Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll had some eye-opening comments about the team’s playoff opponents, the San Francisco 49ers.
The Seattle Seahawks did their part last week, defeating the Los Angeles Rams in overtime to keep their playoff hopes alive. All they needed was for the Green Bay Packers to lose on Sunday Night Football.
Sure enough, the Detroit Lions the Packers 20-16, giving the Seahawks the No. 7 seed. With that, the Seahawks will be playing in the Wild Card Round, where they will face the rival San Francisco 49ers.
After the Seahawks clinched their playoff berth, Carroll thanked the Lions for helping them out and said they were “unfortunately” playing the 49ers.
Pete Carroll says Seahawks ‘unfortunately’ facing 49ers in playoffs
“Coach [Dan] Campbell did a great job with his crew, and they played a fantastic football game to get the win to give us a chance, so we’ll try to do something with it. Unfortunately, we’re playing the Niners, and they’re loaded,” said Carroll. “They’re loaded and healthy and on a roll and about as hot as you can possibly get and doing it in really commanding fashion too with a young quarterback who’s doing it so well.”
The 49ers have overcome the odds in terms of the hits they took on the quarterback depth chart. They started off the season with Trey Lance at quarterback, but he suffered a fractured ankle in the team’s Week 2 game against the Seahawks. They had Jimmy Garoppolo fill in, and he led the team to seven wins in 10 starts, but he suffered a broken foot in Week 13 against the Miami Dolphins. They have since turned to rookie Brock Purdy, and they’ve done nothing but win games.
Purdy, the final selection in the 2022 NFL Draft, has gone a perfect 5-0 in his starts for the 49ers this season. It certainly helps that he has some incredible talent to pass the football to in tight end George Kittle, running back Christian McCaffrey, and wide receivers Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk. In those starts, Purdy recorded 1,098 passing yards, 11 touchdowns, and two interceptions while completing 68.5 percent of his passes.
The Seahawks offense played a role in the team making it to the playoffs. They had an incredible season from quarterback Geno Smith, who made the Pro Bowl for the first time in his career. Not to mention that they have some top pass-catchers in D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, and a potent running game with rookie Kenneth Walker.
While that’s all well and good, the Seahawks offense will play a 49ers defense that is statistically the best in football. This season, they have allowed just 300.6 yards and 16.3 points per game, both of which are the lowest averages in the league.
Seattle haven’t beaten San Francisco this season in both of their matchups, but they have the chance to defeat them when it matters the most — the playoffs.