This article is part of our NFL Game Previews series.
THURSDAY NIGHT
San Francisco at Seattle (+3.5), o/u 48.5
Thursday, 8:15 p.m. EDT
The Niners have lost three of their last four games, and in two of them they had a late lead slip through their fingers. The fact that both of those came against NFC West opponents might also be ominous for this week's tilt, but surely it can't happen three times in a row ... can it? Statistically, there's been nothing wrong with them on the offensive side of the ball, despite the absence of Christian McCaffrey and other injuries. San Francisco is third in yards per play, seventh in rushing yards per game and 10th in points per game. Brock Purdy leads the NFL with 8.8 yards per attempt, while Jordan Mason is second to Derrick Henry in rushing yards. The Niners even have someone in the top 10 in receiving yards, though somehow it's Jauan Jennings. It's defensive side of the ball where things aren't quite clicking. They're only 12th in PPG allowed, but that seems lucky compared to rankings like 17th in QB rating against, 20th in yards allowed per play and 21st in yards allowed per carry. McCaffrey's gotten all the attention, but Dre Greenlaw hasn't played a snap this season, Javon Hargrave was lost for the year a couple weeks ago and Talanoa Hufanga has only played one full game. The cracks are showing, and while Purdy and company can still out-score the opposition, comfortable, blowout wins could be hard to come
THURSDAY NIGHT
San Francisco at Seattle (+3.5), o/u 48.5
Thursday, 8:15 p.m. EDT
The Niners have lost three of their last four games, and in two of them they had a late lead slip through their fingers. The fact that both of those came against NFC West opponents might also be ominous for this week's tilt, but surely it can't happen three times in a row ... can it? Statistically, there's been nothing wrong with them on the offensive side of the ball, despite the absence of Christian McCaffrey and other injuries. San Francisco is third in yards per play, seventh in rushing yards per game and 10th in points per game. Brock Purdy leads the NFL with 8.8 yards per attempt, while Jordan Mason is second to Derrick Henry in rushing yards. The Niners even have someone in the top 10 in receiving yards, though somehow it's Jauan Jennings. It's defensive side of the ball where things aren't quite clicking. They're only 12th in PPG allowed, but that seems lucky compared to rankings like 17th in QB rating against, 20th in yards allowed per play and 21st in yards allowed per carry. McCaffrey's gotten all the attention, but Dre Greenlaw hasn't played a snap this season, Javon Hargrave was lost for the year a couple weeks ago and Talanoa Hufanga has only played one full game. The cracks are showing, and while Purdy and company can still out-score the opposition, comfortable, blowout wins could be hard to come by.
The Seahawks are clinging to their perch atop the division, but they've lost consecutive games themselves, and last week's downer against the Giants was simply ugly. The offensive line was atrocious — Geno Smith got sacked seven times and wound up leading the team in rushing yards as he fled the pocket repeatedly. Allowing Isaiah Simmons to stroll through and block a potential game-tying field goal in the final minute of the fourth quarter was just the cherry on top of the [BLEEP] sundae. Smith's been brought down 18 times in five games — only Deshaun Watson has been sacked more often — and the offense is going to have a hard time maintaining any sort of consistency without better protection for its QB. Mike Macdonald's defense looked good early in some favorable matchups, but after getting ripped apart by Jared Goff and the Lions, it's a bad sign that the Hawks had trouble containing Daniel Jones too.
Key Info
SF injuries: RB Christian McCaffrey (IR, Achilles), WR Ricky Pearsall (NFI, chest), K Jake Moody (out, ankle), LB Dre Greenlaw (PUP, Achilles)
SEA injuries: EDGE Boye Mafe (questionable, knee), EDGE Derick Hall (questionable, foot), S Julian Love (questionable, hamstring)
DFS Lineup Optimizer
SF DFS targets: 49ers DST, Jordan Mason
SEA DFS targets: Tyler Lockett
SF DFS fades: none
SEA DFS fades: Jaxon Smith-Njigba
Weather notes: 1-10 percent chance of rain
The Scoop
Mason picks up 70 yards and a touchdown. Purdy throws for 310 yards and three TDs, one each to Deebo Samuel (who tops 100 yards), George Kittle and Jennings. Kenneth Walker churns out 120 yards and a score. Smith throws for 250 yards and two TDs, both to Lockett (who tops 100 yards), but he gets sacked four times and picked off twice. 49ers 31-30
Last week's record: 8-6, 8-6 ATS, 6-8 o/u
2024 record: 41-37, 32-44-2 ATS, 40-38 o/u
