Seahawks vs. 49ers Pick: NFC West Blowout or Battle?

Game Info

Seattle Seahawks (6-6 SU, 5-6-1 ATS) vs. San Francisco 49ers (9-3 SU, 7-5 ATS)

Week 14

Date/Time: Sunday, December 10, 2013 at 4:05PM EST

Where: Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, California

TV: Fox

The Seattle Seahawks come down to Levi’s Stadium on Sunday for a week 14 NFC West divisional showdown with the San Francisco 49ers. The Seahawks are at 6-6, coming off a Thursday Night Football loss to the Cowboys on the road, 41-35. Again on the road this week, they take on a longtime rival that is coming off a big 42-19 win over the Eagles on the road last week. After two straight weeks on the road, the Niners return home and look to keep it going after re-finding their stride with four straight wins that followed a puzzling three-game slide. Do we get behind the hot 49ers, or can the still-spunky Seahawks give them a run for their money?

What to Take from Week 12

Just two weeks ago, we saw the Niners come into Seattle and put a 31-13 beating on the Seahawks. Christian McCaffrey was big in that game with two TDs, with Deebo Samuel running in another one, along with Brandon Aiyuk catching a Brock Purdy TD pass. Meanwhile, Geno Smith could not crack this SF defense and their running game languished without Kenneth Walker, II., who is still iffy to return. Needless to say, this result should provide pause for potential Seattle backers this week, with the Niners having now beaten them three times in a row.

Seattle: Dangerous in This Role

Last week, playing the streaking Dallas Cowboys on the road, we saw the underdog Seahawks make a real run, covering the spread and threatening to win the game at one point. I think this is a role they can relish, where they’re not expected to win, getting a nice cushion with the point allowance. As a favorite or on some short spreads, they’re not quite as an appealing choice in that context. For covering spreads, this is more where you want to get behind a Seattle team that hasn’t been able to steer many wins in the column lately, sitting at 6-6 after winning five of six earlier in the season. Still, with Geno Smith remaining dangerous behind center, working with what is becoming a nice three-pack of receivers in DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba, they can hit the scoreboard with some regularity.

After a positive start to the season that followed a year where they made the playoffs, the Seahawks find themselves at a crossroads. I’d expect them to play accordingly, maybe less conservatively, and turn it loose a little. And with the horses they have on offense, that’s not an altogether hopeless premise. You’d almost expect Walker to be back in there, which would give their offense a big boost. His presence will bear watching leading up to game time. It won’t be easy, and in their last four games, the 49ers have given up 49 total points. The offense is easier to see, but the “D” is a big part of what got the Niners back on track in the last month.

Seattle: Asking for Too Much?

A case on Seattle is a little more elaborate than the one for the Niners. For San Francisco, they need to keep doing what they’ve been doing. For Seattle, they need a lot of levers and pulleys to be in order to get this thing to work on Sunday. They have urgency and a point-allowance in their favor, but they also need to have a good day on offense, which has been no sure thing. They need a two-faced defense to reveal its better half on Sunday against an offense that is really clicking, with Brock Purdy surging ahead in the MVP futures. And on top of all that, they need some form of regression from the Niners. And we’ve seen them inexplicably bottom out this season before, but trying to time something like that returning could be a fool’s errand. In other words, the Niners at least seem like the slightly more bankable side of this equation, being that a status quo of what we’ve been seeing lately would likely be enough here, too.

With three straight losses at a time in a season where they needed to keep ground, it’s hard to justify Seattle from an urgency standpoint. Let’s also remember they’re in a pretty rough patch here, playing San Francisco twice along with the Cowboys in a three-game stretch. With their recent bottom-line results, they’ve put themselves in a pickle, but there’s a certain indefinable swagger that is still palpable on this sideline. Despite this slide, they haven’t come close to giving up. We saw DK Metcalf have a massive game against a dangerous Dallas secondary last week. Maybe he’s coming to life and making up for a season that has been low on the highlights up until now. Maybe getting Walker back will help if he’s, in fact, ready. For a divisional game against a dangerous divisional opponent, this double-digit spread is still a big ask, even for a clicking Niners squad.

Take the Points

A healthy and intact 49ers bunch in late-season at home is not an easy task. However, the Seahawks are dangerous enough and might be on the better side of the value quotient this week to warrant a look. I think their overall desperation could bolster them, as well, with Seattle’s margin for error having shriveled to nothing. Whether they’re actually live for the win is a whole other debate, but I think the Seahawks keep this one at least moderately competitive, as they cover the spread in Santa Clara on Sunday. I’ll take Seattle in this one.

Loot’s Prediction to Cover the Point Spread: I’m betting on the Seattle Seahawks plus 10.5 points. Double your bankroll for your Week 14 bets by using one of our 100% sportsbook bonus promo codes!