Getty The Seahawks and 49ers will not play on 'Sunday Night Football.'
The Seattle Seahawks have just lost an opportunity to play a game in primetime. The NFL has flexed the Week 13 battle against the San Francisco 49ers out of the “Sunday Night Football” time slot.
The Seahawks announced the move on Tuesday, November 23, and confirmed that the NFL had replaced the NFC West division game with one featuring the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs battling for AFC West supremacy. The 49ers will now visit Lumen Field at 4:25 p.m. ET for a game that airs on CBS instead of NBC.
With this change, there is only one more primetime game for the Seahawks remaining on the 2021 schedule. The Pacific Northwest team will take on the Football Team on Monday, November 29, and will cap off Thanksgiving week.
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The Seahawks & 49ers Have Struggled in 2021
GettyCould Russell Wilson have interest in a trade to the Philadelphia Eagles?
Prior to the season, there was considerable hype surrounding the NFC West and the teams battling for dominance. The 49ers, Rams, Seahawks, and Cardinals all created belief that they could be championship contenders. However, the situation changed early in the season.
The Cardinals sit at 9-2 while the Rams are 7-3, but the Seahawks and 49ers both sit in worse positions. The Bay Area team is 5-5 while Pete Carroll’s squad is now 3-7 after a 23-13 loss to the Cardinals on November 21.
The Seahawks can still gain ground on the 49ers by winning in Week 13. The team won the first matchup on October 3, which took place at Levi’s Stadium, and secured one of the NFL’s many tiebreakers in case both teams ultimately finish with the same record. Though the Seahawks had healthy players on both sides of the ball.
The Seahawks Will Not Make Sweeping Changes Just Yet
With the Seahawks falling to 3-7 and remaining in last place in the division, reaching the playoffs appears to be out of reach. However, Carroll is not going to make wholesale changes to the team just yet. He and the veteran leaders on the team have not given up on the season.
The head coach expressed optimism about the future on Sunday, November 21. He said that the team could still make a turnaround and that there are some changes that they will make while trying to bounce back.
“When things aren’t working out right, you have to be open to do whatever you got to do,” Carroll told media members, transcript courtesy of the Seahawks. “We have to do whatever we got to do, and that’s competing to me. So I’m not trying to stick to the script; I’m trying to do what’s right. So the subtle changes that we make—we’re not going to make wholesale changes at this time—but the subtle changes that we make to try and enhance our chances of doing better, that’s what’s at hand, and I’m wide open to whatever.”
The veteran players also spoke to their teammates during a meeting on Monday, November 22. Russell Wilson, Duane Brown, and Bobby Wagner all delivered messages about urgency, accountability, and togetherness.
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