49ers will beat Seahawks Thursday night

Amid+the+Action+by+Kainoa+Deguilmo

Amid the Action by Kainoa Deguilmo

By Kainoa Deguilmo, sports writer

Tomorrow night, the Seattle Seahawks will travel to Santa Clara to play the 49ers at Levi’s Stadium at 2:25. Last time they met at Levi’s Stadium was on Thanksgiving last year, and they beat San Francisco 19-3.

This year, both these teams are struggling. Two years ago, these teams were considered dominant powerhouses known for their dual-threat quarterbacks and their gritty defenses. Last year, San Francisco regressed, falling to a record of 8-8. The Seahawks advanced to the Super Bowl for the second year in a row, facing the New England Patriots. They made perhaps the worst sports call in history, not giving the ball to Marshawn Lynch on the opposite 2-yard line, and threw a game-ending interception instead.

This year, both these teams look very different, as they both are at the bottom of the NFC West. I’m taking the 49ers to win on Thursday night.

The Seahawks quarterback is 124 for 180 with seven touchdowns. He has 1,443 passing yards on the season. Thomas Rawls–that’s right. It’s NOT Marshawn Lynch, a.k.a. “Beast Mode,” leading the team in rushing. He has 334 yards on 59 carries. He is currently averaging 5.7 yards per carry, and he has one touchdown on the season.

Former Saints player Jimmy Graham leads Seattle in receiving. He has 344 yards with 29 catches. He is averaging 11.9 yards per catch and has two touchdowns on the season.

Colin Kaepernick, San Francisco’s quarterback, has completed 111 out of 178 attempts and has a total of 1,329 yards on the season. He has thrown six touchdown passes. Carlos Hyde leads the team in rushing with 430 yards on 104 carries, and averaging 4.1 yards per carry. He has three touchdowns on the season. Anquan Boldin leads the team in receiving with 333 yards on 28 catches. He averages 11.9 yards per catch and has two touchdowns so far this year.

I’m taking the 49ers because they just took a big stride in terms of playing and getting into their groove. They beat the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday 25-20 at Levi’s Stadium, while the Seahawks lost to Carolina 27-23 at their own home game at CenturyLink field in Washington.

The 49ers will be playing at home again, where they just had success earlier this week, and they could easily find it again.

In the meantime, Seattle had a hard time covering tight end Greg Olsen.

Plus the 49ers have weapons of their own on the offensive side of the ball. Torrey Smith and Anquan Boldin force defenses to stretch out, and that provides windows for Kaepernick; however, San Francisco will have to do a good job of containing Jimmy Graham and Russell Wilson, who can make plays with their legs.

I’m taking San Francisco to win and go to 3-4, but the game will be close, no doubt.

Update: Seahawks 20, 49ers 3