The San Francisco 49ers were two touchdown favorites entering their second matchup in three weeks with the Seattle Seahawks.
A big reason is the recent play of the 49ers secondary, limiting Trevor Lawrence, Geno Smith, and Jalen Hurts since the bye week. With Smith out due to injury in Week 14, backup quarterback Drew Lock was forced to step in for Seattle.
Lock's life was made easier when the leader of the 49ers defensive backs, Charvarius Ward went down on the first Seahawks possession with a groin injury. He did not return in the first half.
A massive theme from the first encounter on Thanksgiving was Ward’s ability to neutralize opposing wide receiver DK Metcalf. In Week 12, Ward limited Metcalf to a season-low three receptions for 32 yards, on nine targets.
The Seahawks tried everything to get Metcalf going, but Ward blanketed him of 25 of the 35 pass attempts, per NextGen Stats, to the tune of three pass deflections. Afterwards, Metcalf gave a ton of credit to Ward for following him around the field and making his evening extremely difficult.
Once Ward left the field with a groin injury, Metcalf immediately feasted on the 49ers secondary, racking up XXX first half yards, including this 31-yard touchdown score.
The Seahawks aerial attack, even without their starting quarterback, looks far more potent without Ward on the field.
San Francisco was dealt a blow in Week 11, losing all-pro safety Talanoa Hufanga to an ACL tear. They’re hoping Ward’s injury isn’t anything long-term. Seattle showed the secondary is different without it’s number one cornerback.
At the time of publishing, the 49ers led the Seahawks 14-10.