A week and a half ago, the Seattle Seahawks were sitting pretty with a 3-0 record and a two-game lead in the NFC West.
That could all be undone by the time Thursday night’s game against the visiting San Francisco 49ers is over.
The Seahawks (3-2) have lost two straight, including a 29-20 decision Sunday against the visiting New York Giants. A defeat Thursday would drop them into a first-place tie with the 49ers (2-3).
“We’ve got a quick turnaround. Tough opponent Thursday night. Divisional opponent. It means everything to us,” said Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith, who leads the NFL in completions (143), pass attempts (199) and passing yards (1,466). “This is a big game. It’s about as big of a game we’ve had this season. We better be ready.”
Seattle nearly rallied from a 10-point deficit in the final 2:09 against the Giants, but Jason Myers’ potential tying 47-yard field-goal attempt with about one minute left was blocked and returned for a touchdown.
“Seems like when the game’s on the line, we find ways to get things done,” Smith said. “But that’s got to be our mentality throughout the entire game. We can’t wait until the end of the game to try and save it.”
The Seahawks will look to establish the running game after Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet combined for just seven carries against the Giants. Seattle has thrown on a league-high 67.4 percent of its plays.
“We all know we need to run the ball more,” Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said. “Everybody knows that, our opponents know that. Our players in our locker room know that, (offensive coordinator Ryan) Grubb knows that, our coaches do, I do. We have to create more situations where we can run it as well.”
The 49ers, who won 11 of 12 games the past two seasons against NFC West foes while capturing back-to-back division titles, have blown 10-point, fourth-quarter leads against both the Los Angeles Rams and Arizona Cardinals this year.
The latter came at home Sunday, as the Cardinals rallied for a 24-23 victory.
“We don’t have time to sit here and have a pity party,” All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams said. “We’ve got another really good football team, another division opponent. Short week, so got to go.”
Without running back Christian McCaffrey (Achilles tendinitis), the 49ers have struggled offensively, especially when approaching the opponents’ goal line. They rank 29th in the NFL with touchdowns on 40.9 percent of red-zone drives, after leading the league last season at about 68 percent. McCaffrey, the reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year, had 18 red-zone TDs last season.
“It’s early in the season and we’re still trying to find our true identity as a team and we’re getting there,” 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy said. “It’s a couple plays away and a couple drives away from gelling and gluing together. But I’m confident that we’ll find it. We’ve just got to get into a rhythm and play complementary team football.”
The 49ers had several kickers in for tryouts this week after Jake Moody suffered a high ankle sprain on Sunday, and they signed Matthew Wright. Wide receiver Chris Conley (oblique), defensive lineman Jordan Elliott (knee), linebacker Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles (calf), cornerback Charvarius Ward (knee) and safety Talanoa Hufanga (wrist) also missed practice time. Hufanga, who has torn wrist ligaments, will be out at least a month, coach Kyle Shanahan said.
The Seahawks’ practice was a walkthrough, so the injury report was an estimate. Not participating were defensive tackle Byron Murphy II (hamstring), linebackers Uchenna Nwosu (thigh) and Derick Hall (foot) and cornerback Riq Woolen (ankle). The team said Nwosu will not play on Thursday, while NFL Network reported that he is going on injured reserve.
Seattle has lost five straight to the 49ers, including a playoff game. That’s the Seahawks’ longest skid in the series.
–Field Level Media
