The Seattle Seahawks haven't lived up to their status as the team to beat in the NFC West this season. Mike Macdonald's team is 5-4 after nine weeks, trailing the San Francisco 49ers by a couple of games in the divisional race.
Notably, Kyle Shanahan's team got some payback against the Seahawks earlier in the season. Sam Darnold's miscues kept handing the ball right to the 49ers, and they survived a close road win. That's a game the Seahawks probably would've won nine times out of 10, though.
The 49ers know that the final score was misleading, and they're unlikely to put up 32 points against Mike Macdonald's defense very often. That's why, with not many feasible options available, they had no choice but to go after Keenan Allen at the trade deadline.
The 49ers keep adding aging wide receivers to beat the Seattle Seahawks
The 49ers turned 269 total yards of offense into 32 points in their first meeting of the season. The Seahawks turned the ball over four times, three of those deep in their own territory, leading to 21 points for the 49ers. Otherwise, this wouldn't have been close.
To add insult to injury (literallY), the 49ers are dealing with multiple injuries at wide receiVer — yes, again. Ricky Pearsall is out for the season, Christian Kirk and De'Zhaun Stribling are on Injured Reserve, and Mike Evans and Deebo Samuel are banged up and listed as questionable.
That's why they didn't have much of a choice but to go after Keenan Allen, a once-great wide receiver who had to wait until mid-August to finally join a team and who didn't do much in his two months with the Indianapolis Colts.
At 34, the Los Angeles Chargers legend was a total non-factor in Shane Steichen's offense. He left the slumping Colts with 40 receptions for 351 yards and one touchdown, struggling to pile up yards after the catch and limited mostly to short-yardage situations.
Granted, he'll now be in a much more favorable offensive situation, with a better quarterback, coach, and supporting cast, but still, it's hard to believe he'll give them much at this point in his career. He might not have much left in the tank, not even in his usual third-and-Allen role.
Macdonald has Shanahan's number, and everyone knows it. This move reeks of desperation, and while the 49ers deserve credit for not staying put and addressing their concerns, this addition won't move the needle in the slightest when these teams meet again in Week 12.
The Seahawks' secondary will continue to read Brock Purdy like an open book, and the pass rush will continue to set up camp in the backfield. They picked him off once and sacked him five times in their first meeting, and they won't catch that many lucky breaks in the rematch.
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