San Francisco 49ers misery should lead to Seahawks grand success in 2024

The Seattle Seahawks have dealt with a number of injury issues already this season. The offense is better with Kenneth Walker III but he has missed the last two games. Right tackle is down to third-string Stone Forsythe. In Week 3, defensive linemen Leonard Williams and Byron Murphy II both were hurt and missed a lot of the game. But every NFL team seems to be struggling with injuries.

While a team should never want to have the excuse of being beaten because they are missing key players, the NFL is also a harsh business. A win is a win and every player gets paid a nice salary to be on a roster. If Tua Tagovailoa was available in Week 3, perhaps the Miami Dolphins put up a better fight against the Seahawks. Or maybe not; Seattle's defense was good.

Seattle leads the NFC West by two games after Week 3. The Seahawks are 3-0. Every other team is 1-2. The Arizona Cardinals are still learning how to be good and have not suffered as many injuries as the Los Angeles Rams or San Francisco 49ers. The Rams and 49ers should be better than the Cardinals, but they haven't been so far because they have so many players hurt.

San Francisco 49ers' injuries might be a blessing to the Seattle Seahawks

Seattle's likely biggest rival for the NFC West crown is the 49ers. A healthy San Francisco squad is one of the best in the NFL and they have proven that by going to two Super Bowls in five years. They lost both but loads of teams would be happy just to reach the championship game. The 49ers are not healthy, though.

Star running back Christian McCaffrey has missed every game so far in 2024 and there is no timeline for his return. According to various outlets, McCaffrey met with a specialist in Germany for his Achilles tendinitis. This might imply McCaffrey is going to be out for much longer than originally suspected. The 49ers offense does not operate at the same level without the versatile back.

While San Francisco's offense is still not atrocious this year, they did lead the league in yards per play at 6.6 in 2023 and this year that number is 6.0. Their efficiency is worse, statistically speaking.

To make matters worse for San Francisco, defensive tackle Javon Hargrave partially tore a triceps muscle in Week 3 and is now out for the season. Hargrave was a Pro Bowler last year. The DT has no real heir to his position so his absence will be felt.

The hope, of course, is that the Seahawks will be able to take advantage of San Francisco being such a banged-up group and keep control of the division. Again, no one wants players to get hurt, but the NFL is a business. If Seattle can win the division this year then that will be all that matters to 12s.

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