Both Coming Off Wins, Seattle Seahawks To Host San Francisco 49ers

NFL News - December 2nd, 2009 - Written by John

With as vulnerable identities as shown by the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks, it can turn into an enigma when deciding who will have the advantage.

So much so, that even Vegas can't decide on Week 13 NFL Betting Odds on this game. This week's divisional game in Seattle is labeled a pick 'em in the early lines on BetUS, with a total of 41 1/2. The Niners are 7-2-3 ATS in their last 12 games, and are 5-1-2 ATS in their last eight NFC games.

Meanwhile, Seattle has had far less success against the conference, going 2-6 ATS in it's last eight.

For the San Francisco 49ers, it's been a streaky year with blowout wins over the Jacksonville Jaguars and blowout losses to the Atlanta Falcons. With Alex Smith at quarterback, the offense has steadily improved and become competitive for the last five-and-a-half weeks. But it hasn't translated into wins, losing four of it's last six by an average of five points each. The Niners actually led the Indianapolis Colts midway through the second half before Joseph Addai was needed for a touchdown on a halfback pass.

Vernon Davis has been one of the better tight ends this season, catching 57 passes for 670 yards and nine touchdowns to lead the team. His nine scores is tied for the NFL lead with Reggie Wayne and Larry Fitzgerald, and has clearly benefited from Michael Crabtree's addition to the team. Six of his touchdowns have come since Crabtree's first game with the team in Week Seven.

The Seattle Seahawks pose a similar threat through the air, but again haven't been able to keep up with division-leader Arizona. Seattle has lost three of their four games against the NFC West, including a 23-10 loss to the Niners in Week Two. But it was able to edge out the St. Louis Rams last week, getting a rare defensive touchdown on an interception by Josh Wilson.

Justin Forsett was the star of the game, running for a career-high 130 yards and two touchdowns in the win. He took a lot of pressure off quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, who threw for only 102 yards, his lowest ever when throwing at least 25 times.

With the acquisition of Pro Bowler T.J. Houshmanzadeh, Hasselbeck hasn't been able to find a rhythm, combining for only 632 receiving yards, and Houshmanzadeh is projected for his lowest season yardage since 2002.

Nate Burleson actually leads the Seahawks with 708 yards and three touchdowns.

Seattle is out of the playoff picture, but at 5-6, San Francisco still has an outside shot at claiming the second wild card slot. It already lost to Green Bay, which would be it's main competitor, and with a relatively easy remaining schedule for the Packers, the Niners would likely need to win out and finish with 10 wins. Not impossible, considering they close the season with Detroit and St. Louis.

The winning team in this rivalry has done so by double-digits in five of the last six meetings.