Seattle Seahawks at San Francisco 49ers, Candlestick Park, San Francisco, CA
Sunday, December 12, 2010, 4:05 pm EST, TV: FOX
Opening Line: 49ers -4
Current Line: 49ers -5.5
Opening Total: 41
Current Total: 41.5
Money Line: 49ers -245 / Seahawks +205
The San Francisco 49ers (4-8) dropped five straight games to begin the season, starting with an embarrassing 31-6 road loss to the Seattle Seahawks (6-6) in the opener. With the NFC West division title still up for grabs, the 49ers (-5.5) need to beat the Seahawks on Sunday and win the rest of their games to have any real shot at the playoffs.
Seattle is coming off a 31-14 home win over Carolina last week, although it was not easy early on. The Panthers jumped out to a 14-0 lead before the Seahawks rallied back behind the strong running of Marshawn Lynch, who ran for 83 yards and scored three touchdowns. Lynch’s performance was his best since Week 7 against Arizona and his second-highest rushing total of the season. He helped the team total a season-high 161 yards on the ground and overcome a below-average performance from quarterback Matt Hasselbeck.
Hasselbeck completed 17 of 30 passes for 229 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions, as he continued to throw to receivers not named Mike Williams. Seattle’s top target this season with 654 yards, Williams sprained his left ankle against Carolina and was already dealing with a strained left foot. To make matters worse, wide receiver Ben Obomanu suffered a laceration on his right hand that required stitches. Both Williams and Obomanu are listed as questionable.
San Francisco took another step backwards last week with a 34-16 loss at Green Bay. The 49ers were coming off a 27-6 win at Arizona the previous Monday night and took an early 6-0 lead, but the Packers rallied back a pair of touchdowns and never looked back. Quarterback Troy Smith continue to struggle – completing 10 of 25 passes for 194 yards with one touchdown and one interception – and he will be replaced in the lineup by original starter Alex Smith.
The 49ers miss running back Frank Gore, who was lost for the year with a fractured right hip two weeks ago against the Cardinals. Gore’s replacements against Green Bay included rookie Anthony Dixon and veteran Brian Westbrook, who each carried the ball nine times and combined for 64 yards. Gore had 38 rushing yards in the first game with the Seahawks this year but totaled 207 yards in the last home meeting a year ago.
Seattle is 5-2 straight-up and against the spread in the last seven meetings with San Francisco with the UNDER going 6-2-1 in the last nine games between the teams. However, the Seahawks are just 3-12 ATS in their last 15 road games, and the OVER has cashed in each of their last five games overall.
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