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Playoff Mentality Is Key To Seattle Seahawks Win Over San Francisco 49ers On Thanksgiving

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Kirby Lee - USA TODAY Sports

Kirby Lee – USA TODAY Sports

There’s a lot of bad blood between the Seattle Seahawks and the San Francisco 49ers. The NFC West rivals, who last met in last season’s NFC Championship game, undoubtedly have vendettas and grudges — both at the team and individual levels — against each other. However, despite the intense hatred shared between these teams, the key for Seattle pulling off a road win on Thanksgiving against San Francisco is to not dwell on past factors that kindled this rivalry, but rather focus on this game’s immediate implications.

These two teams are currently tied in the NFC West standings and both are fighting for one of two NFC Wild Card playoff spots. With just five weeks left in the season, this game transcends the rivalry that has done nothing but flourish in recent years. Will the rivalry aspect of this matchup be a factor? Of course. But is it the game’s most important factor? Not even close. These are two teams that have grown accustomed to postseason games, and treating this game as such will be a deciding factor.

One thing we’ve learned about Seattle over the past year or so is that this is a team that shows up in big games. The more hype, the better this team seems to perform. That being said, a game like this — Thanksgiving night against your biggest rival in the midst of a playoff push — doesn’t get much bigger or much more hyped. I expect Seattle to give a very good performance on Thursday.

Despite having some struggles on the road thus far this season (2-3 away from home), the Seahawks are still in a solid position in which they can earn a playoff spot. With five games remaining (four of which are against division opponents), the Seahawks have the opportunity to set themselves up nicely before the playoffs if they’re able to close out strong. They can start doing so on Thanksgiving, but they need to treat every game they have from here on out as if it’s a playoff game.

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