Could the San Francisco 49ers send another veteran defender into retirement with a loss?
Already, the 49ers represented the final game for three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt in Week 18, who officially retired after losing to San Francisco 38-13. But on the Seattle Seahawks’ side, they have a past first rounder who could also be in for his final snaps ever.
Bruce Irvin, once drafted No. 15 overall by the franchise in 2012, said this during the team’s “All Access” video prior to their eventual playoff clinching win over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, January 8.
“Last home game, this might be the last one for me, period,” Irvin said before helping lead the ‘Hawks over the Rams 19-16 in overtime. “So, we got to go out with a bang, baby.”
Irvin is one of the last remaining Super Bowl winning defenders from the ‘Hawks still in the league alongside former teammate Bobby Wagner. Both were on the Seahawks’ 2013 title winning team over the Denver Broncos. Irvin was also on Seattle’s NFC championship winning team the following season.
Now, with his team an underdog by nine points heading into Super Wild Card Weekend, Saturday could present the final contest for the 35-year-old defender if the 49ers eliminate their division rival at Levi’s Stadium. And if it’s the end for Irvin, he’ll complete a decade long NFL career that saw 343 career tackles and 55.5 sacks per Pro Football Reference. Irvin additionally played for the Oakland Raiders, Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers and Chicago Bears before returning to the team that drafted him in 2022.
Although, Irvin re-addressed the retirement rumors with the Seattle media after the Rams game including saying “It’s been a great ride. I don’t know.”
Seahawks 35-year-old LB Bruce Irvin says he doesn’t know if he’s going to play again or not in 2023. Says he’s said he was retiring after the last two seasons.
“And here I am, here with you…
“It’s been a great ride. I don’t know.”
Pro Bowler Who Knows Both Franchises Chimes in on Matchup
Meanwhile, a former teammate of Irvin’s who also happens to know the 49ers chimed in on the upcoming playoff contest: Richard Sherman.
While most of the NFL world believes the red-hot 49ers will win with ease over a team they’ve already beaten twice during the regular season, “Sherm” is thinking otherwise.
“It’s going to be 25-25,” Sherman first joked on The Richard Sherman Podcast.
But then, Sherman got serious about why this upcoming playoff opener could be closer than what many are thinking.
“It’s going to be tough to deal with them, they’re coming off a 10-game winning streak, but the game in Seattle was closer than a lot of people think,” Sherman explained. “There was a 10-point swing right before the end of the first half, where an interception by Quandre Diggs could have happened. It was right in his hands, he threw it right to him. That could have changed the complexity of that game immensely, it could have changed really fast.
He added, “With Christian McCaffrey, this offensive line, this defensive line healthy now in San Francisco, it’s a tough task asking Seattle to walk into San Francisco and come out with a win, but I don’t think it will be a 10-point spread.”
Inclement Weather Expected
While the game is in Santa Clara, Seattle-like weather is expected by kickoff in the Bay Area.
The Weather Channel projects a 100% chance of rain at the game with “potential for heavy downfall.” California has already been hammered by a series of storms referred to as “atmospheric river” and a “bomb cyclone” in the past week. Even All-Pro tight end George Kittle has been without power as he claimed.
Rainy weather can help bode well for the Seahawks having played in a city known for torrential rain fall. Their last game saw rain in the forecast. But how are the 49ers preparing for inclement weather? Steve Wyche of the NFL Network revealed that a heavy dose of Christian McCaffrey is imminent to counter the elements.
“You talk about it raining and it brings the ground game into focus and what the 49ers like to do,” Wyche said on NFL Total Access on Friday.
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49ers’ Playoff Game May Become Final Contest for Ex-1st Rounder