An NFC West showdown between the San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks kicks off the Week 6 NFL action at Lumen Field on Thursday night, and both teams are reeling from losses on Sunday.
The 49ers are the defending NFC champions but are heading to the Pacific Northwest with a shocking 2-3 record after being upset 24-23 at home by Arizona.
Having previously been beaten on the road by the Los Angeles Rams, they need to win this game to avoid losing to all of their divisional rivals in the first six weeks of the season.
The Seahawks got off to a fast start with wins over the Denver Broncos, New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins, but have since suffered back-to-back losses to the Detroit Lions and New York Giants.
Both teams will be hoping for better this week but don't have long to turn it around on a short week of preparation.
Oddsmakers are so convinced that the 49ers' slow start is nothing to worry about that they remain favorites to win the NFC Championship again despite losing three of their first five games.
The losses - to the Minnesota Vikings, Los Angeles Rams and Arizona Cardinals - all came by less than one touchdown and San Francisco held big leads in two of them, twice leading the Rams by 14 points and going up by 13 against the Cardinals.
The 49ers have been without their star man Christian McCaffrey on offense and there's no sign of him coming back just yet, but the losses have had nothing to do with the performance of his back-up, Jordan Mason, who has done a fine job and is averaging 107.2 rushing yards per game.
They remain a high-quality squad and have a strong chance of getting back on track in Seattle. The 49ers have won their last five games against the Seahawks, covering the spread in four of those clashes.
The one time they didn't cover was the most recent meeting, when the 'Hawks were 14.5-point dogs and San Francisco won the game 28-16.
The Seahawks have found things tougher since new head coach Mike Macdonald's impressive 3-0 start and surprisingly it is their defense that is letting them down, as that is Macdonald's specialty.
The Hawks have allowed 71 points in their last two games and permitted the Giants to rack up 420 yards of offense on Sunday.
Linebacker Uchenna Nwosu (thigh) and cornerback Riq Woolen (ankle) both left that game and the 49ers offense should be able to pave the way to an important road success.
Whatever the final score, San Francisco can be expected to make a strong start in the game, as that has been the case even when the 49ers have suffered setbacks this season.
Kyle Shanahan's team have reached 10 points before four of their five opponents so far this season, including their last two losses against the Rams and Cardinals.
In contrast, the Seahawks have tended to start slowly and finish more strongly, winning the race to 10 points only in their 24-3 win over the struggling Dolphins, who didn't get to double digits at all.
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San Francisco 49ers | -150 ML |
Seattle Seahawks | +125 ML |
Spread | SF 49ers -2.5 |
Total Points | O/U 49.0 |
Jordan Mason (SF 49ers) | -163 |
Kenneth Walker III (SEA Seahawks) | -138 |
Deebo Samuel (SF 49ers) | +110 |
Brandon Aiyuk (SF 49ers) | +160 |
DK Metcalf (SEA Seahawks) | +160 |
Jaxon Smith-Njigba (SEA Seahawks) | +210 |
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.