10 NFL Games we’re most looking forward to in 2015
By Andrew Garda
San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks, Week 11
The San Francisco 49ers have been dealing with a ton of changes this offseason. They got rid of their coach (who only took them to the NFC Championship games in two of his three years with the team). They had a key defensive player retire (Patrick Willis) as well as his potential replacement (Chris Borland). They got rid of Frank Gore and now put the ground game in the hands of a fairly unproven Carlos Hyde and they replaced Michael Crabtree with Torrey Smith.
That’s a lot of offseason chaos for a team which has only really been fully competitive for the last few years, and a lot of pressure on a front office which, if the team misses the playoffs, could see themselves burned in effigy outside their stadium.
Meanwhile, the Seattle Seahawks will be trying to get back into the Super Bowl for the third time in three years. It’s hard to go back after you win, but they did it. It’s just as hard to do it again after you lose, but as the Bills will tell you, it can be done.
This is also a team which is coming to the end of a run where they were able to sign a lot of players with money that wasn’t going to their franchise quarterback. Russell Wilson is about done with his rookie deal, and that means things are going to get real expensive, real quick.
These two teams were at the top of the division not that long ago and they are both in a position which could see them fall from that perch soon.
It’s possible only one of these two teams makes the playoffs again this year. This game could be the one to determine which it is.
Next: Dallas Cowboys at Green Bay Packers, Week 14