When the San Francisco 49ers travel to CenturyLink Field in Seattle to take on the Seahawks Sunday, the game could come down to a duel between young gunslingers:
Colin Kaepernick and Russell Wilson.
Both quarterbacks have basically only been playing for the past two seasons and both have had extremely high levels of success early in their respective careers. Although it seems like Kaepernick generally gets more acclaim, Wilson has quietly established himself as a legitimate candidate to be included in the NFL’s top five quarterbacks because he loses so rarely.
Make no mistake, Kaepernick (3,197 passing yards, 524 rushing yards, 25 TDs, 12 TOs) was good this season, but Wilson (3,357 passing yards, 539 rushing yards, 27 TDs, 14 TOs) was just a little bit better and the fact that his team is playing at home this weekend even further reinforces that notion.
Though his team is playing with confidence, Wilson is limping into Sunday’s tilt. He’s only thrown four touchdowns over his last five games and has failed to toss multiple touchdowns in a game since Week 13. His career numbers in four games against San Fran (six TDs, four INTs, 158.5 passing-yards-per-game) don’t exactly inspire confidence and he is certainly going to raise his game to defeat Kap.
Fortunately, based on the way Kaepernick has fared against the Seahawks in four games of his own, Wilson might not have to raise things all that high.
Kaepernick has five picks vs. just two passing touchdowns against Seattle and is only averaging a measly 136.5 passing-yards-per-game. The third-year QB has chucked just nine passing scores over his last seven games and the only thing that San Francisco fans can hope for is that Kaepernick does his best Forrest Gump impression and just runs.
Now for what really will decide the matchup…
CenturyLink Field will be featuring “The DangeRuss Dog” this weekend at stadium concession stands when the 49ers are in town in honor of Wilson. For $12, fans can get a foot-long hot dog that comes equipped with mac ‘n’cheese, caramelized onions, Sriracha honey hot sauce, diced jalapeno peppers and crispy “Seahawks Strips” – whatever those are.
In the other corner, Kaepernick has the support of one of the most powerful women in the world, House Minority Leader (and San Francisco Democrat) Nancy Pelosi. During a Thursday press conference on Capitol Hill, the former speaker of the house took a moment to wax poetic about Kaepernick’s “tattoos” and “big arms.”
In a choice between a hot dog and a Silver Fox (apologies or compliments to Pelosi – not sure) it just seems like it’s probably safer to go with the more reliable option – Wilson is the ticket here, just like he has been all season.
It’ll be a close one, but expect the Seahawks to win one more game in front of their home crowd before flying across the country for the Super Bowl.
Evan Bleier is a freelance writer based out of wherever he can plug in his laptop. You can send him questions, comments and Buffalo wing suggestions @itishowitis or “like” CraveOnline Sports on Facebook.
Photo Credit: Getty
