Yo, Seahawks! The Time Is Now
Let’s Ring That Bell

At Seattle -9.5 San Francisco 43

Week 15 kicks off in the Great Northwest, where the Niners take the I-5 Express north to Seattle. Both teams had disappointing losses last week against very weak opponents. Maybe the 49ers can be excused (a little) since they’re a young rebuilding team. But for Coach Holmgren’s crew, this is it, no more dancing around ‘til playoffs arrive. They blew a chance for a bye during the Wild Card round. But even if they lose on Thursday, they’ll still crawl into the playoffs by virtue of playing in the NFL’s weakest division. (OK, maybe it’s a tie with the NFC North). But for a team looking to return to the Super Bowl, the time has arrived for them to put together a string of consistent victories in December.

Meanwhile, the Niners will be looking to stymie the ‘Hawks and throw the division into complete chaos. Seattle will win, but the key to whether they’ll cover is Hasselbeck’s ability to exploit the porous SF pass defense as well as Seattle’s ability to contain Frank Gore. It’s monsoon season in the Northwest, and the forecast is for heavy rains. However, that shouldn’t constitute a problem for the Seahawks. The last time they played at home under inclement conditions they had a field day against the Pack. As long as the Seattle offense can hold onto the football (three fumbles last week), they should be primed for a big win.

Projected Final Score: Seattle 27, San Francisco 13.