Former 49ers QB Alex Smith believes SF can beat Seattle. Here’s what he said
It’s safe to say the San Francisco 49ers are underdogs coming into their divisional playoff matchup Saturday with the Seattle Seahawks.
The No. 1 seed Seahawks, who went 14-3 in the regular season, have allowed the fewest points in the NFL (292) while scoring the third-most (483). The game kicks off at 5 p.m. in Seattle, where the Seahawks have historically enjoyed a strong home-field advantage. The 49ers lost 13-3 at home to the Seahawks on Jan. 3 to close the regular season. And San Francisco lost start tight end George Kittle to an Achilles injury in last week’s upset win over the Philadelphia Eagles.
But the 49ers have at least one prominent voice who thinks they can win Saturday, though: Alex Smith, the first overall pick in the 2005 NFL draft who played for the 49ers through 2012. During ESPN’s “Postseason NFL Countdown” on Saturday, Smith was the only person from a five-man panel to predict the 49ers would beat the Seahawks. He predicted San Francisco would win 21-17.
Last week, Smith was the only member of the panel to correctly predict the 49ers would beat the Eagles in the first round of the playoffs.
Smith also appeared on “The Rich Eisen Show” earlier this week, offering his thoughts on San Francisco during a 16-minute appearance.
“Obviously, being a homer, I live here in the Bay Area, I played for the Niners for nearly a decade,” Smith said. “I mean, what a run. Like, if they could do this, it would be amazing, magical.”
During the “Countdown” segment, Smith expressed some skepticism after hearing reporting from ESPN’s Lindsey Thiry on the status of an oblique injury suffered by Seahawks starting quarterback Sam Darnold.
Darnold reportedly suffered the injury in Thursday’s practice and, as of Saturday morning, hadn’t thrown the ball since then.
“For a quarterback to not throw for 48 hours-plus leading into a playoff game is really abnormal,” Smith said.
Another member of the panel, Smith’s former 49ers teammate Randy Moss — who played one forgettable season for San Francisco in 2012 to end his Hall of Fame career — praised 49ers star running back Christian McCaffrey.
“I’ve studied a lot of positions, guys, the running back position mainly,” Moss said during the “Countdown” segment. “I think I’ve seen probably the best set of hands that I’ve ever seen coming out of the backfield by a running back in Christian McCaffrey.”
Moss, though, predicted a 31-20 Seahawks win, one of three panelists who believed Seattle would win by more than a touchdown.
Smith immediately followed Moss’s praise of McCaffrey by doubling down on San Francisco’s chances and indicating he wasn’t just cheering for his former team.
“I know the Niners are this huge underdog,” Smith said. “They got beat two weeks ago for the No. 1 seed. But are we going to be surprised if Kyle Shanahan puts on another coaching masterpiece, right? Like, if they make a play or two in this game and go up there and steal this? ‘Cause I’m not.”
Smith added, “Again, the guy’s undefeated in the divisional round.” The 49ers have gone 4-0 in that round since Shanahan took over as 49ers coach in 2017. After two of those wins, they went on to win the NFC Championship Game and advance to the Super Bowl, losing to the Kansas City Chiefs in both 2020 and 2024.
The 49ers earned a thrilling wild card round victory by a score of 23-19 over the Philadelphia Eagles last Sunday, highlighted by wide receiver Jauan Jennings, a former high school quarterback, throwing a trick play touchdown to McCaffrey.
Smith said the 49ers had become a “great drop back pass team.” He praised members of the team like wide receiver Demarcus Robinson, his teammate with the Kansas City Chiefs, whom Smith called “a baller.”
Smith also noted what he described as San Francisco’s “next man up” mentality amid a rash of injuries this season.
“They’re not afraid to go out there and make plays,” Smith said.
