Watch 49ers at Seahawks at 1.20am on Sunday night/Monday morning on Sky Sports Action (407)
Sunday 29 December 2019 08:54, UK
The San Francisco 49ers and injury-riddled Seattle Seahawks have already clinched playoff berths. But there's still plenty at stake when the teams meet Sunday night in Seattle.
If the 49ers (12-3) win, they'll clinch the NFC West title and earn the conference's No 1 seed for the playoffs, and the first-round bye that comes with it. If they lose, they'll be a wild-card team and start the playoffs on the road.
The Seahawks (11-4) would win the West by beating San Francisco and clinch at least the No 3 seed in the conference playoffs. They can also climb to either the No 2 or even No 1 seed with a win and some help. Seattle defeated the host 49ers 27-24 in overtime in Week 10 so it owns the tiebreaker for the division title.
"That is what you play football for," 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk told reporters this week. "These are the kind of games that you dream about when you are a kid. We are really looking forward to that, and it would mean a lot to get the 'W.'"
The 49ers have lost eight straight games in Seattle since 2011, including a defeat in the NFC title game following the 2013 season.
"They've had as good of a 10-year run defensively as probably anyone in the history of football," 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said of the Seahawks. "Then you add in the elements of their stadium, where you can't hear. When you can't use cadence and you're going up against a very skilled team with a pass rush, it's extremely hard."
This will be San Francisco quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo's first start in Seattle, after missing last year's game with a torn ACL. Garoppolo is 20-5 in 25 career starts, but CenturyLink Field can be one of the most difficult for inexperienced quarterbacks. Since 2010, QBs with 25 or fewer starts are 6-22 at the Seahawks' home field.
"It's going to be a 60-minute game. You have to have your mind ready for that," Garoppolo said. "When you get to these big games, two good football teams, it's always going to go up until the last whistle, and we've had multiple experiences this year like that."
Shanahan said he hopes having played at New Orleans in the Superdome on December 8 will help Garoppolo deal with the noise in Seattle. Garoppolo passed for 349 yards and four touchdowns against the Saints in a 48-46 victory. "I thought Garoppolo handled himself well there, and expect him to do the same in Seattle," Shanahan said.
The Seahawks were blindsided 27-13 at home by Arizona last week and lost their top two running backs, Chris Carson (hip) and C.J. Prosise (broken arm), for the season. In addition, starting left tackle Duane Brown underwent minor knee surgery Monday.
To replace Carson and Prosise, the Seahawks signed the retired Marshawn Lynch and Robert Turbin, the team's running back combo in 2012-14.
"I'm hoping for him. He will have a blast playing with this team," Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said of Lynch. "He loves this city and he loves playing here and would love to contribute in a way."
Lynch's return could produce a boost for both Seattle's players and fans. "There's a chance they're going to be frickin' flying off the top of the roof," Carroll said of the home crowd. "And there's a really good chance it's going to be as loud as it ever gets and as exciting as it ever gets."
The NFL regular season concludes this Sunday with three live games on Sky Sports Action from 5pm.
Tune in to watch Patriots at Dolphins (6pm), Eagles at Giants (9.25pm) and 49ers at Seahawks (1.20am).
