The 49ers could be first place in the NFC West with a win on Thursday.
Fresh off a disappointing 24-23 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, the San Francisco 49ers have a quick turnaround in Week 6 as they take on another division rival in, the Seattle Seahawks, on the road.
They’ll have their second primetime game of the season, as they’ll face the Seahawks on Thursday Night Football at Lumen Field, looking to bounce back after a tough game this past weekend.
Coming off a dominant 30-13 victory over the New England Patriots, the 49ers had all the momentum this weekend against the Cardinals, putting together a 13-point lead at halftime.
But, despite getting a number of opportunities to extend the lead, the 49ers could never close the game out and were shutout in the second half, while Arizona scored 14 unanswered points to pull off the 24-23 comeback victory.
The Seahawks are coming off a disappointing loss themselves, as they fell 29-20 to the reeling New York Giants at home, making one too many mistakes to lose their second consecutive game and fall to 3-2.
Now, heading into an important conference game on Thursday, what are the odds to win for the 49ers as they hit the road?
Looking ahead to Week 6, the 49ers are opening as three-point favorites over the Seahawks on the road, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, with the over/under at 47.5 points. San Francisco is a -164 favorite to win outright as well.
This one is especially important for San Francisco as an early-season divisional contest. With a victory, the 49ers have a chance to climb to first in the NFC West.
More importantly, the 49ers do not want to drop to 0-3 in the division, as they’ve already lost games to the Arizona Cardinals and the Los Angeles Rams.
While the 49ers are still seen as favorites to win the NFC West, three early losses in the division would be a blow and could impact the team’s seeding down the road.
Seattle has struggled on the defensive end to begin the season, most notably giving up 42 points to the Detroit Lions, but the 49ers have really struggled to put the ball in the end zone, most recently going 1/6 on opportunities inside the 20-yard line against Arizona. That’ll be a battle to watch and a big key for San Francisco on Thursday.
Additionally, stopping the run game will be important once again, as lead back Kenneth Walker has averaged 5.5 yards per carry to begin the year. San Francisco struggled to finish in that department this past weekend, with James Conner being a crucial part of Arizona’s last two drives.
It’ll be a quick turnaround for the 49ers, who will need to quickly flush the loss and head on the road for a Thursday night game against Seattle this week. Kickoff is scheduled for 5:15 p.m. at Lumen Field.