A lot of eyes will go straight to Brock Purdy, the Seahawks’ defense and a battered 49ers offense when San Francisco heads to Lumen Field for a critical Week 5 meeting. But there’s another area that could quietly swing this NFC West showdown: special teams.
That may sound like a side note in a rivalry game, especially with Mike Macdonald having shut down Purdy and the Niners offense the last two times these teams met, including San Francisco’s playoff exit in the divisional round last January. Even with the 49ers’ offseason additions, there’s still reason to think Macdonald and Co. can make life difficult again for a banged-up San Francisco group.
Unless special teams changes the equation.
The numbers point in that direction. Seattle’s coverage unit has been a problem, and that was on display again in the Seahawks’ Week 4 win over the Los Angeles Chargers. As 12th Man Rising noted after that game, the issue is real and it needs attention fast with San Francisco coming in.
“Something is very wrong with the Seahawks' special teams this season. We saw it again in Sunday's win over the Chargers. Unit coach Jay Harbaugh needs to get a handle on this, and he needs to do it quickly with the division-leading 49ers coming to town. ...
The punt coverage has been solid, but the Chargers did average 28.0 yards per kickoff return. Last year, the Seahawks allowed 23.96 yards per kick return.
That was the third-best figure in the league. This season, they're giving up 30.1 yards per return.
That's 30th in the NFL. Seattle isn't going to fire Harbaugh during the season, but this needs to turn around quickly.”
That’s where the 49ers can find an opening. San Francisco has allowed 25.5 return yards on average, a much steadier number than Seattle’s 30.1. The return game is also fairly even: Rashid Shaheed is averaging 27.3 yards per return for the Seahawks, while Deebo Samuel sits at 25.7 for the 49ers.
There are other small edges, too. Both Eddy Piñeiro and Jason Myers have already missed extra points this season, so neither kicking operation has been spotless.
But the clearest separation comes from the broader special teams grades. Pro Football Focus has San Francisco at 74.1 overall, which ranks 14th through four weeks. Seattle sits at 49.2, good for next to last.
That doesn’t guarantee special teams will decide the game. It does mean the third phase has a real chance to matter if this one stays tight.
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