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The Seattle Seahawks put together an impressive showing on Monday Night Football, thoroughly blasting the New Orleans Saints. The win moved the Seahawks to 11-1, giving them a two-game lead over New Orleans and Carolina (with the tie-breaker over both) for the best record in the NFC. The win also means the Seahawks stand three games up on the 49ers with four games remaining. Seattle can clinch the NFC West with a win or tie next week against the 49ers.
And so, Seahawks week is "officially" upon us. The 49ers host the Seahawks this Sunday at Candlestick Park. While the Seahawks hold a three game lead over the 49ers with only four to go, there is still plenty to play for in this one. The 49ers need to keep on winning to maintain their wildcard lead. The Seahawks can clinch the division with a win, and move a little bit closer to locking up home-field throughout the playoffs.
For the purposes of pounding our chests this season, the only game of truly significant import in this rivalry would be a playoff game. This coming week will feature plenty of trash talk, but it's not quite the same. While I am not a fan of having to go into Seattle for a playoff game, you have to admit, it would be a pretty epic matchup. The noise will be loud for whomever faces Seattle up at the CLink, but if it's 49ers-Seahawks, that's just a monster of a matchup.
The playoffs feature re-seeding after the first round of games. If the 49ers claim the 6-seed and the Seahawks hang on to the top seed, a 49ers first round win would get us a 49ers-Seahawks divisional round matchup. If the 49ers claim the 5-seed, the Seahawks hang on to the top seed and the 49ers win their first round game, their second round opponent would depend on who wins the 4-6 game. That would give us a chance at a 49ers-Seahawks NFC championship game.
I realize that is all far in the distance. The 49ers have must-win games on the docket the rest of the way, and I don't think anybody is overlooking it. But that doesn't mean it can't be fun to consider the possibilities. And a potential 49ers-Seahawks NFC title game is crazy to consider. It would certainly give one fan base a bit more legit upper hand in this rivalry, at least for the short term.
For now, we get ready for this Sunday. The 49ers have shown improvement in the passing game, and hopefully further improvement shows on Sunday, and opens the door for the ground game. The 49ers ground game has struggled the last few weeks, but hopefully the return of Crabtree opens the door for some more room. Given the 49ers offensive line injuries, it's going to be an interesting one.
