The 49ers and Seahawks will meet in the Bay Area for an early season divisional matchup.
Most fans would have expected one of these teams to be 1-0 and coming off a nice win and the other to be 0-1, coming off a tough loss. It’s doubtful that anyone would have expected the 1-0 team to be Seattle and the 0-1 team to be San San Francisco.
Let’s dig into this matchup to see how these teams stack up against each other. Can Seattle get to 2-0? Will the 49ers avoid going 0-2 to start the season?
Seahawks vs. 49ers Week 2 NFL Betting Picks & Predictions
Seahawks vs. 49ers Betting Odds
49ers Look To Bounce Back
The 49ers were a big disappointment in their first game of the season. They totaled just 331 offensive yards, which was 21st highest in the league. Additionally, they only scored 10 points against the Chicago Bears. Trey Lance completed just 46.4% of his passes for 164 yards, zero touchdowns and one interception.
When San Francisco has the ball, they are typically looking to be split 50-50 between run and pass. Last week, likely due to the weather, they ran the ball 55% of the time and averaged 4.8 yards per rush. The 49ers ran the ball 48.4% of the time a season ago, which was the fourth-most in the entire league. When it comes to rushing, expect Trey Lance and Jeff Wilson Jr. to get the bulk of the carries, with Deebo Samuel getting an occasional carry to change it up.
Passing was tough in Week 1, but the 49ers still attempted 26 passes. Deebo Samuel led the way for the receivers with eight out of 26 targets, for a 31% target share. Jauan Jennings had six targets, followed by Brandon Aiyuk, Ray-Ray McCloud III, Jeff Wilson Jr., Tyler Kroft and Ross Dwelley, who each got two targets. Tight End George Kittle was inactive for Week 1. Kittle did practice on Friday this week but is considered questionable for Week 2. When he is in the game, it changes the dynamic of the whole offense for the 49ers.
The 49ers are one of the best defenses in the league and they got off to a good start last week. They allowed just 204 yards, the best of all the defenses in Week 1. They allowed just 2.7 yards per rush, second-best in Week 1 and 6.2 yards per pass. It was raining buckets in Chicago and the field looked like a massive slip n slide. The 49ers allowed 3.9 yards per rush last year, which was tied for fourth best in the league.
The 49ers should have won that game if you look at the statistics. Their defense held Chicago in check most of the game, but their offense did not play well. However, with the weather being such a heavy factor, it is difficult to evaluate them on that game alone.
Are The Seahawks For Real?
The Seahawks came out on Monday night and won an emotional game at home against Russell Wilson and the Denver Broncos. They shocked the world, as most expected Seattle to be one of the worst teams in the league. Instead, Geno Smith lead them to victory and said after the game "They tried to write me off but I didn't write back".
Despite that big win Seattle had just 253 yards of offense in that game -- the 29th most in the league. Their total offensive numbers were around teams that lost in Week 1 like Carolina (28th most), Dallas (30th most) and the LA Rams (31st most).
Seattle averaged 4.0 yards per rush in Week 1 which was just the 19th-best in the league. Rashaad Penny garnered 12 of their 19 rushing attempts for 60 yards and 5.0 yards per carry. Geno Smith rushed for six of their 19 rushing attempts for 14 yards. They face a tough test with San Francisco, as they allowed just 2.7 yards per rush in Week 1 and 3.9 yards per rushing 2021.
The Seahawks are tied with the Colts for 7.0 yards per pass attempt, which is 18th most in the league and slightly below the median. DK Metcalf received seven of the 27 total targets (26% target share), while Tyler Lockett and Noah Fant each had four of the 27 total targets for a 15% target share. Seven different players were targeted in the game, as Geno Smith was able to spread the ball around.
Defensively, Seattle allowed 5.2 yards per carry in Week 1, which was the 24th lowest in the league. In 2021, Seattle was second as they allowed their opponents to rush for just 3.8 yards per carry. The Seahawks upgraded their defensive line after adding Shelby Harris and Quinton Jefferson this offseason. Is the loss of Bobby Wagner the reason for allowing so many yards on the ground, or was this simply variance from Week 1? We will know more after this game as this run defense expects to get tested again this week.
Seattle did not have a good pass defense in 2021. They allowed 6.9 yards per attempt, which was the 25th lowest in the league. Last week, they allowed 7.9 yards per attempt to the Broncos, which was 27th lowest in the league. Jamal Adams is on IR, and their starting cornerbacks are a rookie (Tariq Woolen) and Mike Jackson. The Seahawks let their best corner, D.J. Reed, sign with the Jets and this secondary is now significantly downgraded from last year despite not being a very good secondary to begin with.
In summary, this offense had one of the worst performances in all of Week 1 and the defense is incredibly vulnerable. Seattle was very fortunate to win in Week 1 and now face a test in having to go to San Francisco to play one of the best defenses in the league, and on a short week of practice.
49ers vs. Seahawks Prediction
The San Francisco 49ers are a better team than Seattle. The 49ers had more offensive yards in Week 1 than the Seahawks did despite the 49ers playing on a soaked field in terrible conditions. The 49ers are one of the strongest defensive teams in the league, as well.
Based on the OddsShopper "Sharp Sportsbook Lines" the best game line bet to make for this one is Seattle Moneyline +350. If looking at something with a higher chance of cashing, the 49ers First Half Moneyline at -275 and First Half Total UNDER 20.5 points -120 are also to be considered.
If you're looking for Props in this game, Rashaad Penny OVER 50.5 rushing yards at -103, Geno Smith UNDER 19.5 pass completions at -105 and Jeff Wilson Jr. UNDER 10.5 receiving yards at -120 are three of the best props to consider in this game. All those props have an expected ROIs of 25% or more according to Stokastic's Model.
Best 49ers vs. Seahawks Bets: Seahawks Moneyline +350, PointsBet; 49ers First Half Moneyline -275, BetMGM; First Half Total UNDER 20.5 -120, FanDuel
