Speaking to reporters on a Zoom conference from Seattle Seahawks headquarters on Monday, the normally reticent Pete Carroll could scarcely wait to get off the platform.
“It’s got to go, it has to go,” Carroll laughed. “Last one.”
Carroll’s urgency makes sense considering everything the Seahawks face before their Thanksgiving night game at Lumen Field (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC) against the San Francisco 49ers.
With only one week to prepare for a formidable opponent that swept Seattle in three games last season (including the playoffs), the situation was already difficult enough. After Seattle’s defeat to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, injuries to quarterback Geno Smith and running back Kenneth Walker III compounded the team’s difficulties. Walker is classified as questionable due to a strained oblique, but Carroll expects Smith to play despite the triceps contusion on his right arm that has continued to give him trouble.
ESPN Bet has the Seahawks as 7.5-point underdogs. It will be the biggest margin of victory against a Seattle opponent at Lumen Field if that line stays true since the Rams went there in Week 5 of the 2018 campaign (+7.5). This matchup seemed to be the yardstick by which the Seahawks would measure their progress in narrowing the enormous deficit they had with the 49ers—a deficit that was twice breached in 2022—as soon as the NFL schedule was revealed in May.
In Week 2, San Francisco defeated the Seahawks 20-7; the Seahawks’ lone score came from a field goal that was blocked and recovered for a touchdown. The 49ers prevailed eight points in the second meeting in December, but Seattle’s late touchdown obscured the fact that the game was closer to a one-sided contest than the result suggested. In their wild-catch showdown, the 49ers’ talent advantage and aggressiveness prevailed in the second half, resulting in a 41-23 San Francisco blowout that featured 505 yards of total offense. The Seahawks had actually led by a point at halftime.
The 49ers defeated the Seahawks 89-43 over the course of three games. They also outgained them 1,259 yards to 825 and forced six turnovers to Seattle’s zero.
“Obviously they beat us three times last year, and to me that’s unacceptable,” Smith said.
With only one week to prepare for a formidable opponent that swept Seattle in three games last season (including the playoffs), the situation was already difficult enough. After Seattle’s defeat to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, injuries to quarterback Geno Smith and running back Kenneth Walker III compounded the team’s difficulties. Walker is classified as questionable due to a strained oblique, but Carroll expects Smith to play despite the triceps contusion on his right arm that has continued to give him trouble.
ESPN Bet has the Seahawks as 7.5-point underdogs. It will be the biggest margin of victory against a Seattle opponent at Lumen Field if that line stays true since the Rams went there in Week 5 of the 2018 campaign (+7.5). This matchup seemed to be the yardstick by which the Seahawks would measure their progress in narrowing the enormous deficit they had with the 49ers—a deficit that was twice breached in 2022—as soon as the NFL schedule was revealed in May.
In Week 2, San Francisco defeated the Seahawks 20-7; the Seahawks’ lone score came from a field goal that was blocked and recovered for a touchdown. The 49ers prevailed eight points in the second meeting in December, but Seattle’s late touchdown obscured the fact that the game was closer to a one-sided contest than the result suggested. In their wild-catch showdown, the 49ers’ talent advantage and aggressiveness prevailed in the second half, resulting in a 41-23 San Francisco blowout that featured 505 yards of total offense. The Seahawks had actually led by a point at halftime.
The 49ers defeated the Seahawks 89-43 over the course of three games. They also outgained them 1,259 yards to 825 and forced six turnovers to Seattle’s zero.
“Obviously they beat us three times last year, and to me that’s unacceptable,” Smith said.
Ten months after the wild-card game, Smith was asked how Seattle’s offensive compares to the 49ers. “I think that’s a question we have to answer on Thursday night,” Smith said. “I don’t think nothing I can say up here is going to help us in that regard, so we’ve just got to go out and execute.”
The Seahawks will need to overcome a defense that allows the fourth-fewest yards per play in the NFL and the third-fewest yards after the catch if they hope to muster any explosive plays. Walker is one of their best home run threats, and their quarterback is hurting.
Smith said on Tuesday that he was feeling “a little bit better” than he had on Sunday, when he had battled through excruciating agony to return for the game’s last possession and almost lead Seattle on a game-winning drive. Smith has been receiving therapy nonstop. He was still in pain, however.
“I’ve had better days,” Smith said. “But getting there.”
As usual during a short week, Seattle had walkthroughs, thus according to their anticipated practice reports, Smith was classified by the Seahawks as not participating on Monday, limited on Tuesday, and fully participating on Wednesday.
Carroll remarked on Wednesday, “He did quite well today.” “We gave him little to no throwing practice over the most of the brief week. He performed really well today.”
The Seahawks have a 56.7% probability of reaching the playoffs but just a 5.2% chance of winning the NFC West, according to ESPN’s Football Power Index. They are now ranked sixth in the NFC, but that may quickly change when the hardest part of their schedule begins on Thursday night. In addition to the 49ers rematch, there are games versus the 9-1 Philadelphia Eagles and the 7-3 Dallas Cowboys over the course of 18 days.
Even if the Seahawks’ next month seems tough, an upset victory on Thursday night would at least briefly put them ahead of San Francisco in the division.
“Very good chance,” Smith said. We’re in the heart of the playoff competition. In the midst of our division race, we have a great opportunity ahead of us, but we also have a formidable opponent. They are an excellent team.
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