Getty Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll
The Seattle Seahawks are facing their NFC West rival San Francisco 49ers for the second time in 17 days on Sunday, Dec. 10 in Week 14. The first game — played on Thanksgiving night — did not go well for the Seahawks. Seattle lost 31-13 at home, and after the loss the next week to the Dallas Cowboys, the team has fallen out of the NFC playoffs. Head coach Pete Carroll takes responsibility for that first loss and says this next game will be different.
Pete Carroll Takes Responsibility for Team’s Lack of ‘Preparation’ in 49ers Loss
The last time the Seahawks and 49ers faced off, it was on a short week, with Seattle coming off a hard-fought and disappointing late-window Sunday loss to the Los Angeles Rams. The Niners played at the same time but they had a relatively easy two-touchdown win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Ahead of the Seahawks-49ers matchup in Week 14, Carroll says that last time around the team wasn’t as prepared as they could have been, but this week they will be after getting the “mini-bye” NFL teams get after playing on a Thursday (or two consecutive Thursdays in the Seahawks’ case) then returning to their normal Sunday schedule.
“It’s good to be coming off a couple days here that we got a break. I’m feeling fresh legs myself, so I’m sure the players are, too. We gotta take advantage of that and make sure that this preparation is really right on point,” Carroll told reporters to open his Wednesday press conference. “We played these guys a couple weeks ago, and I did not feel like I did a good job in the preparation, the short week with our team.”
A reporter then asked if Carroll knew that the younger players on the team were struggling with the short turnaround last time, and the coach responded that he didn’t “feel it until we got out there.”
Seahawks Have the Younger, Fresher Team in Week 14
The Seahawks having a lot of young players filling key roles is an interesting issue for the team in 2023. It can, as Pete Carroll discussed, cause issues when teams face short weeks since that doesn’t happen in the college game.
However, when the team is the fresher and more rested squad, it could be a big advantage in a game like the Seahawks-49ers tilt in Week 14.
Seattle currently is smack dab in the middle of the league in terms of the average age of their roster at 26.4, according to Spotrac. However, a few veterans — specifically 33-year-olds Geno Smith and Bobby Wagner and 41-year-old Jason Peters — bring that average up.
As far as the Seahawks’ main contributors go, rookies Devon Witherspoon, wide receivers Jaxon-Smith Njigba and Jake Bobo, running back Zach Charbonnet, defensive end Derick Hall, and offensive lineman Anthony Bradford and Olu Oluwatimi. The Class of 2022 is just as impactful, with second-year players like CB Riq Woolen, RB Kenneth Walker III, DE Boye Mafe, and OTs Charles Cross and Abraham Lucas all helping power the team this season.
The 49ers are the ninth-oldest roster in the NFL right now at 26.81, and unlike the Seahawks, the majority of the key 49ers contributors are 26 and over, with just a select few starters like QB Brock Purdy (23) and newly-acquired DE Chase Young (24) on the younger side.
This older roster also played a tough, physical game last Sunday in the late window against the Philadelphia Eagles.
In the end, the 49ers are a buzzsaw right now, and three extra days of rest may not matter with the amount of talent they put on the field. Carroll does seem to think his team may have an advantage on Sunday, though, so the teams’ energy levels in Week 14 are worth watching.