Monday Night Football Preview: Can the Seahawks Upset the 49ers?

This week's edition of Monday Night Football features the 7-2 Seattle Seahawks traveling to face the 8-0 San Francisco 49ers in a key NFC West showdown. Both teams will look to gain some ground within the division in this matchup.

Fresh off a tight game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Seattle kept their standing atop the Wild Card with a 40-34 win. Similarly, San Francisco kept their undefeated record with a 28-25 win over the Arizona Cardinals

Quarterback Breakdown

On the Seattle side, Russell Wilson continued his MVP campaign with a 378 yard and 5-score performance last week. Wilson's 2,505 passing yards rank third in the NFL behind only Philip Rivers and Tom Brady. Wilson leads the NFL with a 118.2 Quarterback Rating and is top five in net yards per attempt. Wilson will have his work cut out for him this week with a matchup against San Francisco's second-ranked pass defense, according to our schedule-adjusted metrics. However, as matchup-proof as they come, Wilson is still capable of a big game here with Tyler Lockett, Josh Gordon, and D.K. Metcalf at his disposal.

On the other side, Jimmy Garoppolo continues his efficient 2019 campaign. Like Wilson, Garoppolo ranks top-ten in both Quarterback Rating (104.4) and net yards per attempt. He racked up 317 yards and 4 scores last week in San Francisco's narrow victory over the Cardinals. Seattle ranks 25th in pass defense, setting up for another productive outing here for Garoppolo.

Running Back Breakdown

The NFL's sixth-leading rusher, Chris Carson, continues to out-perform his day-three draft capital. Already eclipsing 100-yards rushing four times this season, Carson has also added increased pass game usage to his profile this season. With 24 catches already, Carson looks capable of exploiting even the toughest matchups. This week, Carson draws the NFL's sixth-ranked run defense, according to our metrics.

For the 49ers, Kyle Shanahan's electric rushing attack continues to rotate Tevin Coleman and Matt Breida. Behind only Baltimore, San Francisco ranks second in the NFL in rushing yards per game. Currently, Breida and Coleman sit at 524 and 355 rushing yards per game, respectively. Seattle ranks 19th in rush defense, putting Breida and Coleman in a solid spot here.

Defensive Matchup

Looking at each team's defense, San Francisco ranks 2nd, while Seattle ranks 25th.

The 49ers currently boast the NFL's second-ranked pass defense and the sixth-best rush defense. On the other side, Seattle ranks 25th in pass defense and 19th in rush defense.

Historical Comparison