the Lions and the Giants. So which team will redeem their season in front of a nationally televised audience on Thursday night?
Key for the 49ers: Control the Ground Game
The 49ers strength for years has been their ability to control the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. With Jordan Mason, the 49ers have been able to produce good results in the running game in the absence of Christian McCaffrey. However, the 49ers at times this season have become a little too pass dominant and Brock Purdy has thrown for a lot of yards and turnovers as a result. They need to stick with the ground game more and capitalize on the play-action to set up easy rhythm passes for Purdy. Their defense also needs to do a much better job of stopping the opponent’s run game. In their losses, opposing running backs have averaged around five yards per carry. If that continues, then the 49ers will lose control of the game clock, which historically hasn’t been a problem for San Francisco.
Key for the Seahawks: Maintain Offensive Balance
Losing to the Lions is one thing, losing to the Giants is something else. The week after Kenneth Walker had a career performance against the Lions with 116 total yards and three touchdowns, the Seahawks then proceeded to only give him five carries against the Giants. They did manage to get him involved through the air more against the Giants, but still, if the Seahawks’ approach to this game is to live or die by Geno Smith throwing the football, then they will likely have several turnovers and lose this game. The key for the Seahawks is to maintain offensive balance and to take advantage of the 49ers’ surprisingly weak run defense.
