Certainly in the category of “tough nuts to crack,” you can include the San Francisco 49ers’ ability, or lack of same, to defeat the Seattle Seahawks at Century Link Field in Seattle. Of course, since the Seahawks had the best record in the NFC this season, having to go through this dreaded building is an inevitability, so the only possibility for the Niners is to think about how they are going to solve this puzzle. We know that as a football team, they have the ability to do it; after all, this is a team that has been to the NFC championship game three years in a row. But the question on the minds of people who analyze the NFL odds is, is this particular field to tough for them? Or, is there a psychological barrier that has been put up based on the last two times these teams have played in this extremely loud Stadium?
When we take a look at the NFL odds as they are posted at BetAnySports on this game, we see that the Niners are probably getting an unusual amount of respect from the line maker, relative to the way they have performed in Seattle in each of the last two seasons:
Seattle Seahawks -4.5
San Francisco 49ers +4.5
Over 40.5 points -110
Under 40.5 points -110
It wouldn’t be uncommon if a team had a little bit of a complex after getting shellacked by a 71-16 margin in their last two trips to a particular destination, especially if they had not scored one meaningful touchdown in either of those two games. But truth be told, the Niners are not just any team, and most astute NFL bettors are aware of this. While it is true that this team has been outscored by a 33-6 Over the first halves of those two games, which resulted in 42-13 and 29-3 defeats, they have not exactly let Russell Wilson run wild, or at least they didn’t do so in this season’s meeting.
Wilson, who has to be classified as a “winner” but not exactly the kind of passer who can a carve up on defense on any given day, only completed eight of his 19 passes and was sacked four times. That is one vulnerability he’s had; pass rushes can definitely reach him, as he’s gone down 44 times on the season. The 49ers’ secondary is probably not quite as good as the one Seattle possesses (which allows just 5.8 yards per pass attempt), but they are good enough to keep this Seahawk passing game in check, especially with Percy Harvin not available to Seattle. He would’ve added another dimension for them, if he was healthy, but he’s got to sit out with concussion problems.
Frank Gore, who is had only 44 yards total in his last two visits to Seattle, needs to do more. His over/under at BetAnySports is 67.5 yards (-115 either way). He is a critical part of the 49ers’ ball-control approach. And make no mistake – they’ve got to see the ground attack as the key to victory. You can’t run the ball 39 times and pass it 64 times, like they did, and expect to be at your best.
And of course, turnovers hold the key, if you want to use a very often-beaten expression. Hey look – San Francisco had an equal number of yards per play to Seattle in both the 2012 in 2013 meetings at Century Link Field, so it makes sense that a great equalizer here could be a mistake-free game from the Niners, who could bring home the bacon for their NFL betting backers.
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