Chapter 993: Chapter 993: A Tough Away Game

Chapter 993: A Tough Away Game

"You’re not coming back! The league’s best home field is ready!"

"The league’s number one? You’ll be humiliated at CenturyLink Field!"

"This isn’t about a fight for the division title, or even about a playoff spot. This is a divisional rival grudge match! It’s to the death!"

"The winning streak is about to end here. CenturyLink Field will be the place where a miracle happens!"

"The Seattle Seahawks are ready to welcome victory!"

Before the sixteenth week of the regular season officially began, the battle for playoff spots had already reached a critical stage. There were one exciting game after another, where the difference between a win and a loss could be the difference between heaven and hell. The fierce competition for every spot was bound to cause a bloodbath.

In comparison, the San Francisco 49ers’ away game against the Seattle Seahawks didn’t seem as important.

This was mainly because the situation in the NFC West had changed. In the first half of the season, it was known as the "Death Division" and was even considered to be a place where three playoff teams could emerge. But in the second half of the season, the situation took a sudden turn, and the changes in the division were shocking.

The Arizona Cardinals were the first to collapse. They faced a nine-game losing streak starting from the fifth week of the regular season and were completely out of the playoffs. The St. Louis Rams were still better at fighting within their division than outside of it. Their current record was five wins and nine losses, and they were also out of the playoffs.

On the other hand, the Seattle Seahawks had an excellent record of four wins and two losses at the beginning of the season. After losing to the San Francisco 49ers in the seventh week of the regular season, they went on a great run of six wins and one loss. Their current total record was ten wins and four losses, and they were in a favorable position in the NFC wild-card race.

The main competitors for the Seattle Seahawks’ wild card spot were the Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears, New York Giants, Dallas Cowboys, and Washington Redskins, who all had a record of eight wins and six losses.

The New Orleans Saints, who had a record of six wins and eight losses after losing to the Atlanta Falcons this week, still had a glimmer of hope. However, the conditions for the Saints to make it to the playoffs were very strict. Besides having to win their last two games, they also needed a series of other conditions to be met, which made it only a theoretical possibility.

Thus, the Seattle Seahawks were basically in an invincible position in the wild-card race. They only needed to win one of their last two games to secure a wild-card spot. Even if they lost both, they might not lose their wild-card spot, because the Giants, Cowboys, and Redskins in the NFC East were still entangled in a difficult battle with each other, and anything was possible.

Under these circumstances, the game between the 49ers and the Seahawks seemed to lack a certain spark, and the attention it received naturally declined.

Even so, this NFC West divisional grudge match still caused a lot of discussion.

The main focus was on the San Francisco 49ers’ undefeated season. The fierce wind and rain at CenturyLink Field were definitely not easy to handle. This season, the Seattle Seahawks had already defeated the Green Bay Packers, New England Patriots, and Minnesota Vikings at home. Their home field was still undefeated this season and was one of the best home fields in the NFC.

Even without considering the undefeated streak and the playoff spots, the clash between these two divisional rivals was definitely not lacking in excitement.

The news headlines mentioned above all came from local Seattle newspapers and magazines. The determination of the people there was truly eye-opening.

In fact, they did have the right to be so confident.

Besides their brilliant home record, their excellent performance in the past three weeks was also a major reason. First, they defeated the Chicago Bears in overtime on the road. Then, they swept the Arizona Cardinals with a score of "58-0" at home. After that, they defeated the Buffalo Bills with a big score of "50-17" on the road.

In other words, the Seattle Seahawks, who had always relied on their defense to win games, showed significant improvement on offense this year under the leadership of rookie Russell Wilson.

After a miserable performance in the first half of the season, Russell gradually adapted to the atmosphere of the professional league, and his hard work and diligence slowly started to show.

As a scrambling quarterback, Russell’s playing style naturally reminded people of last year’s number one pick, Cam Newton. But in comparison, Russell’s passing accuracy was significantly better. His average quarterback rating for the season had just reached a perfect 100 points, which put him in the top ten in the league.

Thanks to Russell’s playing style, which was good at finding open spots, and the team’s excellent defense, the rise of the Seattle Seahawks this season was a natural progression.

Currently, their defense had climbed to the number one spot in the league, surpassing the San Francisco 49ers and the Chicago Bears. At the same time, their offense had also reached the eighth spot in the league, successfully making it into the top ten! This team now had the ability to be a troublemaker in the playoffs.

In a more accurate sense, Russell seemed to be more like last year’s... Lu Ke, rather than last year’s Cam.

For the first time since 2007, the Seattle Seahawks had a ten-win season. Now, the team was full of confidence, and when they faced the San Francisco 49ers for the second time this season, they had no reason to be intimidated. It wasn’t just the local media in Seattle. The team members didn’t hesitate to declare their determination in interviews.

"Pete Carroll: We are confident that we will win this game. We are on the right track."

"Russell Wilson: They’re in a good state, but we’re in a better state."

"Richard Sherman: Welcome them to lick my balls."

"Quarterback coach Carl Smith: We can defeat the San Francisco 49ers. Lu Ke is nothing to worry about."

"The 12s: This is the 49ers’ graveyard! We will personally bury their corpses here!"

You could see the strong confidence of the Seattle Seahawks between the lines. Although some of the quotes were taken out of context by the media, they were not completely fabricated. The 12s on social media were already eager to provoke, warming up for this game early. They were going to pay back the ugly loss at Candlestick Park with interest at CenturyLink Field!

Sherman, who was known for his "trash talk," hadn’t learned his lesson. He continued to talk trash, especially after Lu Ke threw three interceptions against the "old, weak, sick, and disabled" Patriots’ secondary defense. This made Sherman laugh his head off. The "old, weak, sick, and disabled" was a direct quote from Sherman. He continued to attack Lu Ke with full force.

In response, the 49ers gave the simplest and most effective counterattack: "Minimum Score."

Without saying too much, every 49er added the hashtag "Minimum Score" when they posted on Twitter or Facebook. In less than 24 hours, the hashtag became number one on the search rankings and spread across all major social media platforms.

Those bad memories instantly hit the 12s’ weak spot again. All kinds of provocations and declarations of war were all over the place, and a fierce war of words was on the verge of breaking out. But the 49ers were not fazed at all. They just kept posting the "Minimum Score" hashtag, giving a strong counterattack by not changing their attitude.

The local San Francisco media also showed a rare sense of composure and grace. Instead of starting a media war with Seattle, they objectively and calmly analyzed the direction of this game.

"Undefeated at home vs. Undefeated for the season!"

After this game, either the Seattle Seahawks or the San Francisco 49ers would have their undefeated record broken. This was the biggest highlight of this game. Of course, the local San Francisco media still chose the 49ers, believing that the negative effects of playing on the road would not be enough to shake the team’s faith and spirit.

"Minimum Score!"

The San Francisco Chronicle also echoed this with its headlines. They joined the 49ers and marched toward the Seattle Seahawks with their heads held high.

"Ahhh!"

"Hoooo!"

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Inside CenturyLink Field, the deafening cheers and roars were everywhere. Even before the referee blew the whistle to start the game, the cheers on the field had already erupted with an unimaginable amount of energy. You could even feel the entire stadium shaking slightly.

Candlestick Park had now grown into one of the league’s most difficult home stadiums. The red and gold oceans of fans had often left a deep impression on people. But at this moment, the momentum at CenturyLink Field was even stronger. The powerful waves of sound made their eardrums hurt.

"Sea-Hawks!"

The word had two syllables, so the entire stadium of 12s started chanting it in unison. The perfect rhythm and the stirring of the air erupted with an incredible amount of energy, even louder and more ferocious than any other home game this season.

According to the official post-game statistics, CenturyLink Field, which could hold 69,000 people, was completely full that morning. Not only that, but more than 50,000 fans also gathered outside the stadium, watching the game on the big screens and sharing the joy and sorrow with all the 12s.

This also set a new league record for live attendance this season.

This shows that the Seattle Seahawks fans welcomed their divisional rivals with the highest level of respect. After being provoked and insulted by "Minimum Score" and after two seasons of rivalry and clashes, the animosity between the two teams had reached an all-time high since the league’s divisional realignment!

As the 12s said before the game: This is the 49ers’ graveyard! They would personally bury the bones of the number one seed in the league here. By breaking their opponent’s undefeated season, they would powerfully declare the deadly animosity in the NFC West. Stepping on their enemy’s corpse and swaggering into the playoffs a week early was the most wonderful thing in the world.

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