McCaffrey (undisclosed) suited up and went through drills at Tuesday's practice, according to Matt Lively of CBS Sports Bay Area.
Juszczyk (finger) is not practicing Tuesday, Matt Barrows of The Athletic reports.
Bosa (knee) worked to the side on the practice field Monday and is expected to do the same Tuesday, with a return to practice planned for Wednesday, Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.
Kittle (Achilles) participated in practice Monday and plans to do so again Tuesday, David Lombardi of the San Francisco Standard reports.
49ers general manager John Lynch said Tuesday the team hopes to have Evans (groin) back at practice next week, David Lombardi of the San Francisco Standard reports.
Kight (undisclosed) reverted to the Seahawks' injured-reserve list Monday, according to the NFL's official transaction log.
Echols (undisclosed) cleared waivers and reverted to injured reserve Monday, per the NFL's official transaction log.
Smith (undisclosed) reverted to the Seahawks' injured-reserve list Monday, according to the NFL's official transaction log.
Lampe (undisclosed) reverted to the Seahawks' injured reserve list Monday, per the NFL's transaction log.
Zakelj (undisclosed) was placed on the 49ers' injured reserve Sunday.
Sam Darnold’s oblique injury has me very suspicious. If his ability to throw downfield is compromised, San Fran can look to stack the box and stop Seattle’s run game. If Drew Lock comes into this game, us Niners bettors will be jumping for joy to have a +7 ticket in our pockets. Despite all the 49ers injuries, I still think they can keep this within a score, or even pull off the upset. Kyle Shanahan and Mike MacDonald know each other extremely well, and played to scores of 17-13 and 13-3 in their first two meetings this season. I like the Under and the 49ers catching a TD on the spread.
It is uncertain how effective Sam Darnold will be tonight dealing with his oblique injury. This could up the value of Cooper Kupp, as the 49ers try and take away Jaxson Smith-Njigba. Kupp is not a high volume receiver, but did have his biggest catch of the last eight weeks against San Francisco in week eighteen for 24 yards. Take Kupp’s over.
The injury-riddled 49ers were dealt another blow with George Kittle tearing his Achilles, and now, they face a team that held them to 3 points just two weeks ago. Jake Tonges should be solid in Kittle’s place, and Ricky Pearsall being active will help across the middle of the field. Sam Darnold popping up with an oblique issue is curious but not a huge part of this handicap. Seattle is too familiar an opponent for San Francisco to fall by a TD, and the Niners should have a legitimate shot to win this game (moneyline sprinkle!). While we are not getting the best line with the hook, a TD with Kyle Shanahan Brock Purdy vs. Darnold is attractive, even if the Seahawks are great defensively.
Sam Darnold apparently hasn’t thrown a football since Thursday, with Drew Lock taking first team reps. This two teams know each other very well and yes, the Sportsline curse and all that jazz but here we are. As Darnold is expected to play, he may not be 100%. The 49ers are also without Fred Warner and George Kittle and San Francisco is the most public side in the Divisional Round. San Francisco has covered the spread in seven of its last 10 games, including in while the Seahawks are just 2-2 ATS in their last four. San Francisco is also 6-3 ATS in their last nine against Seattle.
The first meeting ended 17-13. (The total was 42.5.) The rematch two week ago wound up 13-3. Will the third time be the charm for points-starved followers of the rivalry? Probably not. San Fran's season-long injury woes continued with the loss of TE George Kittle, who caught a remarkable 83 percent of his targeted passes. Seattle QB Sam Darnold, whose playoff history is spotty, must fight through an oblique ailment. The Seahawks' defense is first-class while the offense regressed during the season's back half. This might come across as a modest total, given the 49ers' fluid offense. But with the absence of Kittle and the Seahawks' D dominating in the previous clashes, it's a tad high.
Sam Darnold is confident he'll be able to play tonight, but he also said he's never had an oblique injury before. The timing of the injury should keep him far below 100% if he plays, but I think there's a real chance we see Drew Lock in this game, if not starting then subbing in after Darnold is unable to continue. Even if Darnold is able to make it four quarters, he has struggled in big spots in the past two years and I could see Robert Saleh's team holding the Seahawks under 20 points and allowing the 49ers to cover or even win outright.
FanDuel. With George Kittle sidelined, Jake Tonges should assume the lions’ share of the work at tight-end for the 49ers. Tonges shone without the All Pro, accumulating 40+ yards in each of the last four games Tonges missed (including 58 and 60 yards in the two games started by Brock Purdy). He’ll be relied on today, as the Seahawks vulnerability in the passing game is against tight-ends. The Seahawks allowed the fifth most targets and sixth most yards to the position this season. I’d bet this line up to over 37.5 yards.
Though the Seahawks won this matchup two weeks ago, Kyle Shanahan did win at Seattle in opening week, and the 49er resilience was never more evident than last week at Philadelphia when Shanahan and Brock Purdy brilliantly improvised an upset of the Eagles. SF has played thru injuries all season and surged down the stretch once Purdy returned to active duty. Though the Seahawks have the top NFC seed, Sam Darnold still committed more giveaways (20) than any NFL QB, and only a couple of fortunate bounces prevented Darnold from authoring some huge mistakes two weeks ago in Santa Clara. Let us also remember than Shanahan has never lost a wild card or division round game (7-0!) as 49ers coach! Play 49ers
Kenneth Walker rushed for 97 yards against the 49ers in Week 18. He had a long run of 20 yards in that game. I like Walker to go over his longest rush, as he's an explosive running back known for picking up chunk gains. He went over this longest rush line in 11 of 17 games this season. The 49ers struggle against outside zone runs, which is Walker's bread and butter (38% of Walker’s runs this season have been outside zone). Look for him to exceed this line again on Saturday night.
DraftKings. As with most rush attempts props, I’m looking more at the game factors than the play. I expect the banged up 49ers offense to struggle to move the ball against the Seahawks top ranked defense. This should lead to more offensive plays for the Seahawks, who will look to exploit the 49ers injured front seven. Zach Charbonnet has cleared this line in 9/16 games this season, including both matchups against the 49ers. Kenneth Walker will get his touches, but I see Charbonnet as the best bet for volume, as he dominates the short yardage touches (41 to 24 with three yards or less to go, in common games played) and the fourth quarter carries (62 to 45). I have Charbs closer to 13 attempts.
This line is over at BetMGM and I'd be willing to play it up to 57.5. The recipe for the Seahawks will be to methodically march down the field with both of their running backs and the 49er bend/don't break defense is likely to oblige. To that end, we're likely to see both Walker and Charbonnet hit their rush attempt overs, but I like the explosive potential of Walker a bit more. Two weeks ago in San Francisco he went for 97 yards on 16 rush attempts and I think he gets similar work and at least 2/3rds of the efficiency in this one. Notable that the Seahawks OLine is getting healthier and that it's a likely positive game script for Seattle.
The 49ers run defense has added some experience but still should struggle to stop hard-charging runs like Charbonnet tends to make. I think Seattle leans into their fresh-legged running backs to control the game clock and pound San Francisco. Along with being a good downhill back, Charbonnet is their clear closer, landing notable edges both in terms of playing time and carries over Kenneth Walker in the fourth quarter of games they've both played in, especially when the Seahawks have a lead, which I expect to be the case on Saturday. Charbonnet has 12-plus attempts in nine games including both against the 49ers this year. Seattle's won 8 of those 9 games. I'd be OK playing this up to 12.5.
Seattle & San Fran played to the under in each of their first two meetings this season, and I expect more of the same in this Divisional Round matchup. The 49ers are now without their star TE George Kittle, and WR Ricky Pearsall remains ‘questionable’ to play. This #1 DVOA ranked Seahawks defense has been able to stifle Kyle Shanan’s offensive scheme. Despite all the injuries to the 49ers defense, they remain a capable unit that limited Seattle’s offense to 13 points in both matchups this season. Sam Darnold is expected to play, but appeared on the injury report with an oblique issue during Thursday’s practice. That type of injury is major cause for concern for a QB. Take the Under.
Cooper Kupp had a 24-yard catch against San Francisco in Week 18, putting him on an 8-4 run to this Over. The veteran wideout benefitted from the bye and should be able to make a big play against the 49ers, who are quite vulnerable to slot receivers. Go Over on his longest catch at 16.5 or lower.
This number feels low for Zach Charbonnet. He topped this total in the last three games, recording 10 receptions for 57 yards over that span. One of those games was against the 49ers when he caught four passes for 23 yards. San Francisco allowed the second most receptions per game to opposing running backs (5.5) during the regular season, so I expect Charbonnet to be targeted a few times on Saturday. If that's the case, I like his chances of going over 9.5 yards. Bet up to 10.5.
The 49ers suffered a big loss last week with the George Kittle injury, and the player who stepped up was Juszczyk. The fullback caught all four of his targets for 49 yards, and it was his third straight game with multiple targets, which happened in 11 of 18 games this year, including both Seattle games. The Seahawks have the personnel to force Brock Purdy to throw short, and Juszczyk has a good chance of being his outlet if Christian McCaffrey is smothered. I like hi chances of hitting multiple receptions again this week, especially at this reduced price at FanDuel.
The San Francisco 49ers ended the regular season with consecutive prime time games against Chicago and Seattle. They then traveled in a tough road win in the Wild Card round against Philadelphia. Expect Seattle to be able to build on week 18’s game plan where they ran the football for 180 yards. They’ll be more aggressive passing wise as Sam Darnold and the Seahawks look to take command early against the 49ers. Take his passing yards prop over.
Last 45.5 on our board. The weather looks pretty good if chilly in Seattle. Neither regular-season game came close to reaching this total, and I sure don't trust Sam Darnold to be very good in a playoff game. Seattle has the NFL's No. 1 scoring defense and is rested. The Niners are sans George Kittle, hurt in the upset in Philly last weekend. Brock Purdy is 2-3 vs. Mike Macdonald-coached teams (even when he was a DC in Baltimore) and averaging only 18.4 PPG in those. In his past five against the NFL's top-three scoring defenses including playoffs, Purdy's teams are averaging only 15.6 PPG.
I don't understand how this spread is 7.5 points. I mean, yes the 49ers are dealing with major injuries on both sides of the ball. But there is a commonality here that they have entering a game vs their division rival Seattle that'll help them be in position to keep this one tigher than the spread, which they will.
The 49ers and Seahawks have stayed under the total of their last three meetings. The two haven't even reached 38 points in any of those games, with the Seahawks winning two of them. The Seahawks won just two of the last nine games, however. It's the 49ers' offense that helped them get over the total in 10 games this season. The 49ers' defense has been nothing to brag about, except that they looked great against the Seahawks, holding them below 20 points or below in the last three games. The 49ers just beat the Eagles in Philly, and they go back to work Saturday night. They're going to give up a few scores and score a few more on their own. Over.
I’ll play contrarian here considering the two regular season matchups between these teams combined for only 46 points. Even without George Kittle, the 49ers offense should make adjustments and find success against the stellar Seattle defense. And on the other side, look for the running back duo of Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet to run wild against San Francisco’s battered defense. I don’t like to trust Sam Darnold much but I’ll give him a pass this week. Seahawks 29, 49ers 21.
Here's how I see it: The 49ers defense bends but doesn't break, and Brock Purdy makes the winning toss when the game matters, while Sam Darnold gets pinned for the loss. The 49ers have the momentum from winning in Philadelphia last week and will keep it going against the team they just lost to that cost them a bye and the number one seed. The extra work and beating the Eagles did the 49ers some good. The 7.5-point spread is crazy, but give me all those points and give me the over as well, as that's the only way the 49ers can win this game.
Purdy cleared this number in his last three games and in four of five. He's scoring with his legs and he's absolutely been looking to use them to pick up big third downs. He only ran twice against Seattle in the last game and still cleared this number. We're also pretty unlikely (based on the spread) to get knees here.I would almost guarantee this closes around 20.5 or thereabouts, so let's jump on this number early and watch Brock run wild against the Seahawks.
With George Kittle unfortunately out for the 49ers with a torn Achilles, Christian McCaffery becomes even more valuable as a receiver for Brock Purdy. In six full games this season without George Kittle, McCaffery averaged 68 receiving yards per game. He also went over this line in the games Kittle left early. That includes Week 1 against the Seahawks when he had 73 yards receiving. As strong as the Seahawks' defense is, they give up the most receptions to running backs and the 6th most receiving yards.
The rested Seahawks get to face a 49ers team that lost star TE George Kittle last week, and I want to be on the Under here. While the team survived without him earlier in the year, all of their 30+ point games came after his return. The Seahawks allowed the fewest points this season and dominated a 49ers offense without Trent Williams in the finale. The 49ers defense held up well against the Eagles, and I'm still looking to fade Sam Darnold in big moments after he struggled against the 49ers in Seattle's last game. I want to get this number before it drops below 45.
