Wilson, Seahawks Look to Rebound From First Loss

The San Francisco 49ers can become the fourth NFC West team to earn five wins if they upset the Seattle Seahawks as road underdogs on Sunday. The 49ers are going for their third straight victory as dogs while the Seahawks try to get their defense on track after a disappointing 37-34 overtime loss to the Arizona Cardinals as 3.5-point road favorites.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

There are injuries abound on both sides for this key divisional matchup, particularly ones that will impact the running games. San Francisco is expected to be without wide receiver Deebo Samuel (hamstring) and running back Jeff Wilson Jr. (ankle) while Seattle running back Chris Carson (foot sprain) is considered week to week. That said, the line has ticked down to Seahawks -3 while the total remains about the same at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark. The total could end up going higher if the teams need to throw more.

San Francisco News & Notes

The 49ers have bounced back nicely from a pair of surprising home defeats to the Philadelphia Eagles and Miami Dolphins as big favorites, beating the Los Angeles Rams and New England Patriots as small underdogs. San Francisco remains a very well-coached team under Kyle Shanahan and proved that again in a 33-6 rout of New England last Sunday.

The 49ers saw Wilson rush for a career-high 112 yards on 17 carries and score three touchdowns, proving that Shanahan’s system can work even with an undrafted third-year player getting most of the reps.

With Wilson joining Raheem Mostert (ankle) on IR, it will be up to Jerick McKinnon to power the rushing attack. The good news is that the Seahawks are still surrendering an NFL-worst 479.2 yards per game, so either McKinnon or quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo should be able to take advantage of that.

Seattle News & Notes

Seattle has been must-see TV through the first seven weeks of the season and will continue to be as long as quarterback Russell Wilson is on the field. The favorite to win his first league MVP award, Wilson has kept the Seahawks in every game they have played despite a porous defense that has been the worst in the NFL.

Last Sunday night’s matchup with the Cardinals was no exception, although he did throw multiple interceptions for the first time in six games that helped lead to the team’s first loss.

Regardless, Wilson threw for a season-high 388 yards, connecting on three touchdown passes to wide receiver Tyler Lockett (15 catches overall for 200 yards), and he also rushed for a season-high 84 yards at Arizona.

Seattle has gone 20-10 straight up (13-14-3 ATS) in its last 30 games as a home favorite of 3 points or less, according to the Odds Shark NFL Database, so the odds are good that the team rebounds in this spot.

Betting Pick: Seahawks -3

It may seem a little concerning that the Seahawks have lost four straight games to NFC West opponents, but they have dominated this series with the 49ers overall over the past decade. Seattle has won 11 of the last 13 games going back to 2014 and covered the spread in 14 of 18 dating back to 2011. The injuries are taking a bigger toll on San Francisco and impacting the team’s depth, so take the home team to win and cover.