The Seahawks got a great win yesterday at home as Olindo Mare kicked a 30-yard field goal as time expired to end the game.  Matt Hasselbeck was solid in completing 25 of 34 passes for 198 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 INTs.  He also carried the ball 4 times for 31 yards (7.8 ypc).  Seneca Wallace completed his only pass attempt and it was good for 7 yards.  Julius Jones led the way on the ground for the Seahawks yesterday with 20 carries for 67 yards (3.4 ypc) and he also caught 5 passes for -3 yards (-0.6 avg).  Justin Forsett only rushed for 9 yards on 5 carries (1.8 ypc) but he also caught 3 passes for 25 yards (8.3 avg) with a TD.  Nate Burleson (5 rec, 54 yards) and T.J. Houshmandzadeh (5 rec, 37 yards) had solid games for the Seahawks yesterday.  But, it was rookie WR Deon Butler who made the biggest play in this game setting up Olindo Mare with a long 32-yard catch late in the 4th quarter which was his only grab of the day.  The Seahawks finished up with 292 total yards on offense (107 rushing, 185 passing) in this game.

The defense was in bend but don’t break mode for the Seahawks yesterday.  Safety Jordan Babineaux led the way for the Seahawks in this game with 9 tackles, 1/2 a sack, 1 pass defensed and 1 QB hit.  CB Marcus Trufant also had a decent game finishing with 7 tackles in this game.  The 49ers finished up with 356 total yards in this game (53 rushing, 303 passing).  The Seahawks are now 5-7 on the season.

This should be a very interesting football game this Sunday.  The Niners are only 1-4 on the road while the Seahawks are 3-2 at home this year.  The Niners won in September against the Seahawks 23-10 in San Fran.  The Niners still think that they can win the NFC West as they play the Cardinals next weekend but in order for that to happen they will have to take care of business in Seattle this week which will be easier said than done.  The Niners should get back to the running game this weekend as Frank Gore is the best player on the offense and they need to start getting the ball back  into his hands more.  The Seahawks are allowing 110.7 yards rushing and 4.3 yards per carry so far this year so Gore should have some success.  Alex Smith has been playing decent lately and the Seahawks don’t rush the passer that well so he should have time to look downfield to throw the ball.  Josh Morgan and Michael Crabtree could be in store for good games against a Seahawks’ D that is allowing 238.1 yards passing per game this year.  But, TE Vernon Davis is Smith’s favorite target so he will also likely get a lot of work on Sunday.

The Seahawks will likely come out throwing the ball early and often against a Niners’ D that is allowing 238.1 yards passing per game so far this year.  Matt Hasselbeck should have the time to locate his WRs as the 49ers don’t have much of a pass rush.  With that in mind T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Nate Burleson could have great games this weekend.  TE John Carlson should also be successful this weekend working the short stuff over the middle of the field.  Justin Forsett will likely have a hard time finding much running room against the nasty Patrick Willis in the middle of the Niners’ D.

PREDICTION:  SEAHAWKS 27, 49ERS 23

Justin Forsett began this season returning kicks and punts for the Seahawks and he did a decent job.  He has returned 11 kickoffs for 269 yards (24.5 avg) and 13 punts for 59 yards (4.5 avg) this year.  But, now the 5’8″, 194 pound Forsett has stepped into the starting lineup as the main back while Julius Jones has been out of action and he is playing well.  Forsett has played in 11 games this season for the Seahawks and he has carried the ball 67 times for 385 yards (5.7 ypc) with 4 TD runs.  He has also caught 29 passes for 246 yards (8.5 avg) so far this year.  While he is probably too small to ever be a featured back, Forsett has definitely proved that he can step up when needed.