Seattle Seahawks vs. San Francisco 49ers: Key Matchups to Watch On Thanksgiving
Rekindling their rivalry in a marquee Thanksgiving prime time tilt, the Seattle Seahawks will seek a signature bounce back victory when they welcome the NFC West-leading San Francisco 49ers to Lumen Field on Thursday night.
With first place in the division hanging in the balance, which matchups will have the greatest impact on who picks up the win on turkey day? Here are six positional battles to watch as Seattle and San Francisco duel for the first time in 2023:
*All stats courtesy of Pro Football Focus unless otherwise noted.
--Seahawks offensive line versus 49ers defensive line: Under usual circumstances, specific matchups could be highlighted or put under the magnifying glass in the trenches. But Seattle's offensive line, which remains without right tackle Abraham Lucas, will have to deal with arguably the best defensive front in football, starting with perennial All-Pro edge rusher Nick Bosa. Bosa has been a game wrecker regardless of opponent, but he has been especially dominant facing the Seahawks, producing at least one sack and three quarterback hits in each of his past four regular season games against them. If there's a silver lining, left tackle Charles Cross had a strong performance against him in the playoffs last year, preventing him from getting a hit on Geno Smith in the pocket.
Nick Bosa has been a one-man wrecking crew against the Seahawks as of late, producing at least one sack against them in four consecutive regular season games.
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Unfortunately for Seattle, however, Bosa is far from the only formidable defensive weapon on San Francisco's defensive front capable of wreaking havoc. Already having a top-10 defensive tackle in Arik Armstead on the roster, the team signed Pro Bowl talent Javon Hargrave to further fortify the line and he hasn't disappointed, racking up 4.5 sacks and 34 quarterback pressures. With nearly 70 pressures between them from the interior, guards Damien Lewis and Phil Haynes will undoubtedly have their hands full. Meanwhile, the rich only got richer with Chase Young coming over from the Commanders at the trade deadline, as the former top-five pick already has two sacks in two games with the 49ers and should see ideal one-on-one situations against either Jason Peters or Stone Forsythe in Lucas' absence. For the Seahawks to have any chance at winning, they will have to somehow find a way to prevent a nasty pass rush from destroying their game plan.
--Seahawks cornerbacks Devon Witherspoon, Riq Woolen, and Tre Brown versus 49ers receivers Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk, tight end George Kittle: Armed with one of the most potent receiving corps in the NFC, quarterback Brock Purdy has spread the wealth to his top three targets, completing at least 27 passes to Samuel, Aiyuk, and Kittle while amassing a combined 10 touchdowns to the trio. In January's wild card matchup, both Samuel and Aiyuk had success against Woolen, totaling three receptions for 55 yards and three first downs against him in coverage. Kittle actually had a somewhat quiet game that afternoon, but he lit up the Seahawks for 93 yards and two touchdowns in a Week 15 win at Lumen Field, including scoring a 51-yard touchdown with Woolen busting a Cover 3 assignment.
Fast forwarding to Thursday night, Seattle hopes to counter San Francisco's bevy of weapons with a much-improved secondary now featuring a budding superstar in Witherspoon, who has allowed just 49 percent of targets thrown his direction to be completed and already has eight pass breakups. Fully recovered from a significant knee injury, Brown has also been an upgrade at the left cornerback spot, producing two interceptions and five pass breakups while limiting quarterbacks to a 79.6 rating when targeting him. With Woolen playing better football as of late, the Seahawks will be counting on that trifecta to keep the speedy Aiyuk and Samuel in front of them, limit yards after the catch when they do give up receptions, and hopefully find a way to a coax a turnover out of Purdy.
--Seahawks receivers DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba versus 49ers cornerbacks Charvarius Ward, Isaiah Oliver, and Deommodore Lenoir: Retooling their secondary over the past couple of seasons, the 49ers struck gold when they signed Ward away from the Chiefs, as he has emerged as one of the best all-around cornerbacks in the game in two seasons with the franchise. So far this year, he has been a ball magnet, intercepting two passes and breaking up nine passes while holding quarterbacks to a 58 percent completion rate targeting him. While he has been borderline dominant this year, however, San Francisco has been susceptible at times elsewhere in the secondary, as Oliver has allowed three touchdowns and a startling 87.5 percent completion percentage against him in coverage. Lenoir has also allowed quarterbacks to complete 72 percent of their passes against him for 547 yards, including 200 yards after the catch.
From Seattle's perspective, this should be a matchup that has the ability to turn the tide in the home team's favor. Metcalf had a field day against Ward in the wild card round, beating him for a 50-yard touchdown in the first half and catching five passes for 88 yards against him, and he's coming off back-to-back 90-plus yard outings. He also caught a touchdown against Oliver in 2020 when he was playing for the Falcons. As for Lockett, he eclipsed 100 yards in a Week 2 loss last season and had four catches on four targets for 48 yards against Ward. Smith-Njigba may be the real X-factor in this matchup, however, as his size and acceleration after the catch could create real issues for the 5-10, 200-pound Lenoir from the slot. Of course, pass protection will have to hold up for Smith to take advantage.
--Seahawks defensive tackles Dre'Mont Jones, Leonard Williams, and Jarran Reed versus 49ers guards Aaron Banks and Spencer Burford: Banged up in the interior of their offensive line, the 49ers listed Banks and Burford both as questionable for Thursday night, with the latter being the more likely to play after practicing in limited fashion this week. Each player has endured struggles to varying degrees when healthy in 2023, as Banks has allowed 11 pressures in eight games and Burford has been exposed in his first full season as a starter surrendering 24 pressures and three sacks. If either one of those guards can't suit up, San Francisco will turn to seasoned veteran Jon Feliciano, which may ultimately be a blessing in disguise given his track record of serviceable play in nine NFL seasons.
Regardless of who starts in the middle, if the Seahawks want to have any semblance of success turning up the heat on Purdy and slowing down running back Christian McCaffrey, their veteran laden defensive line will have to play at their very best. To this point, Jones hasn't quite played up to the massive contract the team gave him in March with only 2.5 sacks so far, but his athleticism and penetrating ability should be problematic for Banks, Burford, and Feliciano. Williams, who played against the 49ers in Week 3 with the Giants, had a great game in Santa Clara with four pressures, a sack, and two quarterback hits, and the Seahawks will be hoping to see him replicate that production for his new team. Leading the team with 28 pressures from the interior, Reed will also have a chance to do damage against a susceptible guard group.
--Seahawks tight ends Noah Fant, Colby Parkinson, and Will Dissly versus 49ers safeties Tashaun Gipson and Ji'Ayir Brown: While asking the group to help provide support in pass protection with all the injuries along the offensive line has been a culprit for the lack of production, Seattle has turned a blind eye to its tight ends in the passing game in recent weeks. Over the past three games, Fant has caught three passes for 10 yards, Parkinson has two receptions for nine yards, and Dissly leads the pack with an underwhelming three receptions for 31 yards. After combining for over 1,000 receiving yards and nine touchdowns a year ago, they have totaled less than 500 yards in 10 games and have yet to score a single touchdown.
Getting Fant, Dissly, and Parkinson untracked must be a priority for the Seahawks to get their offense clicking on all cylinders and Thursday's game could present a good opportunity to feature them in the passing game. The 49ers lost one of their best defenders in Talanoa Hufanga to a torn ACL last weekend, forcing Brown, a third-round pick out of Penn State, into action. The Buccaneers attacked the rookie down the seam for a 41-yard touchdown reception by Rakim Jarrett and while he had a pass breakup on his other target, the Seahawks may want to follow suit testing him early with multi-tight end sets. A wily veteran in Gipson has been excellent in coverage this year, but his lack of size may hurt him matched up against tight ends, especially the 6-7 Parkinson.
--Seahawks linebackers Bobby Wagner and Jordyn Brooks versus 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey and fullback Kyle Juszczyk: In his return to Seattle after a season away, Wagner has continued to play at a high level, while Brooks has impressed after a rapid recovery from a torn ACL. Both players already have at least 83 tackles, five tackles for loss, and 2.5 sacks, stuffing the stat sheet across the board with impact plays. With that said, the two linebackers have struggled a bit during the past three weeks with opponents taking advantage of them in the passing game. This was particularly evident against the Rams last weekend when they allowed seven catches for 97 yards in coverage, including Brooks allowing a screen to bust for 23 yards when he couldn't get off a block.
San Francisco loves to move McCaffrey around as a chess piece and Kyle Shanahan will be eager to test Bobby Wagner and Jordyn Brooks in coverage against the dual threat back.
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As they have in the past, the 49ers will try to scheme up looks for McCaffrey matched up in coverage against Wagner and Brooks, particularly when it comes to testing them horizontally as a receiver. In their playoff win in January, along with rushing for 119 yards, he also found the end zone as a pass catcher on an extended play by Purdy, getting free from linebackers in the middle. Juszczyk will also be worth keeping an eye on, as he occasionally sneaks out of the backfield as a receiver and has enough juice to create big yardage after the catch, especially if he's matched up against Wagner or Brooks. The linebacker tandem will face a daunting task keeping the star back at bay as a runner while also having to worry about sticking with him in the passing game.
