This week we have an NFC West showdown on Thursday Night Football. The division’s top two teams are both coming off of a loss and will be looking to bounce back. Before heading to our top-rated sportsbooks, let’s dive right into this exciting matchup and find another winning NFL pick.
NFL Pick
- Seattle Seahawks +3 (-110) at Bet365 (check our Bet365 Review)
San Francisco 49ers vs. Seattle Seahawks
Thursday, September 10, 2024 – 08:15 PM ET at Lumen Field
San Francisco 49ers
All looked right in the land of the 49ers when the team took a 23-10 lead into halftime at home against the Arizona Cardinals. The 49ers were getting healthy, and happy to have WR Deebo Samuel and TE George Kittle back in the fold.
However, this high powered offense was held scoreless in the second half and the 49ers fell short 24-23 in a game that they should have won. Now the 49ers will look to bounce back. Yet there are questions circling around the makeup of this team.
From Fumbles to Fails
The second half of the game against the Cardinals represented failure of all three phases of the 49ers team. The 49ers were unable to establish the run, and their once fearsome defense got shredded by QB Kyler Murray and the Cardinals. The special teams took a hit when kicker Jake Moody suffered an injury during the contest. The Niners have no time to recover, however, as they are now traveling to Seattle to take on the Seahawks.
The 49ers made costly mistakes against the Cardinals that they will look to rectify in this week’s game. The 49ers know they need to limit the turnovers, and their defense needs to do a better job of tackling. The defensive schemes were sound, the players just failed to execute. And with a short week of practice before this game, the Niners don’t have a lot of time to work on and fix the problems that lead to these mistakes.
Seattle Seahawks
As disappointing as the 49ers loss to the Cardinals was, the Seattle Seahawks performance might have been more disappointing.
The Seattle Seahawks were facing a New York Giants team that was without their top two offensive players in WR Malik Nabors and RB Devin Singletary, yet they were still unable to get the stops they needed. The Seahawks defense made mediocre quarterback Daniel Jones look awesome, and their offense was not able to respond.
Offensive Woes
The Seattle Seahawks have a great offense on paper, but they are not excelling the way that most people expected they would. The Seahawks hired a new offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, who was expected to modernize the Seahawks offensive philosophy. The Seahawks were predicted to be able to put up a lot of points and win games even when their defense was struggling. This was not the case as their high-powered offense fell short in the second half of the loss to the Giants.
Now the Seahawks have three days to get things together against their division rival, the San Francisco 49ers. Both teams will try to run the ball, but the Seahawks will need more from RB Kenneth Walker and their offensive line if they’re going to get the win. And as good as QB Geno Smith has looked in spurts so far this season, he’s going to need to find consistency in each drive for the Seahawks to reach their potential.
Which Team Will Run the Ball More Effectively
Both offenses, while as exciting as they are with innovative play designs in the passing game, are reliant on the run game to set the offense up.
The 49ers will need RB Jordan Mason to step up again, and he needs to avoid fumbling like he did last week when he essentially gave the game away. The Seahawks need more from RB Kenneth Walker, who has the ability to completely take over a game, yet can go silent for spurts of the season.
Whichever team is able to control time of possession and win the early downs with their rushing attack should have the edge in this game between two struggling teams.
The Pick
Seattle has an excellent opportunity to bounce back and make a statement against this slumping 49ers team. The 49ers have yet to find continuity on offense, and their defense is not as good as when it was leading them to the Super Bowl. The Seattle Seahawks balanced offensive attack should be able to take advantage of this.
The Seahawks will keep this game close and potentially get the outright win. Yet we will play it safe and take the points. The best bet for this Thursday night battle is the Seattle Seahawks +3.
NFL Pick: Seattle Seahawks +3 (-110) at Bet365
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