The San Francisco 49ers finally lost their first game of the season in Week 7, the same week the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks also won. The 49ers were 5-0 up to that point, so there remains significant separation from their two division rivals.
For Seattle, their win and San Francisco's loss were encouraging outcomes, but nothing that they should focus too much on. Despite what happened to the 49ers this past weekend, they remain a dangerous team, and they're about to become even more dangerous.
Whether the 49ers' loss was just a blip on the radar or a sign of some deeper problems, the Seahawks can't afford to bet on anything, especially if it's the latter reason, and a potential 49ers slide has just begun. Because just as the Seahawks expect offensive reinforcements over the next couple of weeks, so do the 49ers.
Both the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers are about to get much-needed offensive player returns
One thing you have to give Mike Shanahan and the 49ers a massive amount of credit for is their ability to persevere and succeed in the face of countless injury onslaughts. They dealt with it on defense all last season, yet then-defensive coordinator Robert Saleh still got the best out of a depleted unit.
This year, the script has flipped, and Shanahan is dealing with injuries on offense, specifically to the wide receiver corps. As it stands, Deebo Samuel, Mike Evans, Ricky Pearsall, Demarcus Robinson, and rookie De'Zhaun Stribling are all out. Christian Kirk, who came over in the offseason, returned in Week 7, but was used sparingly.
Despite all of this, Brock Purdy is an MVP candidate, and the 49ers were 5-0 before losing this weekend. As for those missing wideouts, Robinson and Samuel are expected back after the 49ers' Week 8 bye and should be ready for the Las Vegas Raiders a week later. As for Evans, he's also expected back soon after the bye, though a targeted week isn't as certain.
All that to say, the 49ers are expecting key pieces of their offense back, and that's precisely why the Seahawks shouldn't take their division rival’s loss this weekend lightly. The 49ers aren't sliding anywhere, barring a complete collapse at quarterback.
The 49ers may not have any superstar pass-catchers like the Seahawks have in Smith-Njigba—although Evans is still an excellent wideout even in his later years, and the 49ers could have desperately benefited from his presence against the Atlanta Hawks. That said, the 49ers have a solid crop of No. 2s and 3s, and it works for them.
The best thing for the Seahawks is to look at the 49ers as a team that's still undefeated. Likely, they won't catch up to the 49ers at any point this season, so hoping for or expecting a collapse is more of a distraction for Seattle than anything else. There is good news for the Seahawks, though, amid all of this: they're not the only team getting offensive reinforcements soon.
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