Are You Ready for Some Football?!? The Niners have to be feeling pretty good about themselves right now. They are sitting at 3-1 (with the one loss to a tough Denver team) fresh off a big win against division rival St. Louis. Yes, the Rams are struggling but don’t think for a moment SF isn’t viewing that as a big emotional win. Prior to last week, SF had lost six-straight against St. Louis. This week’s game against Seattle pales in importance to the 49’ers.
On the other hand, this is a big game for Seattle. They get a chance to strut their stuff under the national spotlight against one of the league’s (apparent) top teams at home. They have had two weeks to get up for this game. Home team dogs, especially after byes are great bets. The Seahawks, a rare Monday night home underdog, will be fired up and exuding confidence after a 48-23 spanking of Minnesota two weeks ago. The fans will be into it and they again get the national TV spotlight, where they shined against the Vikings.
Seattle head coach Mike Holmgren is 7-1 against his former SF team. I usually don’t put much weight on team-specific trends but in this case, there is excellent reasoning: Holmgren knows how to beat San Francisco. Speaking of Holmgren, he started the year at 0-3 (the first time he has done that in 11 years as an NFL head coach). Although they got the first win two weeks ago, you can bet Holmgren is still motivated to attest for such a horrible start. Pure will alone will not win ball games but combined with an extra week to prepare, expect Seattle to be sharp. Throw in the emotional lift of the return of Pro Bowl defensive tackle and emotional team leader John Randle from knee surgery last year.
The Niners have the statistical edge but Seattle has performed better through the air. San Fran is actually 3rd worst in the league when it comes to passing offense while Seattle QB Trent Dilfer is an amazing 16-2 in his last 18 starts (including the playoffs). If Seattle can contain San Francisco’s running game, they will win.