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(Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
The Seattle Seahawks‘ defense will be a significant problem for the San Francisco 49ers. In Seattle’s last five games, its defense has allowed only one opponent to score over 20 points. As a result, the Seahawks will look to continue this trend against the Niners.
Seattle need a big-time performance from its defense as the Week 18 game against San Francisco on January 3 at Levi’s Stadium will be for the NFC West division and the No. 1 seed in the conference.
Ahead of the game between the two rivals, 49ers tight end George Kittle didn’t hold back regarding his true thoughts on the Seahawks’ defense.
“Fantastic defensive front,” Kittle said of the Seahawks’ defense while speaking to reporters on December 31 (h/t Vic Tafur of The Athletic). “[DeMarcus] Lawrence is having a fantastic year. He’s a Pro Bowler this year. [Leonard] Williams is fantastic. I mean, their whole D-line is just violent.
“You can watch your tape, and you can really see every time that, whether it’s run or pass, you see opposite linemen on the ground just getting thrown around the entire time. Not every D-line is like that. And then, when you put in a very well-coached secondary right behind that, who doesn’t give up any big plays, but they’re very good at coming up on all the checkdowns.”
George Kittle Goes Into Seahawks’ Defensive Dynamics
Moreover, Kittle went into the specifics of why it’s problematic to gain yardage against the Seattle defense, using the last game he played, the Week 16 win over the Indianapolis Colts.
“The Colts were hitting us for six-yard checkdowns, 12-yard checkdowns,” Kittle added. “Seattle’s defense really holds everything to two to four yards on checkdowns. It’s like every yard really matters against them. If you’re in, it’s second-and-eight, and then all of a sudden it’s third-and-seven, ‘Hey, that’s a little bit more tough.’ You have to fight for those extra yards.
“So when you get to third down, it’s third-and-two, third-and-one, and you can stay on the field. I think that’s just the most important thing is, when we beat them in Seattle Week 1, we started the season off with a 16-play drive, and then our third drive was a 14-play drive for eight minutes. The goal is to stay on the field, get first downs, and then we just have to continue to score in the red zone.”
49ers Worry About Seahawks’ Jaxon Smith-Njigba
Furthermore, the Seahawks’ defense isn’t the only concern the 49ers are facing as they prepare for this game. The Niners’ defense, which has a bend-but-don’t-break mantra, will need to contain Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
On December 30, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan was blunt with his comments regarding Smith-Njigba and what makes the Seahawks wideout an exceptional talent.
“This year, in the whole league, I think he’s their leading receiver in every game but one,” Shanahan said while speaking to the media (h/t 95.7 The Game). “He’s obviously extremely talented, as most first-round guys are, but it’s hard to know unless I read it on Madden and their awareness rating.
“But I would guess his real-life awareness rating is off the chart. He’s got very good feel in zones, how to move around. He almost plays in slow motion, but he’s one of the fastest guys out there, so a lot of respect for him.”
Eduardo Razo Eduardo Razo is a sports journalist covering the NFL for Heavy.com. He previously covered the league for NBC Sports Washington and NBC Sports Bay Area & California, and has contributed as a freelance writer for The Sporting News. He also served as an editor for Athlon Sports and Heavy Sports focusing on MLB and the NFL. More about Eduardo Razo
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