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Seahawks visit 49ers Thursday night
By: Zach Cohen - StatFox
Published: 11/27/2014  at  5:59:00 AM
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SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (7-4)
at SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (7-4)

Kickoff: Thursday, 8:30 p.m. ET
Line: Even, Total: 40

In a rematch of last year's NFC Championship, two teams that are in the thick of the playoff race will clash Thursday night when the 49ers host the Seahawks.

Here is the BetDSI Sportsbook betting preview for Monday night:

Seattle beat the Cardinals 19-3 last week to improve to 4-1 SU (2-3 ATS) in its past five games, while San Francisco escaped past the Redskins 17-13 at home to win its third straight contest (2-1 ATS). Both of these teams will be desperate for a victory in this game, as they’re both competing for what could be the same spot in the playoffs. The Seahawks have gotten the best of the 49ers recently, winning three of the past four meetings SU and covering in all of them, including the 23-17 win in the NFC title game in January. Seattle has also covered in six straight in this series. However, San Francisco has won five straight home meetings in this series dating back to 2009. This matchup should be low scoring as both teams are top-10 in scoring defense. The Seahawks are 9-1 ATS as an underdog over the past three seasons and 15-6 ATS off a home win in that timeframe. Meanwhile, the 49ers are 15-6 ATS after playing a game at home over the past three seasons and 18-7 ATS versus good offenses (350+ YPG) under head coach Jim Harbaugh. Seattle could be thin up front with C Max Unger (knee) and G James Carpenter (ankle) both questionable, while NT Glenn Dorsey (arm), CB Tramaine Brock (hamstring) and OT Anthony Davis (concussion) are all listed as questionable for the 49ers.

Who will win this NFC Championship rematch? For the answer, connect to NFL Best Bets for all the StatFox Experts picks throughout the 2014 regular season and playoffs. The experts have remained hot over the past 10 weeks, combining for a 56% ATS mark (85-68). StatFox Scott is 63% ATS (25-15) in Best Bets during this timeframe, and 58% ATS (28-20) on the season. StatFox Dave is 57% ATS (25-19) in Best Bets during these 10 weeks to improve to 55% ATS (29-24) on the season, while StatFox Brian continues to roll in NFL Totals with a strong 60% record (21-14) for the season. StatFox Gary is 8-2 ATS in his past three weeks of NFL Best Bets.

The Seahawks picked up a big victory over the Cardinals on Sunday and their defense really stepped it up in that game, by not allowing a touchdown and holding the Cardinals to just 204 total yards. They are now allowing just 208.5 passing yards per game (3rd in NFL) and 88.4 rushing yards per game (6th in NFL). They’ll need to be prepared to stop the run against this 49ers team, but they’ve been very sound doing so in recent weeks. Offensively, QB Russell Wilson (2,230 yards, 14 TD, 5 INT) will need to throw the ball well against this San Francisco defense. Wilson threw for 211 yards and a touchdown on 17-of-22 passing in the win over Arizona. He was very efficient and made the throws he needed to in order to win the game. He also rushed for 73 yards on just 10 carries. If Wilson is playing that well then this team is extremely tough to beat. One guy who wasn’t very productive against the Cardinals was RB Marshawn Lynch (852 yards, 9 TD). Lynch had been on a tear heading into the game, but rushed for just 39 yards on 15 carries against what is one of the better rushing defenses in the league. This 49ers team is equally as tough against the run, but Lynch galloped for 109 yards on 22 carries (5.0 YPC) and 1 TD in the NFC Championship Game and scored five total touchdowns in the three meetings with San Francisco last year.

The 49ers have had their rough patches this season, but they’ve now won three straight after hanging on to beat the Redskins last week. This defense has been a handful to play against this season, allowing just 207.2 passing yards per game (2nd in NFL) and 92.9 rushing yards per game (7th in NFL). Last week, this unit held the Redskins to just 213 total yards, and this game has the makings of a defensive slugfest. One player who stepped up in a big way offensively was WR Anquan Boldin (65 rec, 825 yards, 4 TD). People continue to rule the 34-year-old out because of his age, but he has not stopped producing this season. He had nine catches for 137 yards and a touchdown last week, and had a team-high 53 receiving yards and touchdown in the NFC title game loss in Seattle. QB Colin Kaepernick (2,615 pass yards, 15 TD, 6 INT) has been finding Boldin all over the field, but he’ll need to do a better job of spreading it around against Seattle’s zone-based defense. In the Jan. 19 defeat in this series, he threw for only 153 yards (6.4 YPC) and a pair of interceptions. Anything he can add on the ground will help his team as well, but he may need to do a lot more than planned if RB Frank Gore (684 rush yards, 2 TD) isn’t running the ball effectively again. Gore rushed for just 36 yards on 12 carries against the Redskins and also lost a fumble in the game. The 49ers will likely give him a big chance to redeem himself as long as he’s 100 percent recovered from his banged up knee. Gore found no running room in the NFC Championship loss, carrying the football 11 times for a pathetic 14 yards.


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