Seahawks open as home underdogs versus Brock Purdy and the 49ers on ‘Thursday Night Football’

The San Francisco 49ers used the final pick in the 2022 NFL Draft to select Iowa State quarterback Brock Purdy. On Sunday, the so-called “Mr. Irrelevant” handed “the GOAT” a loss - and a rather convincing one at that. It was the first time in the Tom Brady’s 23-year career that a quarterback making his first start had ever done that.

As an encore, Brock Purdy will try to capture the NFC West title at Lumen Field on Thursday Night Football.

DraftKings Sportsbook thinks he’ll do it.

Before we get to the moneyline, the spread, and the Over/Under, let’s take a moment to acknowledge that both teams are better than they were when they met in Week 2.

Let’s also acknowledge that “any given Sunday” is a plausible explanation for the fact that the 49ers aren’t as much of a favorite - and the Seattle Seahawks aren’t as much of an underdog - as might have been expected given that:

• The 49ers are riding a 6-game winning streak and have outscored their opponents by 108 points in those 6 games (172-64).
• The Seahawks have lost 3 of their last 4 games, including 2 of the 3 in which they were favored.

Interestingly, the opening line in Week 15 is one point lower than it was when the schedule first came out.

For the Seahawks (+165), Thursday night’s game represents a chance to get back in the wildcard race - they currently trail the New York Giants and Washington Commanders by half a game. It’s also an opportunity to stop the 49ers (-195) from celebrating a division title on Seattle’s home field.

Note: The Giants and Commanders play on Sunday so a Seattle win would slot them ahead of whoever loses that game (or ahead of both if the Giants and Commanders tie again).

For the Niners, Thursday night’s game is their first shot at clinching a playoff spot (by virtue of winning the NFC West), as well as an opportunity to sweep a division rival who owns a 30-18 advantage in the all-time series.

The Over/Under on the Battle in Seattle is 43-1/2.

For what it’s worth, the average Thursday Night Football game on Amazon Prime has averaged 41.8 points this season and the average margin of victory is 9 points.