NFL Thanksgiving time Day: 49ers thrash Seahawks in a rout of the NFC West
The game never really got close as the San Francisco 49ers thoroughly outplayed the Seattle Seahawks during the first half. San Francisco easily defeated Seattle 31–13 in a crucial NFC West divisional match.
Except for one big play during the third quarter, Seattle’s defense was unable to stop the 49ers, while the team’s offense appeared to be out of sync for the majority of the contest.
With his finest pass of the game, a 28-yard pass to Brandon Aiyuk für a touchdown in the fourth quarter, Purdy sealed the deal.
Early in the second half, 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy hit Seattle’s Jordyn Brooks with a pick-6 which reduced San Francisco’s score to 24-10.
Seattle added an extra point to make it 24–13, but they were never in danger of closing the gap. With this setback, the Seahawks will drop to 6-5, their third defeat in their last four games.
The last nail in the coffin came when Zach Charbonnet fell fer a loss at fourth-and-inches and Geno Smith stopped off an offensive sneak on third-and-1.
More worrying than the likelihood of winning the NFC West is the fact that Seattle doesn’t appear ready to compete with the league’s best teams.
It seems liked a long time ago when the San Francisco 49ers were involved in an unexpected three-game loss streak that started the NFC West competition.
In that triumph, Purdy passed for two touchdowns and recorded a passer rating of 117.0, which is the second-highest he’s ever recorded on the road.
On Thursday night, the 49ers travel to Seattle in an attempt to regain a two-game advantage over their division.
The 49ers would have won 10 straight games versus NFC West opponents and their fourth straight against the Seahawks with a 7-3 victory.
Seattle’s (6-4) victory would wash away the sting of their disappointing loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday and level the standings as they approach a difficult stretch in their schedule.
“It’s a division opponent, which means we need to win against them to tie the score,” Seattle head coach Pete Carroll stated. “We understand.”
Furthermore, it’s evident that the 49ers’ weaknesses from their losses to Cleveland, Minnesota, or Cincinnati last month have been addressed.
Following their goodbye, the Niners dominated Jacksonville and easily defeated Tampa Bay last Sunday.
The 49ers are well comfortable with this setup. In mid-December of last year, the Niners, starting quarterback Brock Purdy for the first time, thrashed Tampa Bay, and after spending a brief week in Seattle, they defeated the Seahawks 21–13.
A mere one week to get ready for a powerful opponent that swept Seattle in three games last season made the situation difficult enough.
When defensive back Kenneth Walker III and quarterback Geno Smith were hurt during Sunday’s loss against the Los Angeles Rams, Seattle was confronted with even more difficulties.
Carroll anticipates Smith to play with the triceps contusion of his right arm, which has continued to bother him. Walker has been classified as doubtful due to a strained oblique.
ESPN Bet has the Seahawks as 7.5-point underdogs. The greatest point spread in favor of a Seattle opponent at Lumen Field when the Rams were there in Week 5 of the 2018 season (+7.5) will occur if that line persists.
This matchup appeared to be a litmus test for whether or not the Seahawks had plugged the enormous gap between them and the 49ers which was regularly shown in 2022 as soon as the NFL schedule was revealed in May.