That was also before McC arrived, so I suppose you and I need to remember that fact.
When looking for reasons why the Seahawks can beat the 49ers in Saturday’s playoff game, I feel like I’m on a beach with a metal detector, sweeping back and forth, searching for any little nugget I can find.
It’s much easier to find reasons why the 49ers can beat the Seahawks. My metal detector would be beeping non-stop, unearthing Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, Deebo Samuel, 49ers No. 1 ranked defense, 49ers at home, 49ers favored by 10, Brock Purdy and a team that has won 10 in a row.
But I’m trying to build a case for a monumental and unprecedented upset in the NFL playoffs because, as you know, a No. 7-seeded team has never beaten a No. 2 team, undoubtedly because this is only the second year each conference has had seven playoff teams.
A 7 will beat a 2 at some point, and if it happens Saturday in the NFC game, I’m guessing most of us will fall over dead, shocked by such an unexpected outcome.
But can we agree that the Seahawks have a better shot to win than Miami, the AFC’s seventh-seeded team and a 13 1/2-point underdog at Buffalo? The Dolphins are starting a third-string quarterback and roll into the playoffs having lost five of their last six.
The Seahawks can counter by saying they enter the playoffs in a bit better shape after winning their last two games even though wise guys could justifiably wonder: “Big deal, you beat the Jets with Mike White at quarterback and the Rams with Baker Mayfield.”
If you keep reading you’ll find good news when it comes to the Seahawks, a variety of historical facts and figures and other impertinent details that help form a flimsy case for an upset. But I would argue that a flimsy case is better than no case at all.
— You’ve heard all week how tough it is to beat a team three times in one season, but that’s not true, and it’s not false either. The 49ers beat the Seahawks in two games this year, but teams that have swept the season series were only 12-7 when they met again in the playoffs. So yes, San Francisco’s on the 12 side of things here, but Seattle’s on the 7 side, and winning seven games out of 19 is more than I thought it would be for the swept team.
— Since 1990, rookie QBs making their first playoff start are 10-17, including 3-10 in the last decade, this according to The Action Network. This is the situation for 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy. Never mind that he’s 5-0 as a starter thus far and looks rather unfazed, unruffled and un-whatever else.
— The 49ers, as mentioned, finished the regular season with a 10-game winning streak. But again, from The Action Network, in the last 20 years 15 teams entered the playoffs with a 10-plus-game winning streak. Those teams went 7-8 in their first playoff game, a good sign for the Hawks.
