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Despite needing help to make the postseason and overall below average second half of the season, Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll expressed confidence in his team ahead of their NFC Wild Card playoff matchup.
He didn’t, however, convey much positivity about who the Seahawks would be playing.
“We have this opportunity to keep going. All excited about the fact the way the day turned out yesterday,” Carroll told the media. “We were so sunk into being Lions fans. We love the Lions. Coach [Dan] Campbell did a great job with his crew, and they played a fantastic football game to get the win to give us a chance, so we’re going to try to do something with it.
“Unfortunately, we’re playing the Niners, and they’re loaded and healthy and on a roll, and about as hot as you can possibly get and doing it in even commanding fashion too.”
Pete Carroll’s opening statement as he meets media to begin playoff week.
The Seahawks will visit the San Francisco 49ers in the first playoff matchup of the weekend on January 14 at 4:30 pm ET.
History of Carroll vs. Shanahan
If previous history means anything in the Seahawks-49ers playoff matchup, Carroll can be confident. He owns an 8-4 against Kyle Shanahan since the start of the 2017 season.
Shanahan also hadn’t won consecutive games versus Carroll before 2022.
But Shanahan accomplished two straight wins versus Carroll during the 2022 regular season. The 49ers swept the Seahawks and won the two games by a combined 28 points this past fall.
Carroll stressed during his press conference on January 10 how difficult a test it will be to face the 49ers again. The Seahawks coach compared the showdown to a chess match.
“I say that about the chess match thing because I have so much respect for what Kyle does,” Carroll told the media. “Their whole style of play and all that they have developed over the years. It’s going to be a good challenge.”
A lot can impact a playoff game, but two clear x-factors that must favor the Seahawks for Seattle to win are D.K. Metcalf and George Kittle.
The 49ers defense held Metcalf to 8.2 yards per reception in the two regular season matchups this season. The big Seahawks receiver must make big plays down the field to give Seattle a chance.
Seattle must also slow down the 49ers tight end. Kittle didn’t play in the first matchup, but in the rematch, he recorded 93 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns on only 5 targets.
Seahawks-49ers Third Matchup
Metcalf sounded like he was ready to roll when speaking about the upcoming playoff showdown on January 10.
“It’s going to be hard to beat … it’s hard to beat a team three times,” Metcalf told the media. “We’re looking forward to the matchup.”
The truth, though, is it’s actually not as hard as it sounds.
The Seahawks should have confidence in Carroll’s overall success against Shanahan. But in NFL history, organizations with a chance to beat a division rival a third time in the same season are 14-10 in the third matchup.
Over the past three decades, that record is even better. NFL teams with an opportunity to defeat a division rival a third time are 10-6 in the third game since 1994.
Interestingly, the 49ers had a chance to beat the Los Angeles Rams a third occasion during the 2022 NFC Championship Game. But the Rams won the playoff matchup and advanced to the Super Bowl.
The Seahawks want a similar story to happen for them this postseason.
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Seahawks’ Pete Carroll Gets Brutally Honest About 49ers Matchup