Week 6 of Thursday Night Football features an intriguing matchup between two NFC West foes, the San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks. Both teams are coming off of frustrating losses last week. Now, the 49ers and Seahawks are trying to get back on track with the winner of Thursday night’s game gaining the advantage in the NFC West.
San Francisco hopes to continue its dominance over Seattle. They’ve won the last five matchups, including a 41-23 victory in the playoffs two seasons ago. That game marked Brock Purdy’s postseason debut, and he lit up the Seattle defense with 332 passing yards and 3 TDs. Purdy is 3-0 against the Seahawks in his career. Improving to 4-0 against Seattle would help erase some memories of San Francisco’s slow start in ’24.
After defeating Aaron Rodgers and the Jets in Week 1, the 49ers have dropped three of their last four games. They’ve lost more games against NFC West opponents in the last three weeks than in the previous two years combined (11-1 vs. NFC West in ’22/’23). And, how they dropped recent games to the Rams and Cardinals was particularly troubling. The 49ers held double-digit leads in both games but couldn’t seal the deal. Purdy and the 49ers offense had a chance to finish both games late. Last week, Purdy tossed the game-ending interception after his pass got tipped by a defender.
Injuries have played a big part in San Francisco’s sluggish start. Christian McCaffrey has yet to play, and his status gets murkier each week. Deebo Samuel and George Kittle were both out against Los Angeles. First-round pick Ricky Pearsall has yet to be cleared after being shot before the season started.
And, that’s just the offense. All-Pro safety Talanoa Hufanga was placed on IR recently. CB Charvarius Ward picked up an injury in the loss to Arizona. Kicker Jake Moody exited last Sunday’s game with an ankle injury, which forced the 49ers into some aggressive playcalling. The injury report is beginning to pile up, and the 49ers can’t afford to lose much more ground in the NFC West.
On the other side, the Seahawks are coming off two straight deflating losses of their own. Seattle raced to a 3-0 start to the campaign and carried their undefeated record into a Monday night matchup with the Detroit Lions. Seattle’s defense stood no chance against Detroit’s high-powered attack, surrendering 42 points and a perfect passing game for Lions QB Jared Goff (18-of-18 passing, 292 yards, and 2 TDs). Seahawks QB Geno Smith did all he could (38-of-56, 395 yards, and 1 TD), but couldn’t keep up on the scoreboard.
Seattle replaced legendary HC Pete Caroll in the offseason with former Ravens DC Mike Macdonald in hopes of revitalizing the defense. The group looked improved through the first three weeks against inferior opponents, but have cratered over the last two. Week 5 featured a home matchup against a Giants team missing their best offensive weapon (Malik Nabers). QB Daniel Jones had his way with Seattle’s secondary (257 yards, 2 TDs, and 0 INT) while the New York rushing attack was unstoppable all day (175 yards on 34 carries).
To be fair to the first-year coach, Macdonald has been dealt a rough hand. Seattle’s defense has been decimated by injuries thus far, particularly up front. Essentially, their entire defensive line is already banged up. Rookie Byron Murphy II missed the last two with a hamstring injury. Pass rushers Boye Mafe and Derick Hall are dealing with lower body ailments. Leonard Williams was out against Detroit. Free agent signing Jerome Baker has missed two games already. Uchenna Nwosu was placed on IR before Thursday’s game. The team will also be without CB Riq Woolen against San Francisco after he picked up an ankle injury against the Giants.
Thursday’s pivotal matchup will feature two injury-plagued teams who are in desperate need of a win. A victory would be massive for the Seahawks. It would give them a two-game lead over a 49ers team that has dominated the division over the last two years. Additionally, the 49ers sinking to 0-3 against division opponents would be massive for tiebreaking procedures at the end of the season. For the 49ers, a dominant win would give some assurance that they are still the team to beat in the NFC West. Either way, we’ll know more about both of these teams after their Week 6 clash.
