SEATTLE – This is where it all starts for the 49ers, whose ultimate finish line is back home at Levi’s Stadium, site of Super Bowl LX in five long months.
If their 30-year Lombardi Trophy drought finally ends, it will come in a surprising fashion through growing pains and other adversity.
After all, the 49ers finished in last place last season amid health woes. Cue the good news: at least one NFL cellar dweller in 26 of the past 29 seasons has rebounded to make the playoffs the following season.
“I do think we have a team that can compete,” left tackle Trent Williams said, “but like every year, Week 1 is where dreams and reality meet.”
Last season evolved into a 6-11 record beneath a year-long black cloud of injuries, personal traumas, fourth-quarter collapses, defensive deficiencies, and special-teams chaos.
Already, there is harrowing déjà vu, with offensive mainstay Christian McCaffrey suddenly dealing with a calf injury, a year after Achilles tendinitis shelved him for eight games.
A bigger-picture mystery looms over the overhauled defense and special teams, and no one is disputing that.
“Put your seatbelt on, enjoy the ride,” Robert Saleh said as he reprises his role as defensive coordinator after leading the 49ers’ 2017-20 uprising. “It’s going to be a lot of ups and downs, a lot of really cool moments, a lot of hair pulling moments.”
We’ll find out how ready everyone is for that while focusing on these five areas in Sunday’s season-opening appetizer:
1. CMC OR NO CMC
McCaffrey proved indispensable last year, all due respect to Jordan Mason’s fill-in success. Opponents play the 49ers differently when accounting for McCaffrey’s versatility as a runner and receiver, with “the defense not knowing if he’s going to go out for a pass and the element that brings to them and their scheme,” Brock Purdy said Thursday.
McCaffrey is officially questionable for Sunday’s debut, regardless of him saying he feels “great” after leaving Thursday’s practice and working strictly on the side Friday. He looked on his way back to 2023 Offensive Player of the Year form before Thursday’s calf issue.
Brian Robinson Jr. arrived only two weeks ago, immediately was designated McCaffrey’s top understudy, and now could take on a larger than expected role from the jump, whether he’s starting in place of McCaffrey or sharing the workload. Isaac Guerendo likely would take on a bigger role, too.
General manager John Lynch raved Thursday morning about the running back depth, and the early-season offense still figures to lean hard on those ballcarriers until the receiving corps gets back Brandon Aiyuk (after Week 4) and Demarcus Robinson (after Week 3).
Whoever runs the ball, look for Williams to lead the way at left tackle, probably even more so while right guard Dominick Puni rebounds from an Aug. 16 knee sprain. Also, the new tight end tandem of George Kittle and Luke Farrell could help clear lanes for a running back to be named later.
2. STOPPING SEATTLE’S RUN
After parting with quarterback Geno Smith and wide receivers D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, the Seahawks’ switched up their offense to a more Shanahan-like scheme emphasizing outside-zone runs and motion-based plays, all under offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, who was the 49ers’ 2023 pass-game coordinator and whose brother Klay is the 49ers’ offensive coordinator.
Although first-round pick Mykel Williams will be relied upon to set the edge opposite Nick Bosa on the 49ers’ line, an overlooked X-factor is Jordan Elliott, the most explosive and stoutest run stuffer among a defensive tackle corps including veteran Kalia Davis and rookies Alfred Collins and C.J. West.
“Honestly we have to stop the run. It’s something we struggled with last year. It obviously will be a point of emphasis,” Elliott said. “It’ll be a good test and a great first game so we can get the sour taste out of our mouth from last season.”
As far as the 49ers’ run defense has fallen, neither of the Seahawks’ two backs have enjoyed much success in this rivalry: Kenneth Walker III has averaged 3.2 yards per carry (52 carries, 164 yards, two touchdowns) and Zach Charbonnet 3.6 ypc. (32 carries, 114 yards).
3. THIRD-DOWN PASSING
Each offense employs a run-oriented attack, but 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy is being paid $53 million a year to play his part, and the Seahawks brought in Sam Darnold (Purdy’s 2023 backup) to use his talented arm on demand.
Both receiving corps are suspect, making third-down conversions dicey until proven otherwise.
The Seahawks’ Jaxson Smith-Njigba is now complemented by Cooper Kupp, formerly a 49ers nemesis with the Los Angeles Rams. Look for either of them, and rookie Tory Horton, to test out the young cornerback corps, including rookie Upton Stout, who could debut as the starting nickel back.
Purdy can rely on his most trusted target, Kittle, while also tapping into the ascending connection with Ricky Pearsall, not to mention third-down maestro Jauan Jennings.
Purdy said of Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald’s defense plays a bend-don’t-break style, “making the quarterback check the ball down and be smart. They want to get you to push the ball in certain areas. And then they play really tight coverage. It’s almost like you can’t miss. You’ve got to be pinpoint accurate as a quarterback.”
Purdy is 3-0 in Seattle, with six touchdown passes (four to Kittle) and one interception (the only pick-six ever off Purdy, in the 2023 division-clinching win).
4. THAT SEATTLE SOUND
The 49ers’ ability to communicate in a deafening environment is the first thing Purdy attributed his success in Seattle. “In an environment like that where it feels like they are on top of you in the stadium, you’ve just got to be on top of your operation, breaking the huddle, being on the right cadence for us on offense, making sure the guys hear the right calls in the huddle,” Purdy said. “It’s a real part of the game and it’s something that you can’t overlook.”
Puni was a rookie starter last year when introduced to the Seattle sound, to which he now says: “Everyone has to be locked in on what they have to do. There’s really no time to get to the line and scream to Jake or Colt right next to me; they really can’t even hear me. So you have to be confident in what you’re doing.”
A bipartisan crowd, with a heavy dose of 49ers Faithful, won’t mute all the noise.
One 49ers rookie who’s looking to feed off the NFL’s loudest amphitheater is Mykel Williams. Two years ago, Williams was a Georgia playing in front of 101,915 at Tennessee’s Neyland Stadium when Vols running back Jaylon Wright’s 75-yard touchdown run on the opening play unleashed what Williams calls “the loudest moment I’ve ever heard in my life.” Georgia, by the way, responded by winning 38-10, and Williams had a sack along the way.
5. SPECIAL TEAMS SHOCKERS
Jake Moody made 6-of-6 field-goal attempts in last season’s 32-19 opening win over the New York Jets. Anyone think he can repeat that, after an ankle injury sent his 2024 into the dumpster, with ensuing misses this preseason?
Moody Mania isn’t the only reason to be on alert.
He may be back for his third season but so much around him as changed, including the arrivals punter Thomas Morstead and long snapper Jon Weeks, a pair of 39-year-old seasoned pros. New special teams coordinator Brant Boyer has generated greater intensity among his units, which will feature new mainstays such as Luke Gifford, Siran Neal, Chase Lucas and return specialist Skyy Moore.
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Seattle has stunned the 49ers’ special teams in recent meetings at Lumen Field: Laviska Shenault had a 97-yard kick return for a touchdown in last season’s 36-24 Niners win. The last time the Seahawks won this matchup at home, they scored on a fake punt after seemingly going three-and-out on their opening possession, that leading to a 30-23 Seattle win in 2021.
