49ers seize division lead while Seahawks idle, yet Seattle controls its NFC West fate
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The NFC West has changed since the Seahawks last played.
Not that Pete Carroll is focusing his team on that.
San Francisco ended Seattle’s week-long stay atop the division and seized first place Monday night. The 49ers boat-raced the 4-7 Arizona Cardinals 38-10 in Mexico City to end week 11, Seattle’s post-Europe-game bye week.
The Niners and Seahawks are both 6-4. San Francisco has first place in the West for now because it beat Seattle 27-7 in Santa Clara, California, in week two.
The rematch is at Lumen Field in Seattle Thursday, Dec. 15. That game could be a division-title match.
Proving quarterback Geno Smith and the Seahawks have a home game against Las Vegas (3-7) Sunday, a game at their nemesis Los Angeles Rams (3-7) Dec. 4 and a home date with Carolina (3-8) before the Seattle-San Francisco rematch.
The 49ers have a three-game homestand before they play at the Seahawks. The Niners host New Orleans (4-7), Miami (7-4) and Tampa Bay (5-5) the next three Sundays.
The Seahawks fell from third in the NFC’s seeding for the seven-team postseason field to seventh, the last of three wild cards, because of San Francisco’s win Monday night. Seattle is one-half game in front of Washington (6-5) for the conference’s final playoff spot, with seven games remaining in the regular season.
Yet Carroll doesn’t have his Seahawks thinking about the wild-card as it returns from their bye to prepare to host the Raiders Sunday. The coach is emphasizing the fact Seattle still controls its fate in achieving its first and top season goal: winning the division.
“We will see where we end up with the 49ers after this week, but everything is ahead of us, and we are in control of everything,” Carroll told his players upon landing from their 21-16 loss to Tampa Bay in Germany Nov. 13.
“That’s all that we could ever ask for,” Carroll said last week. “Whether you are 8-0, 9-0, 10-0, or you are on top the division, winning the division is a huge goal for us and it is the only goal that we deal with, to try to win the West.”
The four division winners each get home games in the first round of the playoffs.
The Seahawks are likely to be favored in two of their next three games; even though the Rams are decimated by injuries and free-falling the defending Super Bowl champions have dominated Seattle in recent seasons. L.A. has won nine of the last 11 meetings between division rivals.
The Raiders beat Russell Wilson and the Broncos in overtime at Denver this past weekend. It was Las Vegas’ second win in six games.
If the surprising Seahawks can win through the rematch with the 49ers, they won’t need help and could win the division themselves.
That’s what Carroll has been stressing since his team’s mistake-filled loss to the previously sub-.500 Buccaneers.
“This is a good mentality that we have right now — even though we had to give up a game right there,” Carroll said.
“We come out of it OK.”
Seahawks remaining schedule
vs. Las Vegas
at Los Angeles Rams
vs. Carolina
vs. San Francisco
at Kansas City
vs. New York Jets
vs. Los Angeles Rams
49ers remaining schedule
vs. New Orleans
vs. Miami
vs. Tampa Bay
at Seattle
vs. Washington
at Las Vegas
vs. Arizona
