This game reminds me of the story line going into the Christmas night game in 2023. I say that because that same year those Ravens struggled a few weeks earlier against the Rams. In fact the Rams gave them more trouble than the 49ers. Of course Mac was the D coordinator and the head coaches were both the same for the 9ers and Rams. In the 49er game it had been heralded at a matchup between the 49ers offense and Ravens defense. The 49ers had all of their starters on offense I believe as well as on the defensive side of the ball. The game changer in that game was Hamilton and the Ravens secondary along with pressure from Clowney and Van Noy. 5 int's. When Purdy escaped the pocket he also threw an interception under pressure. It will be interesting to see how the Seahawks matches up with their secondary as well as Hall returning. D Law is more than familiar with Kyle S as is the rest of the D Line and Jones. I noticed McCaffery injured his back late in the game last week. He didn't play as well at the end of the game. I wonder if it's the same injury he's had before.
Sam I am and a poor pass rush may prove to be excellent opportunity downfield. I don't know if Rasheed will clear protocol for his concussion which would leave them only one receiver (White is out per Mac 'for awhile") to call up from the "Ready Squad", Ricky White.
The Cleveland game I watched could have easily gone the other way with Sanders at QB. Key fumbles and a missed TD throw by Sanders could have easily flipped that game. Purdy had 168 yards and McCaffery had 53 Kittle 67 against a pretty good defense.
I tend to agree with SSJ that this game is getting a lot of hype behind SF wins over Chicago.
"The Chicago Bears defense in the 2025 NFL season shows mixed results, ranking around 21st in passing yards allowed but struggling overall, placing 25th in points per game and 30th in yards per play"
This could not only be a big game for Sam, JSN and one or both of the running backs but Barner as well. If Sam has time to throw I think he can silence a lot of critics Saturday night and gather some momentum for the playoffs. Seattle's defense seems to thrive on the road as well.
The 49ers are well coached and have talent. I think Seattle matches up well and Kubiak can get some mileage on SF's defense. Mac also knows a bit about Shanahan and this is not week one with new everything as SSJ so aptly pointed out. Wouldn't it be great if Sam fed Aikman a big plate of crow on Saturday, and the rest of the pundits.
The Rams was Seattle's first big signature win this year, Saturday will be their next.
11 days ago the Ram were the number 1 seed now there locked into the 6th seed! Thanks for the article SSJ as it gives me hope to beat the 49ers and lock the number one seed. Can’t wait to watch LAR vs PHI while the Hawks rest!!!
I’m less concerned with Darnolds deep ball and more concerned with his lack of pocket awareness. I’ve seen multiple plays where he should climb the pocket but he tries to spin out and run away from the defense (e.g. the intentional grounding call vs panthers).
He’s not fast or twitchy so I’d like to see him step up, which would minimize negative plays and potentially allow him to gain a few yards. I know I’ve seen him make some good scrambles but he ain’t beating anyone to the sideline and turning the corner. He needs to run north/south!
Having read your analysis of the deep ball question, maybe we can amend the question on whether the drop-off on deep passes was directly related to the Rams game, or just to the turn-overs overall. Cool you did the actual data pull, very evident now that you've done the work, thanks!
*And a small correction on that W10 game vs the Cards, there was that 43-yd bomb to JSN in the first qtr of that 1st half deluge where we ended up 35-7 at the half and only attempted 12 passes total. So he went 1-1, 43 yds and 1 TD in that game on passes over 20 yds. Which only further emphasizes our point, there's been a drop-off, regardless of it being directly related to the Rams game.
I respect Shanahan greatly, but I'm glad he's not our couch. The guy is sour and grumpy as hell in all of his interviews, and seems to have the personality of a stick. Brilliant, yes. Likeable, hardly. I'll take Mike Macdonald all day every day.
There is no team we play where we shouldn't be confident. If 13-3 doesn't provide you with some confidence, I'm not sure what there is to be done for you. Do stats, rankings, and records guarantee a win? No. Should we feel confident we absolutely can, and likely should win? Yes.
But really, there is minimal downside. Even if we lose, we will play either TB or Carolina again in a Wildcard game. We would be large favorites against either team. We can't do worse than being the 5 seed with the Rams loss (ha ha ha) loss last night, to a team we beat handily. It looked for a bit there like the NFC West could have three 13 win teams, which has never happened in NFL history before, at least not in the same division. That won't happen now though.
Re: the lack of deep plays lately, I still go back to when Horton got injured. Even when he wasn't himself making plays, he was opening things up. Shahid can do the same thing, but learning a new offense, and having Darnold unfamiliar with him.....its hard to create instant chemistry. And, as has already been pointed out below, Teams are increasingly focused on JSN, so the first thing they'll try to eliminate are the over-the-top plays. I'm a 'take what the defense gives you' kind of guy. I don't care how we score points or how we win. Find a way. If that's nothing beyond 10 yards downfield, that's absolutely fine with me. I've always thought we don't use the RB's in the receiving game enough. 3.2 targets/game to RB's is pretty minimal. Only two teams (Rams and Chargers) have a lower RB target share.
On that note, I'll predict a wheel route to Walker in the first half against the 9'ers for a TD. You heard it here first. It'll partly solve both the RB target share, and the lack of a deep passing game all in one play. It makes too much sense not to happen.
I live in 49er country as a lifelong Seahawk fan. Niner fan seems to be a nervous yet somewhat positive group this year. They still don’t seem to be totally sold on Purdy though waiting nervously that he doesn’t throw an untimely pick. That game may be the next one.
Hey SJ. Just to add to your comments about Coach Mac. Not like it’s news on the one hand but. From Tet after the game “Shoot, I think they just caught us by surprise. “. Said that Hawks “mucking things up” Seahawks adjusted to a more man-heavy approach than we’ve seen this year.
rams have had a rough couple of weeks. I could not be happier. I normally do not gloat online but here I figured it was all good to say FTRs. If I hurt anyone's feelings, they are reading the wrong space.
LA has to win the final game, no resting their starters. If they lose to the Cards they could fall to the sixth seed. They would then have to travel to Philly for the wild card round. If they won they could have rested their starters.
I don't know what I am talking about. LA is the sixth seed no matter what happens in the SF game. SF has the tiebreaker based on better conference record. LA is on their way to Chicago or Philly.
Isn't that what I said? LOL. Thanks Don for all three scenarios. The only one that matters is where the Hawks win because that's what's going to happen.
SJ thank you for this. You bring balance. Happy about the win. Hated last nights results. Been worrying because of recency bias of the Whiners. This helps.
Liked Danny ONeil comments today. SJ has backed some of this up with some great stats. “this game was closer to a blowout than it was a defeat, and the reason for that is pretty simple: The Seahawks are tough”. “if Seattle does wind up losing in the weeks ahead, it won’t be for a lack of toughness. They have a defense that doesn’t give an inch on third-and-short, and an offense that doesn’t get discouraged even after (repeatedly) shooting itself in the foot.
On Sunday in Carolina, against an opponent playing to clinch a playoff berth, the Seahawks didn’t allow a pass completion longer than 8 yards, and they held the Panthers to 139 yards, the lowest single-game total for Seattle’s defense in 10 years”. To me that part of Carolina playing for the playoffs. Win and they are in, at their home field, with our own Chuck T cheering on the “home” team, and we dominated defensively. I mean Carolina was trying to do something they haven’t done since 2017. And they were flat. Rico has had 200 yard rushing games. Thanks SJ for a little sanity. Still very concerned about Saturday night but this helps. (Side note. Guys nailed my defensive cap. I tried multiple offensive cap and nothing seemed to help. Will have my full arsenal ready for Saturday)
Side note on the deep ball vs Whiners. Cody White, yes not used much, likely out. Groin injury on that almost blocked punt. 3 of 4 with 9, 21, 60. AJ has had but he’s not a deep ball player. Rashid let’s just hope but not quite there yet. Kupp not a deep ball guy. To me combo of things leading up to it.
Sorry. Brain been off with these physical issues for so long my thinking on my ability to articulate has been off a lot lately. (Hard to be a high priced solution architect for companies when I can’t “think” clearly anymore). My apologies :-))
Cody rarely targeted, only 4 times. He is 3 of 4 with catches of 9, 21 and 60 (that sideline 60 yarder was a thing of beauty). Two of his 3 long ball. We lost Rashid but lost Cody before that. Other than JSN, with Horton being out, Cody is the only other deep ball guy. I suspect he was likely going to be targeted yesterday but was unavailable. Kupp, AJ, Sibert, K9, Bobo, Young, Charbo not deep ball guys. Hard to throw deep when no one has speed to do it. And White unavailable Sat.
This game reminds me of the story line going into the Christmas night game in 2023. I say that because that same year those Ravens struggled a few weeks earlier against the Rams. In fact the Rams gave them more trouble than the 49ers. Of course Mac was the D coordinator and the head coaches were both the same for the 9ers and Rams. In the 49er game it had been heralded at a matchup between the 49ers offense and Ravens defense. The 49ers had all of their starters on offense I believe as well as on the defensive side of the ball. The game changer in that game was Hamilton and the Ravens secondary along with pressure from Clowney and Van Noy. 5 int's. When Purdy escaped the pocket he also threw an interception under pressure. It will be interesting to see how the Seahawks matches up with their secondary as well as Hall returning. D Law is more than familiar with Kyle S as is the rest of the D Line and Jones. I noticed McCaffery injured his back late in the game last week. He didn't play as well at the end of the game. I wonder if it's the same injury he's had before.
Sam I am and a poor pass rush may prove to be excellent opportunity downfield. I don't know if Rasheed will clear protocol for his concussion which would leave them only one receiver (White is out per Mac 'for awhile") to call up from the "Ready Squad", Ricky White.
The Cleveland game I watched could have easily gone the other way with Sanders at QB. Key fumbles and a missed TD throw by Sanders could have easily flipped that game. Purdy had 168 yards and McCaffery had 53 Kittle 67 against a pretty good defense.
I tend to agree with SSJ that this game is getting a lot of hype behind SF wins over Chicago.
"The Chicago Bears defense in the 2025 NFL season shows mixed results, ranking around 21st in passing yards allowed but struggling overall, placing 25th in points per game and 30th in yards per play"
This could not only be a big game for Sam, JSN and one or both of the running backs but Barner as well. If Sam has time to throw I think he can silence a lot of critics Saturday night and gather some momentum for the playoffs. Seattle's defense seems to thrive on the road as well.
The 49ers are well coached and have talent. I think Seattle matches up well and Kubiak can get some mileage on SF's defense. Mac also knows a bit about Shanahan and this is not week one with new everything as SSJ so aptly pointed out. Wouldn't it be great if Sam fed Aikman a big plate of crow on Saturday, and the rest of the pundits.
The Rams was Seattle's first big signature win this year, Saturday will be their next.
11 days ago the Ram were the number 1 seed now there locked into the 6th seed! Thanks for the article SSJ as it gives me hope to beat the 49ers and lock the number one seed. Can’t wait to watch LAR vs PHI while the Hawks rest!!!
I’m less concerned with Darnolds deep ball and more concerned with his lack of pocket awareness. I’ve seen multiple plays where he should climb the pocket but he tries to spin out and run away from the defense (e.g. the intentional grounding call vs panthers).
He’s not fast or twitchy so I’d like to see him step up, which would minimize negative plays and potentially allow him to gain a few yards. I know I’ve seen him make some good scrambles but he ain’t beating anyone to the sideline and turning the corner. He needs to run north/south!
Having read your analysis of the deep ball question, maybe we can amend the question on whether the drop-off on deep passes was directly related to the Rams game, or just to the turn-overs overall. Cool you did the actual data pull, very evident now that you've done the work, thanks!
*And a small correction on that W10 game vs the Cards, there was that 43-yd bomb to JSN in the first qtr of that 1st half deluge where we ended up 35-7 at the half and only attempted 12 passes total. So he went 1-1, 43 yds and 1 TD in that game on passes over 20 yds. Which only further emphasizes our point, there's been a drop-off, regardless of it being directly related to the Rams game.
I respect Shanahan greatly, but I'm glad he's not our couch. The guy is sour and grumpy as hell in all of his interviews, and seems to have the personality of a stick. Brilliant, yes. Likeable, hardly. I'll take Mike Macdonald all day every day.
There is no team we play where we shouldn't be confident. If 13-3 doesn't provide you with some confidence, I'm not sure what there is to be done for you. Do stats, rankings, and records guarantee a win? No. Should we feel confident we absolutely can, and likely should win? Yes.
But really, there is minimal downside. Even if we lose, we will play either TB or Carolina again in a Wildcard game. We would be large favorites against either team. We can't do worse than being the 5 seed with the Rams loss (ha ha ha) loss last night, to a team we beat handily. It looked for a bit there like the NFC West could have three 13 win teams, which has never happened in NFL history before, at least not in the same division. That won't happen now though.
Re: the lack of deep plays lately, I still go back to when Horton got injured. Even when he wasn't himself making plays, he was opening things up. Shahid can do the same thing, but learning a new offense, and having Darnold unfamiliar with him.....its hard to create instant chemistry. And, as has already been pointed out below, Teams are increasingly focused on JSN, so the first thing they'll try to eliminate are the over-the-top plays. I'm a 'take what the defense gives you' kind of guy. I don't care how we score points or how we win. Find a way. If that's nothing beyond 10 yards downfield, that's absolutely fine with me. I've always thought we don't use the RB's in the receiving game enough. 3.2 targets/game to RB's is pretty minimal. Only two teams (Rams and Chargers) have a lower RB target share.
On that note, I'll predict a wheel route to Walker in the first half against the 9'ers for a TD. You heard it here first. It'll partly solve both the RB target share, and the lack of a deep passing game all in one play. It makes too much sense not to happen.
"with the Rams loss (ha ha ha) loss last night, One more time : ha, ha, ha.
I live in 49er country as a lifelong Seahawk fan. Niner fan seems to be a nervous yet somewhat positive group this year. They still don’t seem to be totally sold on Purdy though waiting nervously that he doesn’t throw an untimely pick. That game may be the next one.
Hey SJ. Just to add to your comments about Coach Mac. Not like it’s news on the one hand but. From Tet after the game “Shoot, I think they just caught us by surprise. “. Said that Hawks “mucking things up” Seahawks adjusted to a more man-heavy approach than we’ve seen this year.
rams have had a rough couple of weeks. I could not be happier. I normally do not gloat online but here I figured it was all good to say FTRs. If I hurt anyone's feelings, they are reading the wrong space.
I think we are the most complete team in the NFL, but now we have to prove it.
LA has to win the final game, no resting their starters. If they lose to the Cards they could fall to the sixth seed. They would then have to travel to Philly for the wild card round. If they won they could have rested their starters.
I don't know what I am talking about. LA is the sixth seed no matter what happens in the SF game. SF has the tiebreaker based on better conference record. LA is on their way to Chicago or Philly.
According to the NYT playoff simulator, the Rams need a win and a Seahawks win in order to earn the #5 seed.
Then again, I could still be wrong so SSJ please correct me. It could come down to head to head and I don't know which team is ahead there.
Three scenarios:
- Rams beat Cardinals and Seahawks lose to Niners: Rams are the #5 seed and Hawks #6 due to the division record rule.
- Rams beat Cardinals and Seahawks beat Niners: Rams are the #5 seed and Niners are the #6 seed due to the common opponents rule.
- Rams lose to Cardinals: Rams are locked into the #6 seed due to their overall record and not leading their division.
Isn't that what I said? LOL. Thanks Don for all three scenarios. The only one that matters is where the Hawks win because that's what's going to happen.
Yep, we need to finish out. Cheers!
... dang, Rams just lost to the Falcons 24 ~ 27.
ATLANTA BEATS THE RAMS!
We broke the Rams last week!
So it would seem.
I love the confidence.
Makes me more nervous about this game.
SJ thank you for this. You bring balance. Happy about the win. Hated last nights results. Been worrying because of recency bias of the Whiners. This helps.
Liked Danny ONeil comments today. SJ has backed some of this up with some great stats. “this game was closer to a blowout than it was a defeat, and the reason for that is pretty simple: The Seahawks are tough”. “if Seattle does wind up losing in the weeks ahead, it won’t be for a lack of toughness. They have a defense that doesn’t give an inch on third-and-short, and an offense that doesn’t get discouraged even after (repeatedly) shooting itself in the foot.
On Sunday in Carolina, against an opponent playing to clinch a playoff berth, the Seahawks didn’t allow a pass completion longer than 8 yards, and they held the Panthers to 139 yards, the lowest single-game total for Seattle’s defense in 10 years”. To me that part of Carolina playing for the playoffs. Win and they are in, at their home field, with our own Chuck T cheering on the “home” team, and we dominated defensively. I mean Carolina was trying to do something they haven’t done since 2017. And they were flat. Rico has had 200 yard rushing games. Thanks SJ for a little sanity. Still very concerned about Saturday night but this helps. (Side note. Guys nailed my defensive cap. I tried multiple offensive cap and nothing seemed to help. Will have my full arsenal ready for Saturday)
Side note on the deep ball vs Whiners. Cody White, yes not used much, likely out. Groin injury on that almost blocked punt. 3 of 4 with 9, 21, 60. AJ has had but he’s not a deep ball player. Rashid let’s just hope but not quite there yet. Kupp not a deep ball guy. To me combo of things leading up to it.
I get it now👍
Sorry. Brain been off with these physical issues for so long my thinking on my ability to articulate has been off a lot lately. (Hard to be a high priced solution architect for companies when I can’t “think” clearly anymore). My apologies :-))
Fell Tip-Top soon, Randall !
Feel, don't fall, unless you are falling into feeling Tip-Top.
:-))).
Not sure what your stats say?
Cody rarely targeted, only 4 times. He is 3 of 4 with catches of 9, 21 and 60 (that sideline 60 yarder was a thing of beauty). Two of his 3 long ball. We lost Rashid but lost Cody before that. Other than JSN, with Horton being out, Cody is the only other deep ball guy. I suspect he was likely going to be targeted yesterday but was unavailable. Kupp, AJ, Sibert, K9, Bobo, Young, Charbo not deep ball guys. Hard to throw deep when no one has speed to do it. And White unavailable Sat.
You’re giving me hope…the only follow-up question I have is why you have them as Good Offense instead of Great Offense (now that Purdy is back).
I guess if they’re without Williams and Kittle it helps. But a Shanahan offense is almost always great?