The San Francisco 49ers had it all in front of them on a silver platter.
A win on Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks would have clinched the NFC West title and secured the top seed in the NFC Playoffs, ensuring home-field advantage throughout the postseason.
Rather than enjoying a first-round BYE and a potential extended stay at home, the 49ers will be hitting the road this week with their season on the line.
During Monday morning’s edition of The Carmichael Dave Show with Jason Ross, The Athletic’s Matt Barrows joined the show to share his thoughts on the 49ers’ costly loss to the Seahawks and look ahead to Sunday’s Wild Card matchup against the Eagles in Philadelphia.
While the 49ers’ loss to the Seahawks derailed San Francisco’s plans of healing up during a first-round BYE, Barrows says he does expect reinforcements to arrive on Sunday in Philadelphia.
Injured wide receiver Ricky Pearsall (knee) and outside tackle Trent Williams (hamstring) did not suit up against Seattle, but both players will go through practice this week with intentions of returning for the Wild Card round.
“My sense is that Ricky Pearsall and Trent Williams would be able to play in the playoffs,” Barrows told Carmichael Dave and Jason Ross. “Which is a huge deal. I think part of the reason the 49ers offense was so anemic is that their offensive tackles were just giving up so much pressure to the Seahawks. Having Trent Williams back there will be a big deal.”
(Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)
The Seahawks applied pressure to a 49ers offense that looked unrecognizable on Saturday, being held to just three points on just 120 passing yards and 53 rushing yards.
While San Francisco may get Pearsall and Williams back in Philadelphia, they will be without linebacker Tatum Bethune for the rest of the season due to a groin injury.
The 49ers may also be without linebackers Dee Winters (ankle) and Luke Gifford (quad) against the Eagles, but the status of both players will be updated as the week progresses.
Be sure to listen to and watch the entire interview with The Athletic’s San Francisco 49ers beat writer, Matt Barrows, right here or on the Sactown Sports 1140 YouTube page.
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Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet combined to rush for 171 yards, Sam Darnold played turnover-free and Seattle’s defense was dominant as the Seahawks clinched the NFC West title and the conference’s top playoff seed with a 13-3 victory against the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday night in Santa Clara, Calif.
Jason Myers kicked two field goals and Charbonnet scored the game’s lone touchdown for the Seahawks (14-3), who won their seventh consecutive game.
“That’s definitely a point of pride that we can have at least one home playoff game in front of the 12s,” Seattle coach Mike Macdonald said after the game in reference to Seahawks fans. “They’ve been dynamite this year. They’ve been absolutely just incredible. We’re really excited to stay home.”
Walker rushed for 97 yards on 16 carries and Charbonnet added 74 on 17 attempts. Darnold was 20-of-26 passing for 198 yards, with Jaxon Smith-Njigba making six catches for 84 yards.
The 49ers (12-5), who had won six in a row and scored more than 40 points in each of their previous two games, were limited to 173 yards of total offense and nine first downs.
Seahawks handle 49ers to earn division title, NFC’s top seed
Upcoming San Francisco 49ers Schedule
Sunday January 11th – NFC Wild Card Round – @ Philadelphia Eagles – 1:30 PM PT
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