ZB Game of the Week: 49ers at Seahawks

I took no debate this week when we were determining our featured Game of the Week. I’ve been saying all summer that the NFC’s two best teams are San Francisco and Seattle and I had plans to circle this one on the calendar before the schedules even came out. In a way it’s a shame that the Seahawks and 49ers are meeting this early in the season, but it doesn’t diminish the drama surrounding this game. There will be a lot of season left after the game, but the winner will have an early edge in the battle toward division prominence and potentially homefield advantage throughout the playoffs.

This week, we’re joined by Al Sacco, staff writer for 49erswebzone.com and 49ersgab.com, and Nick Ashbourne, the new editor for 12^th Man Rising.

Al Sacco, 49erswebzone.com, 49ersgab.com: (Twitter: @ninerscommunity)

WHY THE 49ERS WILL WIN:

Despite losing 42-13 at Seattle in week 16 of last season, the 49ers have have won three out of four games against the Seahawks under Jim Harbaugh. The loss at the end of last season should be taken with a grain of salt considering the 49ers were playing the second of back to back road games on consecutive Sunday nights. It was also their first game without defensive stalwart Justin Smith who was out with an injury

This time around will be different as the 49ers offense looks to be red hot coming off a 34 point game against the Packers. Colin Kaepernick looks to be a superstar in the making and he will be able to put up enough points to carry the 49ers to a win. The 49ers rushing attack will also bounce back after a subpar game in which they only ran for 90 yards on 34 carries.

WHY THE SEAHAWKS WILL WIN:

The Seahawks were 8-0 at home last season and CenturyLink Field is one of the toughest places to play in the NFL. The Seahawks felt they should have been the team representing the NFC in the Super Bowl and will be amped up to host their divisional rivals. They know they must hold serve in the race for the NFC West and the only way to do that is to win their home game against San Francisco.

The Seahawks stole 12-7 win at Caroline in week 1 and should rebound with a better game in week 2. The 49er defense looked weak against the pass again against the Packers and Russell Wilson will be able to take advantage of a struggling secondary if the 49ers can’t generate more of a pass rush outside of Aldon Smith.

Prediction: 49ERS 28 SEAHAWKS 27

Nick Ashbourne, 12^TH Man Rising (Twitter: @Nick_Ashbourne, @12thMan_Rising)

WHY THE SEAHAWKS WILL WIN:

The first reason to expect a Seahawks win is the boring and obvious one, the fact that they are at home. Seattle was undefeated at home last year and whether you want to believe it’s the noise or the travel that is so hard on opposing teams there is no fortress like CenturyLink Field in football right now.

The Seahawks have shown an ability to run the ball against a 49ers team that is normally stingy against opposing running backs. Marshawn Lynch has three straight 100 yard games against the 49ers and Seattle is most effective when they run the ball. If Lynch can get it going that will open up some play action passes for Russell Wilson against a 49ers secondary that isn’t nearly as good as their front seven.

Defensively speaking, the Seahawks will be able to prevent Boldin from breaking out with the help of the top secondary in football. Corner Richard Sherman is plenty physical enough to handle the aging Boldin who isn’t nearly as dangerous as last week’s numbers suggest. Taking away Boldin will allow Seattle to key on the run and keep old nemesis Frank Gore at bay.

WHY THE 49ERS WILL WIN:

It’s a cliché but winning in the trenches is huge and the 49ers have a chance to do it this week. This team has an unbelievable offensive line and they can open holes for Gore and Kendall Hunter against a Seahawks team that allowed 4.5 yards per carry last year and 5 YPC last week.

On the other side of the ball they are going against a Seattle offensive line that looked very shaky last week and only has two standout players in Max Unger and Russell Okung. The 49ers could get some serious pass rushing done, especially if they target the right side of Seattle’s line.

I don’t think that Kaepernick will have a great day passing against Seattle’s world class secondary and I think that the Seahawks might be able to make some plays passing the ball. However, the 49ers could win the old fashion way by running the ball and stopping the run.

SEAHAWKS 24 49ERS 20

Zoneblitz’ Take: The 49ers looked better in beating Green Bay than the Seahawks did in coming back to beat Carolina. But Seattle is at home this week and they are a different team at CenturyLink Field. This game features two of the league’s up-and-coming star quarterbacks and two ferocious defenses. My guess is the two teams split the season series, with each team winning on their home turf. So Seattle wins a tight one here, say 20-17.