Seahawks at 49ers
With a first-round bye still a possibility, the Seattle Seahawks have a good chance to take care of things on their end as they look to extend their winning streak over the San Francisco 49ers when they visit their NFC West rivals on Sunday in the regular-season finale. Seattle will finish no worse than fourth in the conference but can earn a pass on wild-card weekend with a victory and a loss or tie by Atlanta against New Orleans.
The Seahawks, who handily claimed their third division title in four years and eighth over the last 13 campaigns, have won five consecutive meetings with the 49ers - including a 37-18 trouncing at home in Week 3. Seattle, which also will clinch a first-round bye with a more complicated scenario that includes a tie versus the 49ers, has dropped two of its last three contests, however, and a setback in its final game would guarantee a fourth-place finish in the NFC and a home matchup against the New York Giants next weekend. San Francisco would like nothing better than to ruin the Seahawks' hopes as it attempts to end a dismal season with back-to-back victories. The 49ers have posted both of their wins this year against Los Angeles, opening the campaign with a 28-0 home triumph and ending their franchise-record 13-game losing streak with a 22-21 road victory last week.
TV: 4:25 p.m. ET, FOX. LINE: Seahawks -9.5. O/U: 43
ABOUT THE SEAHAWKS (9-5-1): Seattle likely will have Thomas Rawls at its disposal in the finale, as the running back fully participated in practice on Wednesday and Thursday after leaving last week's loss to Arizona with a shoulder injury. Rawls rushed for a career-best 209 yards and a touchdown in the first meeting with San Francisco this season. Safety Kam Chancellor also was a full participant on Thursday and figures to play against the 49ers after briefly going down with an ankle injury versus the Cardinals.
ABOUT THE 49ERS (2-13): San Francisco still is in the running for the first overall pick in the 2017 draft, as it would receive the selection with a loss and an unlikely victory over Pittsburgh by the 1-14 Cleveland Browns. Defensive end DeForest Buckner has recorded three sacks over his last three games and is second among NFC rookies with six. Carlos Hyde, who rushed for career highs of 988 yards and six touchdowns, was placed on injured reserve after suffering a sprained MCL against the Rams last week while defensive lineman Zach Moore was claimed off waivers from Dallas.
EXTRA POINTS
1. The Seahawks (2-4-1) can do no better than finish tied with Los Angeles - and potentially Arizona - for the most road victories in the division.
2. San Francisco has scored a total of 44 points during its losing streak against Seattle.
3. Seattle LB Bobby Wagner leads the NFL with 155 tackles, which also is a franchise single-season record.