Seattle Seahawks Week 2 opponent preview – San Francisco

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Sep 16, 2022
Seattle Seahawks
San Francisco 49ers helmet (photo by Davide Gabino via flickr).

In Week 2, the Seattle Seahawks travel to San Francisco for their first NFC West battle of 2022. Here’s what to expect for this game.

The time to savor the Seattle Seahawks victory over Russ and the hated Broncos is over. We move on to Seattle’s Week 2 opponent, the San Francisco 49ers.

The Trouble with Trey

In Week 1, the Niners’ story was the beginning of the Trey Lance era. Well, it did not go as planned as they lost to the Chicago Bears 19-10. Lance went 13 of 28 for 164 yards and 1 interception. That performance was good for a 50.3 quarterback rating. But even with the poor numbers, he looked worse.

For those trying to find an excuse, there was a second half downpour. The 49ers have scored fewer than 10 points twice in the last 44 games. Lance started both. 49ers fans are calling for his job after only a couple of starts.

https://twitter.com/CulturedUpdatez/status/1569150294184890370

The specter of fans and possibly players calling for Jimmy Garoppolo has to create added stress for Trey. The job is hard enough to do without worrying if any mistake will get him replaced. 

Injuries

On the injury front, the 49ers lost their starting halfback in the opener. Elijah Mitchell has a sprained MCL and is expected to miss 8 weeks. Defensive end Jordan Willis joined him on injured reserve.

The big news is that all-everything tight end George Kittle hasn’t practiced and is questionable for this week’s contest. Not having Kittle will be huge, as the Seahawks have had trouble with him over the years.

San Francisco defense vs. Seahawks offense

Even though they lost, the 49ers shut down Chicago’s passing game. The Bears completed 47.1% of their passes for a sparse 105 yards (and almost half the total came on one play). They were stingy against the run, too, giving up 2.7 yards per carry.

San Francisco has a dominating defensive line led by Nick Bosa, who contributed 5 tackles, and 1 sack, 1 tackle for loss in Chicago. Linebacker Fred Warner is an All-Pro caliber player.

Seattle will try to establish the run a bit more this week. Hopefully, their young line can open up some gaps for Penny and the debuting Kenneth Walker III. The Seattle Seahawks 2022 second round pick brings speed and homerun ability every time he touches the ball. Between him and Penny, expect to see some big chunk plays from the run game.

San Francisco offense vs. Seahawks defense

Lance may have had a bad game, but receiver Deebo Samuel is a dual threat who can break a long play at any time. Last week he managed 52 yards and a touchdown on 8 carries rushing plus 14 more yards on 2 catches.

Samuel is the only weapon the Niners seem to have. But with Mitchell out and Kittle unlikely to play, can Deebo carry the load alone?

Against Denver, the Seattle Seahawks did an amazing job inside the Red Zone. They forced a pair of crucial fumbles near the goal line. With that confidence builder, they’ll be coming after San Francisco on Saturday. 

Uchenna Nwosu had a nice first game with his new team getting 7 tackles, 1 sack, 2 QB hits, 1 pass defended, and a tackle for loss. Also showing out week one were defensive backs Michael Jackson (two fumble recoveries) and Tariq Woolen (fifth-ranked cornerback by Pro Football Focus).

Final Thoughts

To sum it up this week San Francisco is an 8.5-point favorite at home this week at Levi Stadium. If the Seattle Seahawks can control the clock with the run game, get a few timely throws from Geno Smith, and avoid turnovers, they can surprise again this week.

The 49ers should pull out a narrow 17-13 win. Seattle keeps it close until late, but in the end, their bend but don’t break defense springs a leak. Hopefully, I’m wrong, and the Hawks close out week 2 with a 2-0taking sole possession of first place in the NFC West. GO HAWKS!!!!

Related Story: Seattle Seahawks Tight End Battle: Dissly vs. Fant

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