49ers At Seahawks: Point Spread, Storylines, Prediction And More

Thursday's game is huge between the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks. (Photo by Jane ... [+] Gershovich/Getty Images)

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Both the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks head into Thursday night’s game in the Pacific Northwest reeling after ugly Week 5 losses.

San Francisco blew a 10-point fourth quarter lead at home against the Arizona Cardinals. It was just the latest example of Kyle Shanahan’s squad blowing it late. The 49ers now head into this primetime matchup with a mere 2-3 record.

After starting the season 3-0, Seattle has lost two consecutive heading into this one. That included a disheartening home loss to the lowly New York Giants on Sunday. Struggles running the ball coupled with a swiss cheese defense led to that loss.

Here, I preview the 49ers at Seahawks with a look at the point spread, game information and some top storylines. I will also provide a final prediction at the end.

49ers-Seahawks Preview: Point Spread, TV Information And More Date: Thursday, October 10 Time: 8:15 PM ET TV: Amazon Prime Point Spread: 49ers (-3.5) Top Storylines For San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks Matchup

Seattle boasts a one game lead over San Francisco in the NFC West as the two teams prepare for this primetime matchup. The backdrop includes perceived drama for the defending NFC champs amid struggles to open the season.

In Seattle, an inability to run the ball has put a ton of onus on quarterback Geno Smith. Can it change the dynamics in this one? Here, I check in on the top storylines for this Thursday Night Football matchup to open Week 6.

49ers Inability To Close Out Games

Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers must learn to close out games. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty ... [+] Images)

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Two of the 49ers’ three losses this season have come with them leading heading into the fourth quarter. Last week saw San Francisco blow a 10-point lead in the final stanza. Back in Week 3, Kyle Shanahan’s squad was up seven against the Los Angeles Rams heading into the fourth quarter. The 49ers also held a 10-point lead in the final stanza.

It really has been a continual theme for the 49ers under Shanahan. We already know about them blowing double-digit leads in the fourth quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl twice over the past half-decade. But it has now apparently transferred over to the regular season. Sunday’s game represented the sixth time San Francisco has blown a double-digit fourth quarter lead under Shanahan.

The primary focus this season has been struggles from the defense under new coordinator Nick Sorensen in protecting leads. Sorensen has drawn the ire of the fan base in Northern California, but Shanahan seems to be backing him up.

“I think he’s doing a real good job. I’ve been impressed with him since the beginning. Each week I like how he handles the defensive staff,” Shanahan hold reporters this week. “I like how the set up the practices and I’ve liked his game plans and I’ve liked how he’s called it.”

Regardless, something has to change on this front if the 49ers are going to overcome their early-season struggles and once again be seen as Super Bowl contenders. The status quo is not working.

Seahawks Struggles Running The Ball

The Seattle Seahawks must get Kenneth Walker move involved. (Photo by Rio Giancarlo/Getty Images)

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Geno Smith is averaging an NFL-high 40 pass attempts per game. He was forced to put it in the air a whopping 56 times back in Week 4 against the Detroit Lions. That’s just not sustainable. There is also one common denominator here. The lack of a consistent rushing attack in Seattle.

Last week saw Smith lead the Seahawks with a career-high 72 yards on four attempts. Starting running back Kenneth Walker gained 14 yards on a mere five carries.

"We all know we need to run the ball more," Macdonald told reporters this week. "Everybody knows that, our opponents know that. Our players in our locker room know that, (offensive coordinator Ryan) Grubb knows that, our coaches do, and I do.”

If Seattle fails to find this balance on offense, it will be a long night against the 49ers’ defense. The backdrop to the Seahawks’ struggles running it last week included Smith being sacked seven times. This just can’t happen in today’s NFL if you want to have sustained success.

Early-Season NFC West Barometer Game

At this somewhat early point in the season, pretty much every division is up in the air. However, it is somewhat surprising to see how clogged together the four NFC West squads are.

Seattle heads into Thursday night in first place with a 3-2 record. Both Arizona and San Francisco are 2-3. Meanwhile, the injury-plagued Los Angeles Rams find themselves at 1-4.

In particular, I am intrigued to see if Seattle can gain some separation. Depending on what Arizona does against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, a win over San Francisco could open up a two-game lead in the division.

For the 49ers, a loss here would be about as ugly as it could get before November. They entered the season as the odds-on favorite to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. A loss would make winning the division that much more difficult, creating issues if San Francisco were to play meaningful January football.

Drama In 49ers-Land?

Any time a team with Super Bowl expectations struggles out of the gate, drama can take hold. Just look at the New York Jets firing head coach Robert Saleh after just five games.

While it’s nothing concrete like that, reports indicate that not everything is right in Northern California right now.

“This year, for sure, it feels weird. It feels real, real weird. I mean, hopefully it’ll turn around, but it’s just real peculiar,” cornerback Charvarius Ward told Mike Silver of the San Francisco Chronicle. “We’ve got a lot of talent, and we’re losing games we’re supposed to win.”

49ers cornerback Charvarius Ward pointed to potential drama. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

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Ward continued by indicating that he “knows exactly” what the problem is, but would not detail it.

This drama extended to before the start of the season. Star wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk held in from training camp. He refused to practice amid a contract stalemate. Left tackle Trent Williams was a holdout altogther.

Regardless, the onus is on Shanahan to make sure that this doesn’t snowball. A loss to Seattle on Thursday would likely create that effect.

Final Prediction For 49ers At Seahawks

Both teams are coming off ugly losses and must take to the field on a short week. Typically, this would favor the hosts.

I am not buying that. The expectation is that we’ll see a more 49ers-friendly crowd in Seattle Thursday night. San Francisco is also in more of a must-win mode than its division rival. This should make the difference.

49ers: 31 Seahawks: 20