On Sunday night, the Seattle Seahawks hammered the San Francisco 49ers 29-3 in Seattle, to take early command of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. With this win, the Seahawks have to be the favorite in the NFC to go to the Super Bowl, after just 2 weeks of the National Football League (NFL) season. This was a defensive showcase, especially in the first half. The halftime score was 5-0.
The Seahawks stretched their lead to 12-0, with a 14 yard Marshawn Lynch run in the third quarter, before the 49ers even got on the board, with a 21 yard field goal. Then it was all Seahawks the rest of the way. They intercepted 49er quarterback Colin Kaepernick 3 times in the game, and held him to only 127 yards on 13 of 28 passing, although he did run for 87 yards. Seahawk quarterback Russell Wilson wasn’t much better. He threw for 142 yards on 8 of 19 passing, but did have a touchdown pass, along with 1 interception. He ran for 33 yards.
49er receiver Anquan Boldin who exploded for 13 receptions and 208 receiving last week against the Packers, was held to 1 catch for 7 yards. Seahawk cornerback Richard Sherman was the main reason for shutting down Boldin. Sherman played at Stanford, for present 49er head coach Jim Harbaugh, and isn’t shy about showing his dislike for Harbaugh in the media. He even says he switched from receiver to cornerback to get away from Harbaugh, who focused mainly on the offense at Stanford. Also, current Seahawk head coach Pete Carroll had a few run-ins with Harbaugh when he coached then Pac 10 rival USC.
Taking all this into account, the bad blood between the Seahawks and 49ers runs pretty deep in the NFC West. This makes for a great football rivalry. They will meet again, on December 6th but in San Francisco this time. They also could meet in the playoffs, because both teams are very likely to qualify for the postseason. But give round 1 to the Seahawks. After first week losses by the Atlanta Falcons and the Green Bay Packers, the Seahawks have to be the favorite to win the NFC, at this very early point in the season. Yes I know the Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints are both 2-0, but come on. They won’t even with their divisions.
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Sports With Frank Thomas
