Even though they are rivals, Colin Kaepernick and Russell Wilson, just like their respective teams, have a lot with common.
Both are unconventional quarterbacks, with Kaepernick having a strong arm and exceptional athleticism, and Wilson the league’s only starting signal caller listed under 6 feet (5’11”). Both have a background in baseball, among the best in the new era of dual-threat quarterbacks, starred in a Madden 25 commercial together, and were arguably the biggest surprises at the position in the NFL last season.
Wilson and Kaepernick were also able to play extremely well with their top receivers out with injury in Percy Harvin and Michael Crabtree, respectively. The Seahawks and 49ers have also built their teams very similarly, with strong running games and defense, but are now opening up their offenses to showcase their young studs behind center.
Wilson was 25 of 33 for 320 yards and the game-winning touchdown to Jermaine Kearse against the Panthers last week, while Kaepernick threw for a career-high 412 yards and 3 touchdowns in a NFC Divisional Playoff rematch against the Green Bay Packers. Wilson relied on a number of receivers, including Doug Baldwin, Kearse, Golden Tate and Sidney Rice, while Kaepernick found offseason acquisition and NFC Offensive Player of the Week Anquan Boldin early and often for a total of 13 catches for 208 yards and a touchdown.
Wilson and 
were able to take advantage of young secondaries, with Green Bay missing corner Casey Hayward and safety Morgan Burnett, and should have a much tougher time throwing the football. San Francisco had its issues covering Packers’ receivers, but were able to cover well enough to win in the end with rookie safety Eric Reid replacing departed Pro Bowler Dashon Goldson, while Seattle’s back four have all made at least one Pro Bowl (Cornerbacks Richard Sherman and Brandon Browner, and safeties Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor), though Browner’s status for Sunday has yet to be determined due to a hamstring injury.
The running games of both squads struggled, with Seattle and San Francisco rushing for only 70 and 90 yards, respectively, after both averaging over 150 yards per game on the ground last season. Though both teams’ young quarterbacks have progressed immensely, the team that can get the other tough defense (49ers 3rd in total defense last season, Seahawks 4th) to be on their heels could have a huge advantage, so whoever has the best game between Marshawn Lynch and Frank Gore could help immensely toward giving their team a great chance to win.
The last two times these teams met, it was at CenturyLink Field in Seattle, with the Seahawks blowing out San Francisco 42-13, with the 12th man crowd giving Kaepernick and the 49ers offense issues communicating at the line of scrimmage consistently. Seattle was 8-0 at home last season, with an average margin of victory of nearly 19 points per game, so it will be interesting if San Francisco can reverse any of the Seahawks’ trends of home dominance.
Jim Harbaugh and Pete Carroll had a few interesting games against each other when they were coaching in the PAC-10 at Stanford and USC, respectively, givng an interdivision rivalry that has quickly become one of, if not the league’s best rivalry two fiery coaches to fan the flames. Gasoline was poured on the fire yesterday when 49ers running back tweeted the following before deleting it:
“Extra weight on the racks all week getting less sleep preparing for these She-Hawks I love hostile environments Imma feel right at home…”
Seattle Linebacker K.J. Wright, who was a college teammate of Dixon at Mississippi State, responded to the then deleted Dixon tweet:
“@Boob24Dixon lol the she hawks!! I’ll be sure relay the message to the fellas.. Its gone be a long night for you and the forty whiners.”
The NFC West is looking like the best division in the NFL early on with the Arizona Cardinals and St. Louis Rams both showing great improvement thus far and the Seahawks and 49ers consistently referenced as favorites to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. With that in mind, the divisional matchups of NFC West teams are going to be entertaining, emotional, competitive, and must-see television.
Nothing beats the Seattle-San Francisco divisional matchup, though, with the teams seemingly answering offseason moves with receiver additions like Harvin and Boldin and the 49ers signing Seahawks 2013 draftee receiver Chris Harper, and this week’s pre-game trash talk only hyping the game of the week even more. But for all that has been said, the game will likely depend on the performances of Kaepernick and Wilson.
Kaepernick’s inability to get the snap off before the play clock ended in last year’s matchup at Century Link Field showed his immaturity at the time in what was only his sixth career start in the NFL. How he responds to the crowd noise in maybe the NFL’s loudest arena will show how good Kaepernick is right now, and how much he still has to fill out on his immense upside, while Wilson could become the first quarterback to beat Kaepernick twice in a game and prove that he is worthy of even more attention.
