There have been few folks firstly of the season who believed Geno Smith can be quarterbacking the Seattle Seahawks into the playoffs. There have been even fewer nonetheless who thought Brock Purdy can be helming a San Francisco 49ers postseason run. 

But, Tremendous Wild Card Weekend will kick off in Santa Clara, California, with the 2 most unbelievable quarterback tales of the season on the forefront. 

Purdy will lead a San Francisco squad that’s the most popular within the NFL in opposition to a Smith-led Seattle squad that was the final within the league to punch a playoff ticket. 

When the NFC West-champion 49ers, the NFC’s No. 2 seed, host the seventh-seeded Seahawks, it is going to be the groups’ third assembly of the yr, setting a tone for a wild-card slate during which every recreation is a rematch from the common season.

Although they play one another twice a season, this will probably be simply the second time the Seahawks and 49ers have squared off within the postseason. The primary was a 23-17 Seahawks win within the 2013 NFC Championship Recreation on the best way to a Seattle Tremendous Bowl triumph. However these are every vastly completely different franchises now. 

Having dropped every of their earlier conferences this season, the Seahawks are clear underdogs, however the 71-year-old Pete Carroll’s fresh-faced Seattle squad has defied odds since Week 1. In distinction, Kyle Shanahan has piloted the Niners to back-to-back playoff berths for the primary time in his six seasons in San Francisco, dwelling as much as lofty expectations alongside the best way.

Bolstered by a 10-game successful streak, the 49ers are wholesome, boast a cavalcade of all-stars and are predicted by many to run roughshod over their division runners-up en path to the Divisional Spherical. However Carroll and Co. have forgone a rebuild regardless of shifting on from Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner, and after sneaking into the playoffs on the final minute are nonetheless standing tall in a shocking season. 

Listed here are 5 issues to observe for when the 49ers host the Seahawks to open Tremendous Wild Card Weekend:

1. Can the 49ers locomotive be slowed, a lot much less stopped? San Francisco proper now appears very very similar to a freight practice that has no stops till Glendale, Arizona. Boding all the higher for the Niners is that in every the final two situations they received the NFC West (2012, 2019), they superior to the Tremendous Bowl. This present crop of gold panners has largely dominated, as evidenced by a league-best plus-173-point differential, and San Francisco is doing it on each side of the ball. The 49ers head into the postseason with the top-ranked protection and fifth-ranked offense. Naysayers will argue San Francisco has had the best energy of schedule within the league (opponents had a .417 win share), however the Niners beat the opponents put in entrance of them, leaving most of them of their wake after lopsided smackdowns. Included within the carnage was Seattle, which was swept within the season collection for the primary time since 2011. Autumn after autumn, Pete Carroll’s squads had the 49ers’ numbers, however issues modified drastically this yr. Nick Bosa, who turned the primary 49er to guide the NFL in sacks with 18.5, and fellow Professional Bowlers Fred Warner and Talanoa Hufanga teamed as much as maintain the Seahawks to 2 of their three worst level showings this season. Having earned a playoff bid following a Week 18 win over the Rams and a Packers loss to the Lions, Carroll expressed his gratitude for the assistance obtained from Motown, however quipped, “sadly, we’re taking part in the Niners.” These Niners have been handing out misfortune for months, and the Seahawks are tasked with one final likelihood to derail them.
2. Will Geno Smith’s comeback story add one other chapter? After he beat out Drew Lock for the function of QB1, Geno Smith subsequently succeeded Russell Wilson in sensational style. Smith has emerged as a frontrunner for comeback participant of the yr after posting a brand new single-season franchise report with 4,282 yards passing, which earned him his first Professional Bowl bid. Will the Geno renaissance prolong previous the wild-card spherical, although? Set to play within the first playoff recreation of his 10-year, four-team profession, Smith is matched up in opposition to a Niners protection that shut him down in two earlier conferences this season. Smith led the NFC with 30 landing passes, however he had only one TD toss in his two outings in opposition to the 49ers. Smith additionally averaged simply 217.5 passing yards per recreation and an 87.4 passer ranking in opposition to S.F. compared to 256.6 and 102.9, respectively, in his different 15 video games. Ranked No. 1 in complete protection, however twentieth in opposition to the move, San Francisco has been inclined by means of the air at occasions. For Smith’s turnaround story to proceed, he’ll need to discover a method to enhance the numbers in opposition to the 49ers. 
3. Purdy’s greater than only a feel-good story now. It’s value point out that Brock Purdy was the 2022 NFL Draft’s “Mr. Irrelevant,” as a result of it’s being talked about much less and fewer. The rookie marvel’s novelty standing has diminished because it’s turn into more and more clear the Niners are successful with Purdy fairly than regardless of him. He’s received 5 straight begins — together with one in opposition to Seattle — and has thrown for a number of touchdowns and 8-plus yards per try in every of them. The final QB to enter the playoffs on such a streak — the final quarterback total, not the final rookie, thoughts you — was Tom Brady in 2020 forward of the Buccaneers’ Tremendous Bowl run. Purdy’s statistics are spectacular — 1,308 yards, 13 touchdowns and three interceptions in six video games since taking up for an injured Jimmy Garoppolo — however his capacity to tackle a management function and impress a group searching for a title has been most extraordinary. Purdy will turn into the most recent drafted rookie to start out a playoff recreation within the frequent draft period, per NFL Analysis. Might Purdy turn into the primary rookie quarterback to win a Tremendous Bowl? He and the Niners must get by the Seahawks first. 
4. CMC again in playoffs 5 seasons later. Maybe it’s been forgotten that not that way back Christian McCaffrey was considered as one of the crucial electrifying skills within the recreation, in a position to befuddle defenses working or receiving as exemplified by his 1,000-1,000 season in 2019. A pair of harm laden campaigns in 2020-21 altered the narrative, however now McCaffrey is returning to kind as a 49er. He’s set for simply his second-career playoff recreation, returning to the postseason for his first time since his rookie season in 2017. CMC was prognosticated to be an ideal match for Kyle Shanahan’s offense following the midseason commerce that introduced him to The Bay, and that prediction hasn’t been far off. McCaffrey has scored 10 complete touchdowns in 11 video games with San Francisco and reached the top zone in six straight tilts. That stretch consists of the Niners’ 21-13 win over the Seahawks on Dec.15 when he had 108 yards dashing and a TD. It was simply the third recreation in McCaffrey’s profession in opposition to Seattle, however he’s been distinctive every time, averaging 183.3 scrimmage yards per recreation — probably the most by any participant versus any group within the Tremendous Bowl period (minimal three video games), based on NFL Analysis. In complete, he’s rushed for 320 yards, had 230 yards receiving, caught 25 balls and scored 5 complete TDs in opposition to the Seahawks. After a protracted wait, CMC is again within the postseason and he would possibly simply be dealing with the right opponent. 
5. New class of Seahawks incomes high marks. Seattle’s success this season hasn’t rested solely on the precise arm of Smith and acquainted standouts comparable to DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett and Quandre Diggs. Among the best Seahawks draft courses in years has breathed life into the group. First-rounder Charles Cross and third-rounder Abraham Lucas have turn into a beginning deal with tandem that’s improved the offensive line. Second-round move rusher Boye Mafe has made contributions, and so too has fourth-round cornerback Coby Bryant. Then there’s second-rounder Kenneth Walker III, who turned simply the second Seahawks rookie 1,000-yard rusher, and cornerback Tariq Woolen, who shared the league-high with six interceptions. Woolen and Walker have burst onto the scene and lead a category that’s rivaled solely by the New York Jets’ this season. Ups and downs have been had by all, however they’ve every been contributors to what feels very very similar to a franchise rebirth. No matter Saturday’s end result, these new-age Seahawks have Seattle trending in the precise route.