SEATTLE – The last time they took on the San Francisco 49ers, the Seattle Seahawks had a singular goal in mind.
That was three weeks ago, and the Seahawks have since put that goal to rest.
Seattle (10-2) has already accomplished one feat by winning the NFC West title – for the second year in a row, in fact – and so today’s meeting with the 49ers is about something a little bit bigger.
“Homefield advantage,” defensive tackle Chartric Darby said, referring to his team’s potential to wrap up the NFC’s No. 1 seed heading into the playoffs. “Homefield advantage is a big thing.
“Once you gain homefield advantage, then you’ve taken it to the next level. Then everybody has to come through Seattle to get to the big dance. That’s what you want.”
At 10-2, the Seahawks currently hold the best record in the NFC by one game with four to go. They’d like to finish off their sweep of the NFC West with a win over the 49ers today, but there are bigger fish to fry from an overall perspective.
That’s not the only change from the Nov. 20 meeting between these two teams. From the 49ers’ perspective, this game is more about building for the future than trying to win the West.
San Francisco (2-10) has nine new starters from the meeting three weeks ago: six on offense, and three on defense. Four of the new starters are rookies, with quarterback Alex Smith being the most notable.
Smith was the first overall pick in the April draft, but his rookie season has been slowed by a knee injury. He missed the last game with Seattle but returned seven days ago and completed 16 of 24 passes for 185 yards, with three interceptions.
San Francisco has also added two rookie offensive linemen to the starting lineup for today’s game.
“I think we have good young players that are continuing to get better,” 49ers coach Mike Nolan said. “This is giving them the opportunity to. Every game is a new experience for them, to some degree.”
Although the 49ers have had a forgettable season – they’ve lost 10 of 11 since the season-opening win over St. Louis – they almost pulled off the NFC West’s biggest upset when Seattle came to town three weeks ago. That game saw the Seahawks lead most of the way, only to allow the 49ers to get within a two-point conversion of going to overtime.
Fortunately for the Seahawks, the close call resulted in another win, and now they bring an eight-game winning streak into today’s game. Seattle has a chance to extend that to a franchise-record nine games in a row and could be the first team since the 1999 Rams to go unbeaten in the NFC West (St. Louis nearly pulled it off again last year but lost to Arizona in Week 15).
But the Seahawks aren’t so much concerned with that as they are the possibility of a bye and two home games in the postseason. St. Louis and Arizona are already in the past, and today will mark the last time the Seahawks give much thought to San Francisco.
These days, teams like Chicago, Carolina and Tampa Bay are of bigger concern during the stretch run.
“We must keep on winning because there are good teams – Chicago, Carolina, there’s a bunch of teams there that are shooting for the same thing,” coach Mike Holmgren said. “That’s the big picture that I’m focusing in on now.”
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