49ers vs. Seahawks: Seattle stays perfect at home for playoff berth

According to them, as related by Gregg Rosenthal at NFL.com, San Francisco coach Jim Harbaugh honked and waved at the Seattle team bus after his team beat the Seahawks, 13-6, back in October. If that accomplished anything, it gave the Seahawks something to rally around.

It didn’t have any effect on the Seahawks’ play on Sunday, according to Sherman, but there was a bit of revenge he hoped for that Pete Carrol wouldn’t approve, considering the game was already a blowout in Seattle’s favor:

Overall, it was just a dismal game to watch for 49ers fans, according to Niners Nation:

From Field Gulls:

The Seahawks will now be, at worst, a No. 5 seed heading into the postseason. They could also earn a No. 2 or No. 3 seed, depending on the results of Week 17.

The 49ers could only muster two Akers’ field goals and a garbage time score by Delanie Walker. Kaepernick had trouble finding receivers against the Seahawks’ tight coverage all game, finishing with 244 yards, one touchdown and an interception on a less-than-efficient 19-for-36.

Fantasy studs and duds

Pete Carroll and Jim Harbaugh both coaching young, talented NFC West teams is a wonderful thing. We’ll be seeing all kind of bizarre facial expressions for years to come. Carroll’s Seahawks are thrashing the 49ers on prime time, leading their rivals by nearly 30 points in the fourth quarter.

Seattle’s coach gave the world a taste of his troll face after Doug Baldwin’s third quarter touchdown.

Wilson has been the star since the opening kickoff. The rookie quarterback is 13-for-19 on his pass attempts for 144 yards and three touchdowns. Wilson has also kept numerous plays alive with his scrambling ability, which has paid dividend against a strong 49ers pass rush. Lynch is also having a big game, carrying the ball 18 times for 89 yards and a score.

Kaepernick has struggled on Sunday night, throwing for just 180 yards. The 49ers running game has also been limited throughout; on 13 combined carries, the team has 56 rushing yards.

Judging from the last two weeks, it doesn’t seem like Seattle is going to slow things down just because they have a big lead. Wilson should build on his stats in the second half.

For more fantasy info, head over to the SB Nation Fantasy War Room 4-8:30 p.m. ET Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday. Check out SB Nation’s own Fantasy Football game, Pick 6!

On Seattle’s first drive of the game, Lynch powered his way through multiple would-be tacklers before scoring on a 24-yard run. The Seahawks followed that up with another touchdown drive as Wilson connected with Lynch to give Seattle a 14-0 lead.

Pete Carroll sure was happy about it.

A Seattle win clinches a playoff spot for the Seahawks. If the 49ers can stage a comeback, a win would give them the NFC West title. The 49ers currently lead the NFC West, trailed by Seattle and having an advantage thanks to a Week 10 tie.

The second that Sunday Night Football began, it was clear that the home crowd at CenturyLink Field was loud as heck. But apparently just the standard “hearing how loud the crowd is” wasn’t good enough for the producers of SNF. They felt they needed a visual depiction of “it’s really loud!” Visuals make for good television! It’s right in the name!

So they had their sideline reporter, Michele Tafoya, do this:

Lynch is on pace for his third straight 100-yard rushing game and now has seven touchdown in the last four games. His reception was his first receiving touchdown of the year and only the third of his career.

Fantasy Impact: Lynch has been in beast mode all season with 1,379 yards and 10 touchdowns entering this game. His best performances have been over the past couple weeks during what constitutes the fantasy playoffs for most leagues.

Sherman is currently appealing his suspension and the contamination argument is a major part of Sherman’s appeal. According to Schefter, Sherman claims the cup containing his urine specimen was “leaking, prompting the collector to place a second cup underneath it to capture any leakage.”

If Sherman’s contamination argument holds up and it is ruled that the second cup’s seal was broken, Sherman could win his appeal and not miss any games due to suspension.

Also according to Schefter, the Niners are focusing on getting Smith ready for the postseason and are hopeful that he will be able to make his return at that time.

Justin Smith has 66 tackles and three sacks this season.

Lynch was already a must-start, but now his odds look a little bit sweeter.

For more fantasy info, head over to the SB Nation Fantasy War Room 4-8:30 p.m. ET Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday. Check out SB Nation’s own Fantasy Football game, Pick 6!

That all starts on Sunday, when Pete Carroll’s team will play host to Jim Harbaugh’s. Seattle is undefeated at home this season, with a perfect 6-0 mark, and the 49ers can seal the NFC West by being the first team to walk away from there with a victory.

After starting the season with hope resting on its defense, the Seahawks now enter this contest as the “high-scoring offense” that will be taking on San Francisco’s top-ranked scoring defense. The game was flexed to Sunday Night Football for the week, showing you just how far the NFC West has come in the last few seasons.

Both players have been terrorizing quarterbacks as of late. Smith has 15 sacks in his last eight games and Watts has two or more sacks in a game six times this season.

Week 16 only adds to the chaos, as there are several key match-ups that have huge divisional and playoff implications. It only makes sense that a slew of those match-ups end up in our top-five priced games of the week. Let’s take a closer look at them as we prepare for Week 16 in the NFL:

It’s no surprise the 49ers and Seahawks lead the way this week, but it’s a little shocking just how far the gap is. Still, it all makes sense, as this match-up boasts two electrifying quarterbacks with big arms that can also burn the defense with their legs, while it also showcases two elite defensive units.

But as good as Seattle is playing, it’s hard to bet against the 49ers. SB Nation’s Joel Thorman has Jim Harbaugh’s squad pulling out a 30-24 win and without the opportunity to run up the score. Sports Illustrated’s Peter King agrees, and he predicts that Kaepernick’s arm gives a 27-20 edge in favor of San Francisco.

At Yahoo!, Mike Silver and Les Carpenter believe the Seahawks will pull out an upset, though fellow writer Jason Cole disagrees. And of eight NFL experts at CBS Sports, five pick Pete Carroll’s team to win straight up.

The host Seahawks are 1-point underdogs, after initially opening as a pick’em, and the teams are about as evenly-matched as the spread would indicate.

Offensively, 49ers average 25.5 points a game, while the Seahawks average 25.0 points per game.