The Seattle Seahawks play on Thanksgiving for the first time in nine years. The last time Seattle played on Thanksgiving was also against the San Francisco 49ers, who Seattle also plays on Thursday. In 2014, the Seahawks won 19-3. Wouldn't it be nice if that happened again this season?
San Francisco is about a touchdown favorite, however. As most home teams get about 3 points just for being at home, that means oddsmakers expect San Francisco to defeat Seattle by about 10 points. Ouch. Kind of a smack in the face. But likely warranted.
The 49ers lost three games in a row earlier this year due to missing a bunch of key players to injuries. San Francisco is mostly healthy now, though they did lose safety Talanoa Hufanga to a torn ACL in Week 11, and fresh off two easy victories in the last two weeks. Meanwhile, Seattle has lost two of three. Here is some news to start your Thanksgiving Day.
Seattle Seahawks fall in Week 12 power rankings
After suffering a loss to the then-3-6 Los Angeles Rams in Week 11, one would expect the Seahawks to fall in FanSided's latest power rankings, and well...they didn't. In fact, while Seattle ranked 13 in the pre-Week 11 rankings, they moved up a spot in the pre-Week 12 rankings. A loss to the Rams and somehow Seattle looks better? How?
There is no clear answer, though, according to the venerable Russell S. Baxter. Baxter talks about after starting 3-1, Seattle has split its last six games. And Baxter points out that Seattle's offense was lethargic. But there is no indication given why Seattle rose in the rankings after a loss.
The worse news is that the three teams Seattle will face over the next four games are all ranked highly. The 49ers (the Seahawks face them in Weeks 12 and 14) are ranked 7, the Dallas Cowboys (Week 13) are ranked 3, and the Philadelphia Eagles (Week 15) are ranked 1. Ugh. Maybe the Seahawks can pull off a miracle or two in those games.
Did the Seahawks intentional diss Russell Wilson?
According to our friends at FanSided's Denver Broncos site Predominantly Orange, the Seahawks "violently" disrespected former Seattle quarterback and now-Broncos QB Russell Wilson in a recent Twitter post. First of all, the word "violently" does not fit at all and is complete hyperbole. There was no violence involved.
Secondly, Seattle did the right thing by posting the tweet in the way they did. The tweet is simple enough as there is an emoji of a knife and fork above a photo of former Seattle cornerback Richard Sherman eating a large turkey drumstick on the 49ers field post-game of the 2014 matchup between the Seahawks and the 49ers on Thanksgiving. As mentioned before, Seattle won the game 19-3. Had the 49ers won, they would have been eating turkey on the home field post-game.
🍽️ https://t.co/0vGogY1PBZ pic.twitter.com/LZtVWJZeFI
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) November 21, 2023
The complete picture features Sherman, NBC reporter Hannah Storm, and Russell Wilson on the right of Storm. But there is a very good reason that Seattle cut Wilson out of the photo and kept Sherman in: Wilson currently plays for another team and Sherman does not. Stranger would have been to keep Wilson in the tweet.
Funny how people get so upset over such a little thing. Plus, right now, who is more beloved: Sherman or Wilson? Likely Sherman because he lives in the Seattle area and helps the team in training camp while Wilson wears another team's uniform.
Who's picking who in Week 12?
So who is picking the Seahawks to win in Week 12 on Thanksgiving Day? I will tell you when I find someone. OK, that is partly a joke but the 49ers do have all the momentum entering the game while Seattle's offense is struggling and the Seahawks will have a banged-up Geno Smith at quarterback and won't have RB1 Kenneth Walker III.
I don't see how Seattle pulls this one off, either. Of course, I have been happily surprised by Pete Carroll-led teams in the past when I expected a loss. That has happened quite a bit, so one more time would make for a great Thanksgiving surprise. But to win, the Seahawks' defense would have to be consistently brilliant throughout the game and Seattle offensively would have to take advantage of the 49ers missing safety Hufanga. Maybe an explosive play or five with DK Metcalf involved.
Are the 49ers as good as the Baltimore Ravens? Possibly, and we all saw how poorly that game went for the Seahawks. Maybe because this is an intradivision matchup, weird things will happen. But I will shut my mind off and pretend the three games between Seattle and San Francisco in 2022 did not happen. I think San Francisco wins 34-17. Here is what other people smarter than I am think.
Ali Bhanpuri (NFL.com): 49ers 27 Seattle 18
Tom Blair (NFL.com): 49ers 24 Seattle 20
Brooke Cersosimo (NFL.com): 49ers 26 Seattle 22
Gennaro Filice (NFL.com): 49ers 30 Seattle 19
Dan Parr (NFL.com): 49ers 25 Seattle 16
Mike Florio (NBC Sports): 49ers 28 Seattle 17
Chris Simms (NBC Sports): 49ers 27 Seattle 17
Bob Condotta (Seattle Times): 49ers 27 Seattle 17
Adam Jude (Seattle Times): 49ers 21 Seattle 17