Seattle Seahawks Game Plan vs. San Francisco 49ers

The Seattle Seahawks face an inferior opponent this weekend in the Blaine Gabbert-led San Francisco 49ers.

But don't let the matchup fool you—Sunday afternoon's contest is an ultra-important one for the Seahawks. A win keeps their playoff hopes alive; a loss would all but end Seattle's season in November.

With that being said, the game plan against San Francisco is simple—run the ball well on offense and make Gabbert beat you with his arm on defense. 

The 12th Man will be ready:

"

@DrHawk12 @Seahawks blue friday bump:) pic.twitter.com/WboQhnzPb4

— Kevin Johnson (@HawkPapa84) November 20, 2015"

Offensive Game Plan

In Week 7, the Seahawks dismantled the 49ers on the back of Marshawn Lynch. Beast Mode carried the ball 27 times for 122 yards and a touchdown, proving to be way too much for the 49ers defense. 

Seattle would be wise to employ a similar game plan in Week 11's matchup.

But the team should seriously consider lessening Lynch's load (at least a little bit) and give rookie Thomas Rawls more touches this weekend. Although Rawls only got six carries in the last matchup against the 49ers, he tallied 32 yards—enough for an impressive 5.3 yards per carry. 

As you can see in the following video tweeted out by Rawls' mother, Deadra, the undrafted running back not only has speed, power and shiftiness but the support of Lynch as well:

Running the ball effectively is certainly part of a Seahawks winning game plan. In last week's loss to Arizona, Seattle running backs combined for 12 touches. It wasn't enough then, and it won't be enough this weekend, either—the Seahawks need to run the ball at least 20 times against the 49ers.

Running the ball consistently will also take pressure off of Russell Wilson and Seattle's putrid passing game. In the loss to Arizona, Wilson ended up with 240 yards with one touchdown and one interception. 

The stats painted a different image than what was seen on the field:

Well said, Gabriel. "Abysmal" seems like an appropriate term to describe Seattle's passing offense in 2015. 

It'll also be important for the Seahawks to run the ball well to create manageable third downs for the offense. Against Arizona, the Seahawks only converted one of eight third downs.

That is not a good success rate.

Defensive Game Plan

While the Seahawks offense needs to run the ball, the team's defense needs to keep San Francisco from doing the same. 

If the unit is successful in stopping the 49ers ground attack, it'll mean that Gabbert will have to win the game with his arm—and we all know that's a long shot.

There's reason to believe the Seahawks can stop the 49ers from putting together a successful rushing attack, seeing as Seattle mostly played quite well against Arizona's eighth-ranked running game last Sunday.

San Francisco is ranked 17th in the NFL in terms of rushing offense. Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk also reported Friday that starter Carlos Hyde will not play Sunday, which should help Seattle's defense have a dominant day against San Francisco runners.

Third-year pro Shaun Draughn will likely start in Hyde's place. Draughn had 58 yards on 16 carries in San Francisco's win against Atlanta, but he failed to find the end zone. Expect a similarly ineffective day against an angry Seattle defense. 

Oh, and another key on defense? Quit letting plays like this happen in crunch time. 

Key Matchups

Seahawks Running Backs vs. Linebacker NaVorro Bowman

If Seattle is to successfully carry out the game plan yours truly has written out above, it will have to get past an angry NaVorro Bowman.

Bowman is returning to Seattle for the first time since suffering a gruesome left knee injury in the fourth quarter of the NFC Championship game two seasons ago. 

The stud linebacker certainly hasn't forgotten that day:

While Bowman only has two sacks on the season, his tackling production has been high in 2015. He has 65 tackles on the season and will be hunting the Seahawks running backs on Sunday.

Expect Seattle to use a tight end in many cases to counter his rushing ability—whether that's Jimmy Graham or Luke Willson.

Watching Bowman take on the Seattle runners should be one of the more intriguing matchups on the field during this game.

Legion of Boom vs. Blaine Gabbert

With little chance that Draughn and the 49ers ground game generates much of anything on Sunday, it'll be up to Gabbert to lead San Francisco to victory.

You'll have to excuse us for not seeing things the same way, Ki.

This matchup is a simple one to talk about, but it's very important. Against Atlanta, Gabbert made some good plays and some bad ones, too. He tossed two interceptions to the Falcons' secondary, which is arguably worse than Seattle's.

Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman hasn't picked off a pass yet this season. That changes Sunday. 

Prediction: Seahawks 23, 49ers 14

Seattle's running backs will tally at least 150 total yards on the ground against the 49ers, controlling the game from the Seahawks' opening possession. Lynch and Rawls should end up with a rushing touchdown each. 

Bowman's return will be an emotional kick starter for the 49ers, and the linebacker will be disruptive. But the rest of the San Francisco defense won't be able to hang with Seattle's commitment to the running game, and the 49ers will fall behind.

When that happens, expect Gabbert to show moments of both brilliance and of utter confusion. Gabbert will throw two interceptions, one of which will be to Sherman. 

Like the season's first game between these two teams, Sunday will be a mostly lopsided affair. 

If the Seahawks lose to the Gabbert-led 49ers, then they don't deserve to make the postseason. It's as simple as that.

But the Seahawks will play as if their season is on the line, because it is, and come out with a victory at CenturyLink Field against a bitter division rival. 

Ryan Kang/Associated Press

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