San Francisco 49ers vs. Seattle Seahawks: Full Seattle Game Preview

The Seattle Seahawks are coming off a crushing Week 10 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, but good news lies ahead—they play the San Francisco 49ers at home in Week 11.

In Week 7, the Seahawks handled the 49ers at Levi's Stadium in a 20-3 victory.

Sunday could be a slightly different story, however. The 49ers stunningly defeated the Atlanta Falcons in Week 9 with quarterback Blaine Gabbert under center.

That is not a typo.

With that being said, this week still presents the Seahawks with an outstanding opportunity to get a much-needed win against an NFC West opponent—Seattle is 1-2 against divisional opponents so far this season, with San Francisco being its only victory.

The Seahawks have won the last four meetings between the two teams, with three of those victories being by at least 10 points. The last time San Francisco beat Seattle was Dec. 8, 2013. The 49ers haven't beaten the Seahawks in Seattle, however, since 2011.

Even with both teams struggling, this is still a hard-hitting rivalry. These two teams don't like each other, which should make for an entertaining contest. 

Continue reading to find out what to watch Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET on Fox.

Week 10 Recap

Graphic created by the author using Piktochart.

Seattle struggled with the Arizona Cardinals at home last week, and the 39-32 loss dropped the Seahawks to third place in the NFC West.

Despite the score, Seattle's defense mostly hung tough against the Cardinals. But the unit continued to struggle with allowing big plays in big spots, as Cardinals running back Andre Ellington scampered for a 48-yard touchdown late in the game to seal Arizona's victory.

The Seahawks offense didn't help things. Seattle had a hard time sustaining long scoring drives and lacked explosiveness throughout the game. Running backs Marshawn Lynch and Thomas Rawls only combined for 10 carries and 61 yards on the ground. 

The final score may not suggest it, but the Seahawks were dismantled in their first prime-time loss under head coach Pete Carroll last Sunday night. The loss should give the Seahawks some extra motivation against the 49ers this week. 

News and Notes

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Penalize me, captain

One of the reasons for Seattle's offensive futility against Arizona was that the Seahawks were consistently penalized.

According to Seahawks.com, the team opened three of its first four possessions against Arizona with offensive holding calls. Those penalties set up long down-and-distance situations that the Seahawks offense wasn't capable of overcoming. 

"The penalties really dictated what was going on the way they got their first 19 points," Coach Carroll said in the Seahawks.com piece. "We made it really easy on them."

In the recent past, the Seahawks have been one of the NFL's most penalized teams and still one of its most feared squads. 

Neither of those points is true this season. 

The Seahawks rank 13th in the league with 65 penalties on the year. In terms of being flagged, they are far more disciplined than they've been in recent years. But it hasn't turned into wins, which is troubling.

Because Seattle isn't the aggressive powerhouse we've come to know it as, the Seahawks would do good to keep penalties low going forward, as they did in the first half of the season. The 2015 Seahawks aren't the kind of team that will overcome a lot of self-inflicted wounds.

A clean win over the 49ers will help Seattle and its coaching staff feel better about the rest of the season.

Chris Matthews released

Seattle waived the inexplicable hero of the 2014 postseason Tuesday, according to the team. 

Matthews, a wide receiver, not only recovered an onside kick in last year's NFC Championship Game, but he also hauled in a touchdown catch in Super Bowl XLIX and helped set up another Seattle score with a 44-yard reception.

However, he had been a non-factor this season leading up to his release. In nine games, Matthews caught only four passes for 54 yards. 

His replacement is wide receiver Kevin Smith, who has been on the practice squad this season. 

The 6'0", 218-pound receiver showed potential in the preseason as both a wideout and kick returner—he caught six passes for 61 yards in preseason action and had a shifty 54-yard kickoff return against the San Diego Chargers. 

In terms of immediate impact going forward, expect Seattle to give Smith reps at kick and punt returner to alleviate some of the pressure on Tyler Lockett.

On offense, Smith may offer some much-needed explosiveness and speed that the Seahawks are so desperately missing on that side of the ball.

A favorable matchup against the 49ers is a good time for Smith to get some crucial game-time reps under his belt. 

Injury Report

Elaine Thompson/Associated Press

Here are a few notes on the Seahawks' most notable injured players.

Bruce Irvin is out

The Seahawks' stud pass-rushing linebacker won't play in this weekend's game against San Francisco due to a MCL sprain, according to the team's website.

Irvin was injured in the fourth quarter of last week's game against Arizona. 

It's a considerable loss for the Seahawks. Irvin has racked up 4.5 sacks on the season, just two short of his previous career high of 6.5. He is a key pass-rusher in Seattle's defense and will be missed on the field, even against the 49ers. 

Linebacker Mike Morgan will replace Irvin, with defensive end Frank Clark filling in as a pass-rusher when needed. 

Expect the 49ers to try to take advantage by running and throwing the ball in the direction of Morgan and Clark early and often. 

Paul Richardson has a hamstring injury

Seahawks wide receiver Paul Richardson left the game against Arizona in the second quarter with a hamstring issue.

The same story from the team's website reports an MRI showed that Richardson "had something" according to Coach Carroll but that Richardson feels better than what the results show.

Richardson is expected to jog Thursday, which should help clarify his status for Sunday. 

It's a shame that Richardson is already hurt after just being removed from the PUP list for last Sunday's game—he showed great speed on a 40-yard catch and run on the play where he suffered the injury.

If Richardson plays, he won't be 100 percent. His injury further depletes the amount of speed and explosiveness the Seahawks offense is already lacking.

Look for Kevin Smith, whom Seattle recently promoted from the practice squad, to get a decent amount of snaps in his Seahawks regular-season debut in Richardson's place. 

Key Matchups

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Seattle defensive line vs. San Francisco offensive line

This is a key, obvious matchup in nearly every NFL game. Yet, with the Seahawks barely hanging on for postseason life, it becomes one of the more important storylines to watch in this contest.

Against Arizona, Seattle's defensive line played outstandingly. Edge-rusher Cliff Avril stripped the football from quarterback Carson Palmer, and the defense was able to sack Palmer three times. 

When given time, any quarterback (including Blaine Gabbert) can pick a defense apart. In San Francisco's win against the Falcons, Atlanta failed to register a single sack, and it's a large reason why the 49ers carved out a win.

The Seahawks have tallied 23 sacks in 2015, six of which came in the last matchup against the 49ers in October. San Francisco has allowed 28 sacks on the season. 

Seahawks receivers vs. 49ers defensive backs

In Seattle's 20-3 win in October, three Seahawks receivers averaged at least 15 yards per reception against the 49ers.

On Sunday, that trend needs to continue. 

San Francisco is one of the only opponents that Seattle has shown offensive explosion against this season. It'll be important for the Seahawks to find that explosion—not only to get an important win this weekend but to make a run at the postseason.

Although Seattle's receivers posted big averages in the last matchup, not a single one reached 100 yards. It would be encouraging to see someone—anyone—total at least 100 receiving yards against a spotty 49ers defense. 

X-Factor: Tyler Lockett

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Rookie Tyler Lockett led the Seahawks in receiving in their 20-3 win against San Francisco with five grabs for 79 yards and a touchdown.

It would be encouraging to see a similar performance in Sunday's game, but with an additional twist—Lockett needs to have a bigger impact on special teams.

His return ability is what makes Lockett an X-factor on a weekly basis. Yet, in the first contest between these two teams, he had just one kickoff return of 20 yards and five punt returns for a total of 11 yards.

Expect Lockett to have a bigger impact on special teams this time around. With the 49ers offense looking better now than it did in the last matchup against Seattle, Lockett should get more than a single kickoff-return opportunity. 

Prediction: Seattle Seahawks 23, San Francisco 49ers 14

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This game will be close for a quarter or so, only because it's a divisional rivalry. 

The Seahawks defense will prove too overwhelming for a struggling 49ers offense that has only scored 26 total points in its last three games. San Francisco scored 17 of those points in the win against Atlanta.

Seattle will force at least one interception from Gabbert, reminding the league of why the former first-round pick never made it as a starting signal-caller with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

On the other side of the ball, Marshawn Lynch will have another good outing against San Francisco (he had 122 yards and a touchdown in the last game), and Russell Wilson will find some kind of rhythm through the air. 

The 49ers defense will get thrown around by an angry Seahawks team coming off its recent loss to Arizona. San Francisco has given up nearly 112 rushing yards per game—don't expect that to change in this one. 

The Seahawks, while not great, are a better team than San Francisco, and there's no reason to believe Seattle loses this game on its home field.

A win gives the Seahawks a chance at the playoffs, and a loss would essentially cement their fate, likely keeping them out of the postseason.

Seattle will play as if its season is on the line, because it is.

Prediction: Seattle Seahawks 23, San Francisco 49ers 14

Ethan is a Seahawks Game Day Correspondent for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @ebai_today for Seahawks coverage and musings about the NFL.