The Seattle Seahawks are limping into Week 17, having dropped two out of three, but they can still win the NFC West — and possibly the #1 seed in the NFC side of the playoff bracket — when they host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday night. Three weeks ago, the Seahawks were shut down in Los Angeles by the Rams, 28-12, but then they went to Carolina and put up an impressive 30-24 win. Last week, though, they were taken to the woodshed by the Arizona Cardinals, of all teams, 27-13. The Seahawks do have major injury problems, throughout their defense as well as at tailback, where they are so depleted that they went and signed Marshawn Lynch, who has not appeared in an NFL game since October 2018 and was last spotted handing out shots to fans in a parking lot. San Francisco has split their last four games, losing at home to Atlanta two weeks ago and then picking up an impressive comeback win over the Rams at home on Saturday. The defensive issues that the 49ers showed against the Rams should be a sign of optimism for the Seahawks. Can Seattle win at home in prime time? Or will the 49ers swipe the division title on the road? We have your sports betting preview for this NFC West showdown.
49ers vs Seahawks 2019 NFL Week 17 Odds & Game Preview
Sights set on Seattle. #GoNiners pic.twitter.com/4o1vA6bFdw
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) December 25, 2019
- When: Sunday, December 29, 2019, 8:20 pm ET
- Where: CenturyLink Field, Seattle
- TV: NBC
- Radio: Westwood One
- Live Stream: NFL Game Pass
- NFL Odds: Seattle -1 / O/U 47
Why should you bet on San Francisco?
Despite their reputation as a defense-first team, San Francisco has put up 30.2 points per game, as the team is gaining almost 400 yards per week. They already have more wins this season than they have posted over the last five seasons. In their win over the Rams last week, San Francisco committed some early mistakes that helped the Rams run out to a 21-10 lead, but then the 49ers turned the tide, getting a pick-six from Fred Warner near halftime to take a 24-21 lead going into the locker room. The game went back and forth until the last seconds, when Robbie Gould nailed a field goal to seal the win.
The 49ers won this game despite suffering from a great deal of adversity. The Rams led in yards gained, first downs and time of possessions, and they had a -1 turnover differential, but the 49ers got the stops when they needed them in the second half and were able to prevail late. That is the sort of money performance that you expect from a division winner. If you like San Francisco, you see the 49ers being able to take advantage of the numerous Seattle injuries and overcome the raucous 12th Man — the Seattle crowd.
Why should you put your money on Seattle?
The Seattle Seahawks are 10-1 in one-score games this season. Some of that has to do with luck, of course; the law averages suggests that if they do not regress in Week 17 from that number, they will in the 2020 season. A lot of it has to do with execution down the stretch, though, and Seattle tends to follow up dreadful losses on the road with big wins at home. In their loss to the Cardinals, the Seahawks took an early 7-0 lead but surrendered 20 points in a row. The Seahawks got within a touchdown but could not keep Arizona from marching down the field in the fourth quarter to go up 27-13. Losing tailbacks Chris Carson (hip fracture) and C.J. Prosise (broken arm) just added insult to injury.
If you like Seattle here, that has a lot more to do with intangibles than with the facts on paper. Yes, Seattle does play very well at home in prime time. However, Marshawn Lynch did not run well for the Oakland Raiders in limited action in 2018. If I have to choose my quarterback between Russell Wilson and Jimmy Garoppolo, I’m going with Wilson, but with the Seahawks’ injuries on defense, it’s hard to see them getting stops consistently.
Final Score Prediction
Before the Seahawks had this rash of injuries, I had them winning this game and taking the NFC West and the top seed. With a recycled Lynch as the featured back and with a decimated defense, I see the Seahawks playing a spirited first half but then watching the Niners pull away, 31-23.
