NFC Playoff Betting – Do the Seahawks have the recipe for an upset?

  • In Charles Jay
  • Sat, Jan 14th, 2023 10:16:03 am
  • By Charles Jay - Exclusive to OSGA


The Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers will play for the third time this season in a battle for the right to move on to the next round of the NFC playoffs.


Well, it was the good fortune of the Seattle Seahawks that they had been able to score a regular season victory over the Detroit Lions. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be seeing them in the NFC playoffs. But BetOnline patrons will indeed be watching as the Seahawks go up against the San Francisco 49ers for the third time this season.

It’s Wild Card weekend in the NFL, and the 49ers will play host to Seattle at 4:30 PM Eastern time on Saturday at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara.

Remember that you can participate in wagering on this game even after the kickoff, by using Live Betting, and you can check with Odds Boosters to get explosive payouts on pre-selected parlays.

Pete Carroll is a legitimate candidate for coach of the year honors. His team traded away Russell Wilson and lost a lot of other personnel during the off-season. And Seattle was expected to be in “rebuild“ mode.

Instead, Carroll switched gears, using the previous backup, Geno Smith, at quarterback. And all Smith did was complete 69% of his passes with 30 touchdowns and earn a selection to the Pro Bowl. While Wilson wanted a rather unbalanced offense, dedicated to the passing game, the Seahawks stuck with balance and got a tremendous season out of Kenneth Walker III, a rookie who ran for 1050 yards and showed some dominant tendencies at times.

The result was a 9–8 record (7–10 against the spread) and a ticket to the playoffs when Detroit beat Green Bay in the season‘s final week.

Now they confront the league‘s best defense, but perhaps they have something of a path to victory. We'll discuss that.

In the NFC playoff betting odds they have been posted on this game by the people at BetOnline, San Francisco is a considerable favorite:

San Francisco 49ers -9.5 (-116)
Seattle Seahawks +9.5 (-104)

Over 42 points -113
Under 42 points -107

In making a case for the Seahawks, we have to consider a few things. One of them, of course, is that Carroll is at the helm. Even while he had Wilson at his disposal as quarterback, his tenure with the Seahawks has demanded that he deal with a lot of injuries, especially to the offensive line. And he almost always succeeded. This season, he had to replace his top running back, Rashaad Penny, who led all running backs in yards per carry last season.

But he was able to turn to Walker, a star at Michigan State who averaged 4.6 yards per attempt. Carroll had assured everyone at the outset of the season that Smith, who has spent a couple of years in his offense, was going to have no problem adapting to the role of a starter. That indeed turned out to be the case; the former Giant and Jet threw for 4282 yards and led the league in passing efficiency for much of the season. One would have to consider his success story one of the more unlikely of the 2022 season.

The Seahawks also did a heck of a job in the draft. Both starting offensive tackles - Charlie Cross and Abraham Lucas - came within the first three rounds. Of course, Walker was also drafted. And cornerback Tariq Woolen, a fifth round selection, was voted into the Pro Bowl. He’s a major candidate for rookie of the year.

And the secondary isn’t bad, allowing just 6.6 yards per past attempt. Don’t forget that the Niners have a rookie at quarterback with just five NFL starts under his belt. Brock Purdy has been very steady, but the last man picked in the draft is making his first playoff appearance.

There is indeed a challenge for the San Francisco secondary. DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett both went over the 1000- yard mark and really smoothed the path for Smith to succeed at quarterback. All the above elements might come together to help Seattle and their crafty coach to keep things pretty close.


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