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49ers-Seahawks Preview

Dec 3, 2009 - 2:38 AM By JEFF MEZYDLO STATS Senior Writer

San Francisco's best rushing day of the season came in a win over the Seattle Seahawks. Its passing game, however, might be the key as it tries to sweep its NFC West foe.

The 49ers look to get back to .500 by snapping a four-game road losing streak when they face the Seahawks on Sunday.

Behind a season-high 207 yards and two touchdowns from Frank Gore, San Francisco (5-6) rushed for 256 yards in a 23-10 home win over Seattle on Sept. 20 to start 2-0.

That was the last time the 49ers won two in a row, but after throwing for 232 yards in a 20-3 win over Jacksonville last Sunday, they will likely stay with the passing game this weekend.

A handful of San Francisco players, including tight end Vernon Davis, recently made their opinions known to coach Mike Singletary and offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye that the team could be more successful throwing the ball.

The coaches listened and the result has been 447 passing yards and 44 points in the last two games for a club that was held to 14 points in three of its previous five contests.

"I think the spread offense is working for this offense right now," said tight end Delanie Walker, one of five players with at least four catches against the Jaguars.

The 49ers could be in for another big day against Seattle, ranked 25th in the league allowing 238.1 passing yards per game.

Former top overall draft pick Alex Smith was 27 of 41 for 232 yards and two touchdowns last week. He's thrown five TDs with one interception over the last two games.

Davis caught six passes for 69 yards and scored his ninth TD, matching his entire touchdown total from his first three seasons.

Singletary seemed pleased that players like Davis united to come forth and try to better the team.

"There's a trust factor that has to be in place for a player to come forward and say: 'You know what, coach, I think this would be a good idea. I think if we tried this, that would be great. I think we would win,"' Singletary said. "That to me is very, very important."

Singletary still figures to get the ball in the hands of Gore, who's averaging 109.2 rushing yards in eight games against the Seahawks.

Winners in two of their last three games, the 49ers are looking for their first road win since opening the season with a 20-16 victory at Arizona. San Francisco's five road contests have each been decided by six points or fewer.

Seattle (4-7), meanwhile, is 3-2 at home, but has lost two of the last three there against the 49ers.

The Seahawks avoided a third straight loss with a 27-17 win over lowly St. Louis last weekend.

Justin Forsett ran for a career-high 130 yards and two TDs on 22 carries as the Seahawks rushed for a season-high 170 yards.

Playing in place of the injured Julius Jones (lung), Forsett has four touchdowns and topped 100 yards twice in the last three games. Despite Forsett's success, coach Jim Mora said Jones is still his starter, though he could miss a third straight game.

"If he's fully healthy, and he's had a full week of practice, and everybody feels comfortable that he would be able to bear the workload that he would have to handle to be effective, then he would start," Mora said of Jones' status.

"But that being said, Justin's earned the right to carry the ball. ... So we're going to make sure he gets touches."

Though the Seahawks rank 28th averaging 92.2 rushing yards per game, they may try to stick with the ground game even though San Francisco ranks fifth giving up 94.8 rushing yards.

Matt Hasselbeck was held to 102 passing yards against the Rams - his second-lowest output in a win - and hasn't thrown for a touchdown in his last two games.

Hasselbeck is 8-4 as a starter against the 49ers, but has thrown two interceptions without a touchdown in his last two games against San Francisco. In the last meeting, Patrick Willis knocked Hasselbeck out of the game with broken ribs and a back injury that still haven't completely healed.