What better way to kick off the NFL season than playing your biggest division rival? That’s what we get this week in the NFC West when the San Francisco 49ers travel up to Washington to face the Seattle Seahawks for Week 1! 

The new look 49ers will attempt to hold things together after shedding some players to pay quarterback Brock Purdy. They’ll be without both Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel for the first time in years. The Seattle Seahawks have an even more revamped offense with a new scheme under Klint Kubiak and a new quarterback in Sam Darnold. Old rivals with a lot of new faces. 

Even if you just want to see the 49ers vs. Seahawks odds and have 49ers vs. Seahawks picks of your own, don’t forget to scroll down at the end to see how you can scoop up a $1,500 BetMGM Sportsbook sign-up bonus! 

49ers vs. Seahawks Predictions For NFL Week 18, Sunday Night Football

Given that these are NFC West rivals, they play at least twice a year, every year. Sometimes they even match up in the playoffs, like they did in the 2022-2023 season. This will be the first time new SEA offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak faces off against Kyle Shanahan since he left following the 2023 season. 

The 49ers had actually won six in a row starting in the 2022 season, including that playoff game. But the Seahawks got the best of them in the most recent matchup, ending the 49ers' streak with a 20-17 win last November. This year, they bookend the season by playing Week 1, then again in Week 18. 

 

 

 

San Francisco 49ers: Christian McCaffrey Calf Concerns

The biggest story coming out of San Francisco this week is the one we feared the most. After missing a huge chunk of last season with double tendonitis in his calves, Christian McCaffrey popped up on the injury report as limited by a calf issue. Both he and George Kittle have gone overseas in the past to have stem cell treatments on their calves, which has us nervous any time those particular injuries pop up. The 49ers did trade for Brian Robinson from the Commanders, so they do have an insurance plan. 

The 49ers will be without Brandon Aiyuk, so they will likely lean heavily on Jauan Jennings and second-year man Ricky Pearsall at wide receiver. The WR3 is generally irrelevant given the amount of work fullback Kyle Juszczyk and blocking tight end Luke Farrell are expected to play. They extended George Kittle, and he’ll likely have to carry a bigger load than usual in the early going here.

The 49ers grabbed some help on the other side for Nick Bosa when they drafted Mykel Williams in the first round of the draft this year. Robert Saleh returned to the 49ers after a brief stint with the New York Jets, so hopefully he can bring some life to a 49ers defense that struggled against the run last year. 

Seattle Seahawks: Klint Kubiak’s Run First Approach

The Seattle Seahawks had arguably the worst continuity of any offensive line in 2024. I mean, one of their linemen, Connor Williams, literally retired during the season. They’re hoping that bringing in Klint Kubiak and Rick Dennison, along with drafting Grey Zabel in the first round, can turn that unit around. As we discussed in this article on Kenneth Walker, Kubiak can create huge holes with his zone run scheme, then, if you crowd the line up scrimmage, he will punish you with a man concept, like a pulling guard or tackle. 

There have been some changes in weaponry as DK Metcalf was traded and Tyler Lockett left for the Titans. Kubiak also uses the fullback and blocking tight ends, so we’ll expect to see Jaxon Smith-Njigba across from new member Cooper Kupp in a lot of two-WR sets. AJ Barner will likely be your blocking TE with Elijah Arroyo mixing in for some pass work. The split between Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet has yet to be determined, but both are capable backs. The biggest question, of course, is quarterback Sam Darnold, though he did receive MVP votes last year as a Viking.

After some midseason changes that included trading Jerome Baker to Tennessee and releasing Tyrel Dodson, the Seahawks' defense looked a little better down the stretch last year. They’ll attempt to build on that with a fairly strong secondary, one that also added rookie Nick Emmanwori in the second round this year. 

 

 

 

49ers vs. Seahawks Odds, Spreads, Total & Betting Lines

As promised, the latest 49ers vs. Seahawks odds can be found below courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook:

 

 

 

49ers vs. Seahawks: Under 43.5 (-110 at BetMGM Sportsbook)

I actually like the Seahawks to potentially win this one or at least cover the 2.5 spread. I’m a fan of Klint Kubiak’s scheme, and I believe that it will be friendly for Sam Darnold. But it is a division game with a lot of new faces, so the bet I like even more than that is the under on 43.5 points.

Division rivals naturally see each other more often than other teams. But it’s not that often that two coaches who recently coached together and run similar schemes play each other. Both Klint Kubiak and Kyle Shanahan use very similar personnel with the fullbacks and blocking tight ends. And they use a lot of similar concepts like pre-snap motion and zone blocking schemes. These teams know each other better than any other in the league.

They are not only both teams that like to run, but also both teams that are a bit susceptible to the run. There are a lot of new faces in this game, so I expect there to be mistakes, and I expect it to be a bit of a slugfest. So my favorite bet in this one is the under on 43.5.
 

 

 

49ers vs. Seahawks Injury Report & Latest News

Finally, let’s take a quick look at the projected starting lineups for both teams heading into tonight’s matchup:

SF 49ers

SEA Seahawks

 

 

 

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