2014 NFC Championship Preview: Seahawks vs 49ers

Cory Puffett

San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks

January 19 – 6:30pm (FOX)

Last week I talked about how similar the Panthers and 49ers are. Well the Seahawks are very similar to both, but they are better in many ways.

Russell Wilson is better than Colin Kaepernick. His accuracy is more consistent and even though he may be just a step slower than Colin, he typically does a better job of keeping his eyes up field in case someone gets open before he crosses the LOS.

Marshawn Lynch is slightly better than Frank Gore. They both read their blocks similarly but Beast Mode breaks more tackles and fatigues less quickly than Gore. Lynch is also a better receiver, which is saying something since he isn’t known for catching passes out of the backfield.

The only thing Seattle has to worry about offensively is whether Percy Harvin is healthy, and honestly that isn’t a huge concern. He didn’t practice Wednesday and may not be available after suffering a concussion against New Orleans, but Seattle is used to playing without him. In some ways, having him in may just disrupt their timing on offense.

Defensively the two teams have different styles. Seattle is good against the run but their strength is of course their Legion of Boom going against the pass. Seattle tied Philadelphia for drawing the most defensive pass interference penalties with 13 of them this season. But when you’re shutting down an opposing aerial assault you can afford to be penalized occasionally.

San Francisco is definitely stronger against the run than they are against the pass, but they only give up six fewer rushing yards per game than Seattle does.

Take into consideration that Seattle gains more total yards per game than San Francisco and gives up fewer total yards per game, then add in the home field advantage of CenturyLink Field, and it doesn’t look so good for San Francisco.

This is the 49ers’ third straight NFC title game appearance. Jim Harbaugh is the first coach in NFL history to make it this far in each of his first three seasons as a head coach.

Harbaugh has plenty of history with Seattle head coach Pete Carroll. He faced Coach Carroll as a quarterback with the Indianapolis Colts, then faced him as Stanford’s head coach while Carroll was at USC. Now, since entering the NFL, Harbaugh has faced Carroll six times.

San Francisco is 4-2 in those six meetings, unbeaten at home and a narrow 19-17 victory in Seattle in December 2011.

But that was prior to the Legion of Boom, before Russell Wilson. In December 2012 the 49ers were crushed 42-13 in Seattle. Things were even worse this past September when, in Week 2, the 49ers fell 29-3 in CenturyLink on Sunday Night Football.

The defense played much better in their most recent visit to the Link, and I have reason to believe it can do the same this week. Seattle’s offense plays no better at home than they do away on average. They may get an extra possession or two, but it generally does not amount to much difference in yardage or point totals.

Seattle’s strength at home is the 12^th Man and the way it disrupts opposing offenses. The Seahawks’ secondary is already deadly, so add some extra noise and mistakes are inevitable. Seattle rarely misses an opportunity to take advantage of these mistakes.

I’m excited to see whether San Francisco can find a way to get some momentum offensively and make this an exciting game. Unfortunately I am not at all optimistic that they will – I guess that sort of gives away who I am (strongly) leaning toward ahead of tomorrow’s official prediction.

I very much wish that the NFL had scheduled the AFC title game as the second contest this Sunday. I have a feeling it will be more exciting than this one.