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GAME ESSENTIALS: Seahawks (9-8) vs. 49ers (13-4) at Levi’s Stadium, at 1:30 p.m. (PT). TV: FOX. Announcers: Joe Davis (play-by-play), Daryl Johnston (color commentary), Pam Oliver and Kristina Pink (sideline reporting).
ODDS: 49ers -9. OVER/UNDER: 42.
SERIES: Seahawks lead 29-19 (Seahawks lead playoff matchups 1-0). LAST MEETING: 49ers won 21-13 on Dec. 15, 2022. LAST PLAYOFF MEETING: Seahawks won 23-17 on Jan. 19, 2014.
From the start of the 2022 season, many expected that the San Francisco 49ers would end up here, at 13-4 and the No. 2 seed in the NFC.
But the journey to this point — hosting the division rival Seahawks in the Wild Card round — has been … wilder … than any 49ers fan could have imagined.
It’ll be third-string quarterback Brock Purdy, a rookie taken with the final pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, who hopes to keep his good times under center rolling. Purdy has gone 5-0 as a starter since taking over when backup Jimmy Garoppolo — filling in for the initial starter Trey Lance, who had a season-ending injury in Week 2 — picked up a two-month injury in Week 13.
Garoppolo is progressing, but it’s seen as unlikely that he’ll be ready to play in the playoffs. And the only way for the 49ers to get to the point where Garoppolo is healthy enough to play is for Purdy to lead them to even more wins — and perhaps become the first rookie to lead his team to a conference title and Super Bowl appearance.
While the quarterback intrigue will be worth watching in the five weeks of the playoffs. But the key to the success of the red and gold remains the defense — which ended the regular season as the NFL’s best in both points allowed (16.3) and yards allowed (300.6) per game — and an efficient running game, led by midseason trade acquisition Christian McCaffrey.
McCaffrey’s strong football background helped make him a superstar locally at Stanford and with the Panthers. But since joining the 49ers, he’s been an efficient runner, averaging 4.7 yards per rush, and a scoring machine, averaging one touchdown per game (six rushing, four receiving and one passing). The way Kyle Shanahan uses McCaffrey as the feature of a star-studded skill position group with Deebo Samuel, George Kittle, Brandon Aiyuk, Elijah Mitchell and others has been a sight to behold.
The weather doesn’t look great for Saturday, with heavy rain forecasted for the entire weekend and the potential for strong wind gusts. It could give Seattle a better chance at pulling off an upset that would truly sting the red and gold. But it also could set the scene for the exact time of defense-and-running game that the 49ers are so good at.
Follow along with our reporters Cam Inman, Jerry McDonald, Shayna Rubin, Evan Webeck and columnist Dieter Kurtenbach and other analysts providing their thoughts about the game.
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