Pete Carroll, Seahawks Looking for Knockout Blow of Jim Harbaugh's 49ers

It was January 19, 2014. The CenturyLink Field crowd was buzzing, but not at its usual pitch. The Seahawks faithful were nervously cheering for their defense as Colin Kaepernick picked it apart play after play. 

Seventeen-yard pass, four-yard run, four-yard pass, 16-yard pass, 11-yard pass. He had the 49ers down to the Seattle 18-yard line with about 30 seconds to go. 

Moments later, the fates of the 49ers and Seahawks were decided.

Kaepernick's pass intended for Michael Crabtree in the end zone was deflected by Richard Sherman and intercepted by Malcolm Smith.

It looked like the first major blow in the Jim Harbaugh-Pete Carroll 49ers-Seahawks rivalry, a rivalry that was destined for a decade-long struggle. Who knew that one year later, it is likely one 49ers loss from being over. 

The Seahawks (9-4) enter Week 15 two games ahead of the 49ers (7-6). Seattle would knock San Francisco out of playoff contention with a win on Sunday at CenturyLink Field. 

It would be a fitting ending to the 49ers' 2014 season. It would be a fitting ending to the Harbaugh Era. 

In this time of 49ers chaos, football fans are reminded how one moment can change the fortunes of players and coaches. 

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

If Kaepernick had thrown a touchdown pass in the last 30 seconds of the 2014 NFC Championship Game, the 49ers would've been one win away from a Super Bowl title. And had they defeated the Denver Broncos in the Big Game, Harbaugh and Kaepernick would be San Francisco heroes to this day. 

Russell Wilson, who lost a fumble early in the NFC title game and fumbled a snap on 4th-and-goal from the San Francisco 1-yard line in the fourth quarter, would've faced plenty of criticism for the loss. Carroll would've taken Harbaugh's place as the "just one play away from winning it all" coach. 

Now, Carroll and Wilson are Seattle icons. They can do no wrong in the Pacific Northwest.

And though the Seahawks have had some internal issues themselves this season, they suddenly look poised for another deep playoff run. If they win their last three games, they will at worst be the No. 3 seed in the NFC. And if the Packers lose once more, the Seahawks could be the No. 1 seed. Good luck beating the best defensive team in the league when it's backed by the best home-field advantage in North American sports. 

The 49ers, meanwhile, haven't overcome their internal issues.

Harbaugh, who is currently in the fourth year of a five-year, $25 million contract, agreed to table extension talks in July.

Who knows exactly how much he turned down in initial negotiations, but starting this season without an extension led many to believe that he wouldn't be satisfied with any potential offer unless he won a Super Bowl this year. At every turn, a new rumor about where Harbaugh will coach next season has ensued. 

The Harbaugh contract saga has been one of many internal problems this season. Ray McDonald's domestic-violence case, Crabtree telling reporters he's a "third-down receiver" and Ahmad Brooks benching himself are other examples, and I'm sure that's only half of them. 

But the 49ers kept things together up until a Thanksgiving Day showdown with the Seahawks at Levi's Stadium. 

Tony Avelar/Associated Press

Sherman and the Seattle defense put Kaepernick in his place. They intercepted the fourth-year quarterback twice in a 19-3 bludgeoning that started the 49ers down the spiral they're currently in.  

Despite having the odds stacked against him, Harbaugh isn't ready to give up just yet. 

"Yeah, as my father-in-law Merle Feuerborn says, 'It’s always darkest before the dawn,'" Harbaugh told reporters Monday. "So, this could be the first minutes of our finest hour. That’s the way we approach it."

The 49ers will need their finest hour Sunday in Seattle. More specifically, Kaepernick will need his finest hour. 

In five starts against the Seahawks (playoffs included), Kaepernick is 1-4 with three touchdown passes and nine interceptions. The 49ers are averaging 11 points per game in those five games.

Date/venue	Comp.-Att.	P Yards	R Yards	TD-INT	Result
Dec. 2012 @ SEA	19-36	244	31	1-1	42-13 L
Sept. 2013 @ SEA	13-28	127	87	0-3	29-3 L
Dec. 2013 vs. SEA	15-29	175	31	1-1	19-17 W
Jan. 2014 @ SEA	14-24	153	130	1-2	23-17 L
Nov. 2014 vs. SEA	16-29	121	26	0-2	19-3 L

When asked by local reporters Wednesday if playing the Seahawks is his favorite challenge, Kaepernick said, "They have to be up there."

"Their defense is great," he said. "It's always good competition out there. You have to be able to rise to those occasions."

Over the last four seasons, the 49ers so often have. Come-from-behind playoff wins against the Atlanta Falcons and Green Bay Packers, six straight wins to close out the 2013 season and taking a seven-point second-half lead against Seattle in the NFC title game are examples. 

But they couldn't solve the Seahawks in the fourth quarter of that game, just as they haven't solved them—one nail-biting win notwithstanding—since Kaepernick's first start against Seattle in 2012. And with the season on the line, a scuffling offense and off-the-field turmoil, Sunday's game might just be when the camel's back breaks. 

The 49ers are on the ropes, and the Seahawks are looking for a knockout blow. If recent history is any indication, they'll get it.  

Joseph Akeley is a San Francisco 49ers featured columnist. Follow Jakeley_BR on Twitter.