Playing in Seattle is not going to be easy on Thursday night, something that isn’t lost on Nick Bosa.
“We’re definitely expecting an all-out war. Probably similar to 2019, with just really big stakes. It’s two teams that know each other really well and don’t particularly like each other.”
The stakes are pretty simple: The Seahawks are fighting for a Wild Card spot in the NFC while the Niners are looking to lock down their second NFC West title under Kyle Shanahan.
While that 2019 game will, without a doubt, go down in history as one of the best 49ers Seahawks games in the history of the rivalry, it’s hardly exorcised the Niners’ Seattle demons.
Last year’s game in the Emerald City came down to a furious 95-yard dive by Jimmy Garoppolo that died at the 3-yard line after an incompletion to Trent Sherfield.
2020’s jaunt to then-CenturyLink Field was an all-too-familiar shellacking by Russell Wilson. The game was 30-7 in the fourth quarter before some patented garbage time offense by Nick Mullens made the final score 37-27.
In five total trips to the Pacific Northwest under Kyle Shanahan, the 49ers have been outscored 143-101, and the season-ender three years ago remains Kyle’s only victory in Seattle.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been anywhere louder than there,” Shanahan said yesterday, “We know how their fans are. We know how that stadium is. You have to be ready for it, you can’t expect to hear, not just at the line of scrimmage, but also in the huddle a number of times, and it’s a big difference playing there.”
Fortunately, Russell Wilson had as much to do with that torture as anyone, and he’s long gone nowadays. If the Niners’ defense treats Geno Smith anything like they did in the teams’ first matchup this year, those woes will come to an abrupt halt on Thursday Night Football.
Hear more about this and other stories in today’s 49ers in Five podcast. Our five-minute daily update gives you the latest news, best audio clips, and everything else you need to know about the team. Subscribe to the Niners Nation Podcast Network today so you don’t miss an episode!
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