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In today's NFL, fans and media alike become deeply infatuated with any QB who can scramble and push the ball down the field successfully. The league has designed the rules of the game to bolster offensive output. This can be seen every Sunday, as mediocre QBs put up numbers that eclipse the legends of yesteryear on a regular basis. No one has played the QB position better than Wilson has in 2020, but football isn't a game about the dominance of one single athlete. The highlights will grab the headlines, but the deficiencies of an unbalanced team will ultimately sink a football team and expose it as a pretender, rather than a contender.
Through 6 weeks, the Seahawks sat atop the NFC, presenting a pantomimed version of pro football. Always dramatic, always entertaining, but never displaying a complete team with the ability to rise to a championship level. They are a made for TV franchise and their loss to Arizona last night reminded us of that once again. Thirty-four points wasn't enough. A 10 point lead with 5:26 left on the clock wasn't enough. There is no lead truly safe when you field a defense as pathetic as the Seatlle Seahawks do. Take a look at the points Seattle has allowed to its 6 opponents: Atlanta (1-6) 25 pts, New England (2-4) 30 pts, Dallas (2-5) 31 pts, Miami (3-3) 23 pts, Minnesota (1-5) 26 pts, Arizona (5-2) 37 pts. As one can see, Seattle lets up a lot of points to everyone it plays. Also, it hasn't beaten a team with a winning record. The combined record of the teams it beat this season is 9-23. Not only do the Seahawks give up a lot of points (28.7 ppg, 23rd in the NFL), but they are dead last in the league in yards allowed, allowing a dense 479 yards per game, 54 more yards than the 31st-ranked Atlanta Falcons. Bottom line: Seattle's defense is absolutely atrocious. A pathetic excuse for an NFL-caliber unit.
If I know this, have faith that Kyle Shanahan can see every hole in this junior varsity joke of a defense. Fresh off of annihilating the New England Patriots and the best defensive coach of all time, the 49ers will be salivating to take the field against the Seahawks this Sunday. With absolutely no pass-rush to be found, 49ers QB Jimmy Garopplo will have all day to find the plethora of play-makers that Seattle will simply have no answers for. While San Francisco is dealing with an unbelievable slew of injuries, the 49ers have astonishingly put together a legitimately stout defense. Absent 7 defensive starters on Sunday, the 49ers held the Patriots to just 6 points at home. Though the 49ers have a major blemish on their defensive record (43-17 loss to Miami in Week 5) it seems that the 49ers have buried that blunder due to the presence of CBs Jason Verrett and Emmanuel Moseley. The 49ers' worst losses of the season came when Moseley was sidelined with a head injury. With him on the field, it is evident this team's pass defense becomes one of the best in the league. The 49ers will need these two to step up again on Sunday, as Seattle brings the #1 pass offense to challenge the 49ers' #3 pass defense.
Sunday's game at Century Link Field may be one of the most important of the 2020 season for determining who will win the NFC West. Not only does it represent the half-way point of the season, but Seattle's following opponents will be: at Bills, at Rams, and Cardinals. Not a single easy game to be found. If Seattle falls to San Francisco, it could find itself in a bit of a tailspin. The NFC West tightened up on Sunday, with all teams within 1 game of each other in the win column. These division games will be pivotal to declaring the champion of, what looks to be, the best conference in pro football. The 49ers have a golden opportunity on Sunday as they can push themselves closer to the playoffs and knock Seattle out of first place while doing so.
- Gilbert Brink
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Written by:49ers outsider, residing in the Hudson Valley, representing 30+ years of the 49ers experience
