San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks: Sunday Night Football Preview

Dec 23, 2012; Seattle, WA, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick (7) calls out a play at the line during the 1st half against the Seattle Seahawks at CenturyLink Field. Seattle defeated San Francisco 42-13. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports /

One of the most highly anticipated games of the young NFL season is this evening, as Colin Kaepernick and the defending NFC champion San Francisco 49ers travel to CenturyLink Field to take on Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks in an important NFC West showdown.

It’s a battle of two young quarterbacks that took the league by storm last season. Kaepernick, originally the backup behind Alex Smith in 2012, stepped in during week 10 and led the Niners all the way to the Super Bowl, where they lost to the Baltimore Ravens. San Francisco is coming off a 34-28 victory at Green Bay as the third-year signal-caller went 27-39 for 412 yards and three touchdowns, one to Anquan Boldin who went off for 13 catches and 208 yards. The game also featured a late hit by Clay Matthews on Kapernick, resulting in a $15,000 fine.

Meanwhile, the Seahawks got past the Panthers, 12-7, in a game in which both offenses struggled to get into the end zone. Wilson, though, did go 25-33 for 320 yards and a score. Marshawn Lynch struggled on the ground (43 yards on 17 carries) as the Panthers’ run defense, led by Luke Kuechly, bottled him up all afternoon. Apart from that, it appears Wilson is set to avoid the sophomore slump and improve on a fine rookie season.

But with both teams coming in 1-0, someone has to go down–expect a lot of points in this contest. We don’t expect any eyebrows shaved though.

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