Inside the matchup Seahawks vs. 49ers

Seattle is once again on the road this week. This time against a San Francisco team that lost to Green Bay last week in the game’s final seconds. The Seahawks (1-2) and 49ers (2-1) are looking up in the standings at the Rams and Cardinals, who are undefeated on the season but play each other next week. So, this is an excellent opportunity for one of these teams to improve in the division with a win.

At quarterback for the 49ers is Jimmy Garoppolo. Garoppolo played in only six games last season, missing several games with a high ankle sprain. He has never been a very mobile quarterback, and the recent injury history hasn’t helped. With all the running back injuries, don’t be surprised if backup quarterback Trey Lance gets a few snaps in critical situations next week. Lance was the third overall pick in last year’s draft from North Dakota State University. For decades now, NDSU’s offense has relied on developing quarterbacks that can run.

Like last year, Seattle’s biggest problem is once again their defense. In three games, the Seahawks have allowed four hundred forty combined passing and rushing yards which ranks last among all teams. While the pass defense hasn’t been great, the rushing defense has been worse. The Seahawks rank 30th out of thirty-two teams giving up an average of one hundred fifty-five yards per game. Last week they gave up one hundred and twelve yards to Alexander Mattison, who had only rushed for thirteen total yards on the season. He was filling in for the Vikings’ primary running back Dalvin Cook, who had an injury.

The good news for Seattle is that the 49ers running back position is currently an even bigger mess. Raheem Mostert is out for the season with a knee injury. Jeff Wilson Jr., the team’s leading rusher last season, is expected to be out until at least midseason also with a knee injury. JaMycal Hasty was put on the injured reserve list on September 25th with a high ankle sprain, and Elijah Mitchell’s status is currently listed as questionable with a shoulder injury. Finally, Trey Sermon was also added to the injury report with a concussion. The 49ers have signed three additional running backs this week and now have ten running backs in some capacity on their roster. As for who might receive the most playing time this week, it is hard to tell. This week’s possible list of running backs include Trey Sermon, Trenton Cannon, Jacques Patrick, Kerryon Johnson, Chris Thompson, and Josh Hokit. This is a mix of special teams players, a former XFL player, and players that have had injury histories with little NFL experience. If the Seahawks defense continues to have problems stopping the run against this group, it will be a very long season for Seahawks fans.