3 bold predictions for Seahawks versus 49ers Week 2

Seahawks rookie edge rusher Boye Mafe has 3 sacks

Believe it or not, rookie Boye Mafe did actually play for the Seahawks in Week 1. In fact, he played 20 total snaps with 19 of them being on defense. Did Mafe do anything, however, to contribute to the stat box? No. He recorded no tackles, no quarterback hits, nothing. But we saw early in preseason that Mafe has the speed to be a disruptor in the NFL and maybe part of his issue was he was simply nervous.

I actually don’t know why Mafe didn’t play well but I do know that offseason free agent acquisition Uchenna Nwosu balled out so much that he was named the NFC Defensive Player of the Week. Nwosu recorded 7 tackles, forced a fumble and had a sack. He looked every bit as good as Seattle hoped he would be when they signed him.

Why do I bring up Nwosu when this piece of the article is about Mafe? Because Nwosu’s performance should mean that the 49ers focus a bit more on him and not as much on a rookie like Mafe. (It would also help if Darrell Taylor could play better against the run but I digress.)

Mafe was drafted in the second round of the 2022 NFL draft to chase down quarterbacks. He clearly has the raw skill to do it. Now with a game behind him and, hopefully, fewer jitters and facing a team that will likely scheme against Nwosu and maybe Taylor, Mafe could be free to be ultra-aggressive. The guess here is he will be and he will get 3 sacks on Trey Lance.