You can watch Thursday Night Football: 49ers vs. Watch the Seahawks at 8:20 PM ET/5:20 PM PT on Amazon Prime Video.
The NFL gives us another major divisional matchup on Thursday Night Football as the 2-3 49ers travel to Seattle to take on the 3-2 Seahawks. There are plenty of big fantasy football names on both sides of the scoreboard, so let’s take a look at what to look for in this matchup.
The story of a quarterback (who deserves better)
Geno Smith currently ranks fifth among quarterbacks in fantasy points. He only has five passing touchdowns, but he leads the league in passing yards and is seventh in rushing yards at the position. Smith also leads the league in completions and attempts and ranks third in completion percentage among QBs with over 130 attempts.
Then again, Smith has just five passing touchdowns – one per week, good to rank seventh in the league.
I don’t know about you, but something isn’t right.
This is a situation that screams bad luck to me. Not only has Smith had to watch multiple completed passes to receivers just before being tackled at the 1-yard line, but Kenneth Walker III has been extremely efficient at scoring touchdowns in the end zone and red zone this season; 67% of the Seahawks touchdowns over four weeks came on the ground!
Simply put, the Seahawks have made it look easy to score on the ground while making it look incredibly difficult in the air. Things will even out, maybe once this game.
It doesn’t seem right for a guy to throw as often and efficiently as Smith does still doesn’t have a multi-passing touchdown game this season.
The Seahawks could chase the scoreboard two weeks in a row. To come out on top this time, they will have to score both through the air and on the ground. Be sure to keep a close eye on Smith’s work in the red zone in this game.
Will this be the monstrous Jordan Mason game?
Ever since Jordan Mason was elevated to starting RB for the 49ers, we’ve been waiting for the huge performances reminiscent of the man he replaced. So far, Mason has balanced two great fantasy games (Weeks 1 and 4) with one good game (Week 2) and two sub-par games (Weeks 3 and 5). To his credit, Mason is fifth in total running back fantasy points and second in the league in rushing yards.
But we’re still waiting for that 100-yard, three-touchdown play. Maybe we’re spoiled by what we normally get from Kyle Shanahan-made running attacks. Anyway, Mason was great, just not the weekly winner we expected.
The main thing keeping Mason from that ceiling was his receiving work. He has just seven catches on eight targets this season, with no touchdowns, good for 40th among RBs this season. By comparison, Alvin Kamara has 23 catches on 28 targets and a receiving rating. Mason just hasn’t been a priority in the passing game this season, even though Deebo Samuel, George Kittle and of course CMC have missed time due to injuries.
But maybe we’ll see a little more of Mason in all facets of the game this week. Shanahan and the 49ers undoubtedly saw what the star Lions’ RBs did to the Seahawks in Week 4. David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs combined for 158 yards and three total touchdowns against Seattle. Sure, most of the damage was done on the ground (Monty did produce 40 yards on one catch in that game), but the running game was one of the engines behind the Lions’ 42-point outburst.
Not to mention the 49ers are coming off a losing streak against another division rival, with Mason getting just 15 touches while Purdy threw the ball 35 times. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Shanahan returns to his bread and butter to right the ship in this game. Mason scoring multiple times on TNF sounds like a good prop to chase to me.
Vintage Brandon Aiyuk was featured in Week 5… but don’t expect a repeat appearance
We all knew it would take some time for Brandon Aiyuk to get going. It all came together last week against the division rival Cardinals, with Aiyuk catching eight passes for a whopping 147 yards. He could have had an even bigger game if Purdy hadn’t missed him a few times. Regardless, it was a welcome development and achievement for one of the better wide receivers in the league.
But counting on a repeat might be too much to ask.
After starting the season with some solid defensive performances against outside receivers, the Seahawks’ stopping unit is starting to show some chinks in the armor, most recently with Darius Slayton, who dropped eight catches for 122 yards and a touchdown against them. . Prior to this unexpected performance, Seattle’s secondary had not allowed any receiver to surpass 80 yards against them (and Jameson Williams reached 80 while limited to two catches). Unfortunately for that unit, they will be without cornerback Riq Woolen (ankle) for TNF. They could also be without safety Julian Love (hamstring), who is questionable after logging limited practices this week, listed as a game decision by HC Mike Macdonald.
Regardless, Macdonald’s defense has been solid at limiting perimeter receiver production this season, and that should continue in Week 6. As mentioned, I can see this being a big Jordan Mason play, but don’t be surprised if George Kittle and Deebo Samuel wreak havoc. in the middle have bigger forays than Aiyuk.
