The Seattle Seahawks defense has allowed game-winning drives in the closing moments of back-to-back games against the Cincinnati Bengals and Carolina Panthers. Staring at a 2-4 record and an early matchup with division rival San Francisco 49ers, the quest to appear in three straight Super Bowls is looking shaky.
Aside from their real-life scenario, there's also the fantasy scenario. Below is a review of the Thursday Night Football game between the Seahawks and 49ers at Levi's Stadium.
Seattle Seahawks - Matchups Analysis
Russell Wilson: With a poor offensive line in front of him, Wilson seems to have to evade trouble every other snap. In typical Russell Wilson fashion, he's made the most of it by scrambling and making some difficult throws on the run to show how valuable he truly is to this Seahawks team. Even with a stingy Niners home defense, Wilson is averaging just over 40 rushing yards per game and carries his 7:3 touchdown to interception ratio into Thursday night. Wilson (finally) also seemed to click with Jimmy Graham last week and should be a top QB play this week.
Jimmy Graham: Speaking of Graham, managers were rewarded for their patience last week against the Panthers. Graham was targeted 12 times, catching eight passes for 140 yards. Graham caught the deep ball early and worked the middle of the field in the second half for the most complete game he's had as a member of the Seahawks. San Francisco's defense hasn't been anything to be afraid of and haven't been getting pressure on the quarterback, which should be a welcome change for Wilson. Graham appears poised for back-to-back impressive games.
Marshawn Lynch: Thursday night could be the best fantasy game for Lynch this season. After missing time with the injury and not being 100% last week, Lynch had 54 yards on 17 rushes and saved his mediocre day with a touchdown. With the Seahawks at 2-4 and the team quickly approaching too deep a hole to climb out of, you can bet head coach Pete Carroll is going to lean on Lynch and the running game against a sub-par defense. Lynch's best game by far was the season opener in which he ran for 73 yards. I expect Lynch owners to finally be rewarded for their patience with one of the fantasy community's consensus top draft picks.
Seattle Wide Receivers: No one should be thrilled if they're forced to plug a Seahawks wide receiver into their lineup. Doug Baldwin would be the top dog if I had a choice, as he's had at least three catches in every game this season and when he scores a touchdown (which he's done twice), he can eclipse double-digit fantasy points.
San Francisco 49ers - Matchups Analysis
Carlos Hyde: I'm sitting Hyde if I have the option to. Hyde has had single-digit efforts in four of the 49ers first six games and is questionable with a foot injury against the Seattle defense. For all the woes Seattle's defense has had, it's still one of the best in the league at stopping the run. If Hyde plays you're banking on a touchdown, because he won't be of much use otherwise.
Colin Kaepernick: With the media all over his back about not being in the future plan for the 49ers, Kaepernick has posted back-to-back 20+ point performances against the New York Giants and Baltimore Ravens. Kaepernick has two touchdown passes in three out of six games this season and has four touchdown passes in the last two games. He isn't an option in a 10- or 12-team standard league, but should be in all two-quarterback league lineups. It's scary to see the red text when going against Seattle's defense, but Kaepernick is going against a familiar opponent and seems to have found his groove in the past two weeks. If there's a time to ride him, ride him while he's hot.
Anquan Boldin: With back-to-back 100-yard receiving games with a touchdown, Boldin continues to act as the only consistent skill player in San Francisco. Seattle has given up the second-fewest points to wide receivers this season and Boldin is starting despite a hamstring tweak, so I wouldn't roll the dice with Boldin this week if other options are available. However, as Kaepernick's favorite target in a game where he should be throwing plenty, there are a lot of worse options out there.
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