This weekend’s meeting of the Seattle Seahawks and the San Francisco 49ers has everything a big time playoff game should. Intense talent on both sides of the ball along with a rivalry that makes the Hatfield and Mccoy’s drama look like kindergarten antics.
The NFL honestly could not have scripted a better pairing for the NFC Championship. The Seattle-San Francisco rivalry is one of the best in the league in recent years and this game may very well be the most exciting game remaining in the NFL year.
The Seahawks and the 49ers have a hate-hate relationship and the loathing is real and stems deep down into both organizations. From fans who have been dueling it out with Seahawk banners flying over Candlestick Park and electronic roadside signs flashing 49er fodder 30-miles outside of Seattle; to coaches Pete Carroll and Jim Harbaugh’s mutual dislike for one another that began during their USC and Stanford days; to the players who don’t particularly have love for one another and don’t care who knows it. As Seattle cornerback Richard Sherman so eloquently puts it, “there may be no handshakes at the end of this one.” For sure, this will be a hard fought game.
This game is one that both fans and players wanted to see.
Immediately after the Seahawks beat the Saints on January 11, all focus turned to who would come to Seattle next, San Francisco or Carolina? For most Seattle fans and players, they wanted to see their nemesis, the 49ers, who got over on the Seahawks with a 19-17 win their last meeting.
When Carolina fell short against the red-hot 49ers, Seattle’s Doug Baldwin tweeted immediately after the game, “Wouldn’t want it any other way.”
These rivals know each other very well. Sunday’s meeting will be their third since Seattle’s home opener in September, and it’s going to be a knock out drag out for sure.
The 49ers will roll into Centurylink Field after winning their last eight games – they have spent the past three weeks on the road and seem unstoppable on their quest to return to the Super Bowl. But in order to get there, they have to go through Seattle which is undeniably the toughest venue for visiting teams in the NFL. The Seahawks have a 16-1 record at home for the past two seasons and their fans have a Guinness Record for being the loudest stadium crowd in the world.
Colin Kaepernick, who has been unstoppable as of late, has not done well his past two showings in Seattle and you can bet Seattle’s Legion of Boom is ready to rock his bicep-kissing confidence.
They are also ready for Kap’s favorite weapons – Vernon Davis still has a headache from a hard hit Kam Chancellor met him with back during the 2012 season.
There’s been a lot of talk about how good San Francisco’s offense looks versus Seattle’s which has seemed a tad off during their last five games. Well, if their offense is off, the 49ers should pray that they don’t all of sudden turn it on because Seattle ended the regular season with the best record in the league and home field advantage.
Sophomore quarterback Russell Wilson’s response to those who ask about any concerns he may have about his performance or if he has any apprehension about playing the 49ers is to the point, “I have never played scared. I never have. I never will.”
And although Wilson didn’t break any records last weekend with his passing game Seattle’s run game was beastly. Marshawn Lynch played a great game against the Saints – his 140yards and two touchdowns once again gave seismologists in the Seattle area something to measure.
And while San Francisco made Green Bay look like they were the ones not used to playing in sub-freezing weather and the Panthers look like sad little kittens, they are about to come up against the realest deal in the NFL right now, Seattle’s defense.
If trash-talking is on the 49er’s agenda to try and get into the heads of Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas or Kam Chancellor, I’m pretty sure the Saint’s Jimmy Graham would advise against it. Jimmy tried to talk smack as a form of mental warfare against Seattle’s Legion of Boom last Sunday and earned himself a mention next to the definition of “shut down” in the dictionary.
Sunday’s game definitely has the two best teams in the NFC playing and while San Francisco is hoping for an opportunity to add to their collection of five Lombardi trophies, the Seahawks are set on a chance to begin theirs. With the Super Bowl on the line on top of the intense rivalry between these two teams, this game promises to be one that people will be talking about for a very long time.
