The San Francisco 49ers have an opportunity clinch the NFC West on the road against the division-rival Seattle Seahawks on Thursday night.
San Francisco has come away with six consecutive wins despite losing starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to an injury back in Week 13. As for the surprising Seahawks, they remain very much in the playoff race despite losing three of their past four games.
The Pacific Northwest has been the backdrop to many memorable games between these two division-rivals in recent years. With a ton on the line heading into Week 15, we expect that to be the case Thursday. Here’s a look at three bold predictions for this huge NFC West battle.
Related: San Francisco 49ers schedule and game-by-game predictions
San Francisco 49ers get to Geno Smith for two interceptions
It’s not a well-kept secret that Geno Smith is playing the best ball of his career in 2022. The former New York Jets’ second-round pick heads into Thursday night completing a league-best 71.5% of his passes with 25 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
However, we have seen a bit of regression on his part in recent weeks. With Seattle having lost three out of four, Smith has tallied four interceptions with three lost fumbles during that span. These are the same mistakes that seemed to define his earlier-career failures.
On the other side, San Francisco’s defense heads into Week 15 on an absolute roll. It has given up a total of 64 points during the team’s six-game winning streak. This span has seen San Francisco force two turnovers per outing.
Heading into Thursday, opposing quarterbacks have thrown 12 touchdowns compared to 14 interceptions against this unit. Defensive backs Charvarius Ward (77.3 QB rating allowed) and Talanoa Hufanga (four interceptions, 54.0 QB rating) are two of the primary reasons why. We boldly predict that each one will record an interception of Smith come Thursday night.
Related: Seattle Seahawks schedule and game-by-game predictions
Seattle Seahawks’ Tyler Lockett puts up rare 100-yard game against the 49ers
How consistently good has Tyler Lockett been for the Seattle Seahawks this season? He’s catching 71.7% of his targets and has dropped just one pass. This is a continuation of Lockett being among the most-underrated receivers the NFL has to offer.
Back in Week 1 against San Francisco, Lockett hauled in 9-of-11 targets for 107 yards despite Seattle being blown out by the score of 27-7. Throughout his career, the veteran has been tremendous against the Seahawks’ chief rival.
We’re not expecting this to change come Thursday night. Lockett will not be tasked with going up against Ward a majority of the time. Instead, he’ll be locking horns with a second-year cornerback in Deommodore Lenoir who has given up chunks of yardage at times this season (412 yards on 54 targets). Look for Lockett to cross the 100-yard plateau in this one.
Related: Sportsnaut’s Week 15 NFL power rankings
Christian McCaffrey paces the San Francisco 49ers with 200 yards
The Seattle Seahawks have a problem on defense heading into Thursday. In fact, they have several of them. Of those, 23 come in the form of Christian McCaffrey.
In the passing game, this newly-acquired 49ers star will be going up against a pair of linebackers who have been atrocious in coverage this season.
- Cody Barton: 90.2% completion allowed
- Jordyn Brooks: 126.7 QB rating allowed
We know Kyle Shanahan will find a way to get McCaffrey involved in the passing game with Deebo Samuel (ankle/knee) sidelined. We also know rookie 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy will rely on shorter passes and screens to get it done. With 1,400 total yards in 13 games this season and coming off a 153-yard outing against a better Buccaneers defense, look for McCaffrey to go for north of 200 as San Francisco clinches the NFC West.