49ers try to rebound against the Seahawks on Thursday night; three big things to watch
The sun is bursting through the blinds that barely keep out the light. There is a constant drum banging to a non-existent beat. There is a mad dash for a cup of water and a handful of ibuprofens. The hangover that is impacting the San Francisco 49ers is real.
After taking down the New York Jets in Week 1, it felt like San Francisco was going to escape the dreaded morning-after ailment. That's not been the case. The 49ers have dropped three games since that Monday Night win. Two of them involved fourth-quarter collapses. The other came at the hands of a guy who rode the bench for them a season ago.
To be fair, they have won a game since then too. It just came against the New England Patriots, a team vying for the first overall pick in next April's draft.
The Niners better hope to find an IV soon. Kyle Shanahan did joke a week ago that he still uses them when he's "had too much fun the night before." Jokes aside, they are about to embark on the toughest part of their schedule.
In their next eight games, they will face eight teams whose records are above .500. Four of those will come against teams who are at least tied for first place in their respective divisions, at the moment. The Seahawks represent two of those four games. They begin this gauntlet for the 49ers on Thursday Night Football. Here are my three big things for Week 6.
The Wild, Wild West
San Francisco has already dropped two divisional games. Those losses build on themselves quickly as a team makes a push for the postseason. Nick Bosa said on Tuesday there is extra pressure for this contest, knowing the implications.
"It's not a must-win, because technically your season's over if it's a must-win," explained Bosa. "But it definitely feels like it. We're treating it that way."
They are wise to treat it like that, because believe it or not, a win gives San Francisco a share of first-place. A prime-time victory would certainly feel like the hangover has been put on pause, at the very least.
As bad as it has looked at times, the 49ers division rivals haven't excelled either. There is plenty of parity in the league. Four of the eight divisions have leaders who are just a game over .500. It's a far cry from a year ago when three of the four division winners in the NFC went 12-5.
However, San Francisco was 5-1 in the NFC West last year. Their lone loss came in Week 18 to the Rams with Brock Purdy and other key starters sitting or given little playing time as they had already clinched the No. 1 Seed for the conference. George Kittle made their goal pretty clear this week.
"I don't really want to be 2-4, and being 3-3 is significantly better than that," he said.
Turnovers Galore
One constant in the 49ers losses is their turnover issue. They've lost the battle in two of those three losses. Minnesota had as many as the Niners did in Week 2, but both turnovers in that game handed the Vikings the ball in scoring territory.
Last week was their worst in that category. Brock Purdy threw two interceptions, one which ended a potential game-winning drive. Jordan Mason coughed up the ball the drive before on a 1st-and-goal. A score there would have put them up two scores with around six minutes remaining.
Purdy threw interceptions in both games against Seattle a year ago. Good news: new scheme. Bad news: Similar scheme to the one the Baltimore Ravens ran when Purdy was intercepted four times last year. New Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald was the Ravens defensive coordinator in that game. Purdy admitted that he watched film from their worst loss a year ago to prep for this upcoming game.
"How they call the plays and stuff looks similar," Purdy said. "Obviously the personnel is different and so we just gotta know which guys to look out for in certain situations. The scheme is very similar."
Purdy said his biggest takeaway from that loss to Baltimore was how to handle getting to his read and taking what the defense gives him.
No, the Hawks' defense isn't as good as Batlimore's from that Christmas night game, but they have played well through five games. They are top 10 in passing yards allowed and passing yards allowed per completion and attempt.
Will Deebo cook some bird?
It seems like Deebo Samuel has some vendetta against the Seattle Seahawks. Some of the best games of his career have come at the expense of the 12th Man. Samuel has played the Hawks in six career regular season games. He has surpassed 100 yards receiving in four of those. In his lone playoff match against them, he led 49ers receivers with 133 receiving yards.
Last year proved to be no different for him. In two games, he had 14 catches for 228 yards and a receiving touchdown. He added 16 rushing yards and another score.
The 49ers red zone struggles are well-documented. They were 1-6 last week which contributed to their loss. Samuel could be the key to figuring it out in that zone. Whether he is used out wide or in the backfield, it will be on Samuel to begin making plays. Samuel hasn't found the end zone since his Week 1 rushing score.
Brandon Aiyuk finally looked like his normal self last week with 147 receiving yards. If he can demand some attention from the secondary, it could free up No. 1 for his best game of the season.
Quote of the Week
When Charvarius "Mooney" Ward recently described the trash talk between him and Seattle Seahawks wide receiver D.K. Metcalf, he said, "I think I earned his respect a little bit, so he don't really say much to me."
Ward got the best of Metcalf last season. When this game was played in Seattle last week, Ward held the Seahawks star wide receiver to one catch on seven targets for 14 yards. He broke up two passes in those seven targets.
We'll see who gets to talk more on Thursday.
