Week 15 Thursday Night Football: San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks Best Bets, Props, Predictions
Last week on Thursday Night Football, the Las Vegas Raiders predictably lost an unlosable game to the hapless Los Angeles Rams to end the Raiders’ playoff hopes. The Rams ran out Baker Mayfield, who had been completely useless for years at this point, just days after claiming him off waivers. This week we get a significantly more meaningful game when the San Francisco 49ers (9-4) go on the road to take on the Seattle Seahawks (7-6). If the 49ers win this game they can lock up the NFC West. If Seattle loses this game not only are their division hopes over but their playoff hopes will look bleak as well.
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Week 15 NFL Best Bets
Despite losing two quarterbacks this season, the 49ers have continued to roll with Brock Purdy under center. This year’s Mr. Irrelevant Brock Purdy has managed to knock off the Miami Dolphins and Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the past two weeks. Their defense may be the best in the league and their weapons are elite. However, they will be without maybe their best weapon this week because Deebo Samuel will not play on Thursday Night Football and could miss the remainder of the regular season. Still, San Fran looks to find a way to continue their winning ways in Seattle.
Things have not been going quite as well for the Seahawks. Once the most surprising feel-good story in the NFL, Seattle has now lost three of their last four games and the ship is sinking quickly. They are now on the outside of the playoff picture looking in with a brutal schedule in front of them. This game will serve as a last-gasp effort for them to turn around their fortunes. Geno Smith has far exceeded expectations this season, but the clock may strike midnight on this Cinderella story tonight.
When these teams met in Week 2, Trey Lance went down with a season-ending injury and Jimmy Garoppolo came in and led the 49ers to a blowout victory. Now it will be Purdy looking to do the same. A few things have changed for the Seahawks too as Kenneth Walker III is now their featured running back and is expected to be a full go returning from an ankle injury. Not to be outdone, the 49ers added a back of their own in Christian McCaffrey. Seattle will hope that the emergence of Walker and the loss of Samuel and Garoppolo will be enough to swing the tide in their favor despite the addition of CMC.
There is of course one other elephant in the room. We are all waiting for the bottom to fall out on Purdy. We see it all the time in the NFL. A young quarterback comes out of nowhere with a red-hot game or two before reality sets in. The league catches up with these guys in a hurry. If the Seahawks are to win this game or make it close it will be because they have figured out a way to expose Purdy’s shortcomings. With two weeks of film on him now that possibility isn’t out of the question.
The Pick: Seattle Seahawks +3.5 (-120)
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Week 15 TNF Player Props of the Night
Prop #1: Christian McCaffrey, Over 35.5 Receiving Yards (-135)
The props in this game aren’t overly tantalizing, but this one is the exception. Barring an injury, it seems difficult to believe CMC won’t hit this target. In the past six games with San Francisco, that’s every game with them excluding the first game that he was limited in, he has averaged 48.6 receiving yards per game. The Seahawks have allowed the fifth-most passing yards to running backs this season. With Deebo Samuel out that opens up even more underneath routes for McCaffrey. There should be plenty of opportunities for CMC in this one and he probably only needs a few to hit this number.
Prop #2: Jimmy Ward, Over 4.5 Tackles + Assists (+120)
Ward has been playing a hybrid safety/cornerback role as of late and has been up closer to the line of scrimmage lately. He’s been seeing his snap count climbing and was up over 90% last week. Over the past two weeks, he’s totaled 13 tackles + assists. During that time he’s also forced a fumble and has a pick. That doesn’t directly help you with this bet, but it should help keep his snap count up where it needs to be. He’s a high-level producer when he’s healthy and on the field and there’s no reason he’ll be anything less than that tonight.
Prop #3: George Kittle, Anytime TD (+205)
Kittle should be another beneficiary of the loss of Samuel. Deebo cuts into Kittle’s production immensely and his absence should open up opportunities for the tight end. He only has four TDs on the season so you’re getting him with great odds at +205. The matchup is also perfect. The Seahawks have allowed nine TDs to tight ends this season which is tied for the most in the league with the Cardinals. They are tough against wideouts only allowing 10 TDs to the position so this game lines up great for a Kittle TD reception.
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