SEATTLE — One team has been here before, lost and won here before and anything other than success here must be considered a setback. That team is the 49ers, and Sunday they get to participate in their third-consecutive NFC Championship game.
One team hasn’t been here in eight years, has been here just twice in its franchise history and, as the No. 1 seed and playing at home, may never be in more advantageous position. That team is the Seahawks, and Sunday they will be greeted like conquering heroes by their adoring fans at CenturyLink Field.
This is a backyard brawl wrapped up in a title game, two NFC West combatants so similar in the way they hit and pound away and believe they are the toughest guys on the block. The quarterbacks, Russell Wilson of the Seahawks and Colin Kaepernick of the 49ers, are young whiz-kids who can beat you in and out of the pocket. The defenses are bludgeoning. The head coaches don’t like each other much, the intense and quirky Jim Harbaugh quickly emerging as one of the best in the business for the Niners and Seattle’s Pete Carroll shooting hoops with his players as he rules with a smile and an unclenched fist.
Two teams that have the look of a winner, but only one gets to advance to Super Bowl XLVIII, the first of its kind in New York/New Jersey, the first outdoor Super Bowl played in a cold-weather site.
“This is great, this is a blessing,’’ Seahawks safety Earl Thomas said. “You always want to be there where everybody’s watching you. This is a great experience because nobody would have been talking about the Seahawks four or five years ago. So when you come from the bottom to the top, it feels great. ‘’
The 49ers a year ago were very nearly at the top, beating the Falcons in Atlanta in the NFC title game before a dramatic comeback fell short in a 34-31 loss to the Ravens in Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans.
“Really, I think what we experienced last year, getting to a Super Bowl and understanding what it took to get there to beat the Falcons, it took everything we had,’’ 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis said. “And I think we understand that this game, especially playing against a rival, a team in our division who we play twice a year, we understand what kind of football team they are. And we just know what it’s going to take to get it done.”
A look inside the game:
Marquee matchup
49ers WR Anquan Boldin vs. Seahawks CB Richard Sherman
Ready on the left, ready on the right? Come out yapping. These two will go hard at each other physically and verbally.
Boldin won’t run by anyone too often, yet he can out-muscle many corners. Sherman could be the exception, given his strength and hands-on approach.
Home cooking
By now the intimidation factor from the noise at this Pacific Northwest house of horrors is the stuff of legend.
The Seahawks have won six consecutive postseason home games and are 16-1 at home the past two years. The locals call themselves “The 12th Man,” and the commotion is referred to as Beast Quake. A third seismometer will be installed for this game to register the seismic signals generated by the uproarious crowd noise.
“You couldn’t pick a better venue to play a championship game, anywhere that I can even imagine than right here,’’ a clearly biased Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said.
“Whether it’s the stadium, whether it’s the crazy people in the Northwest, whether it gray skies that makes them want to come out and scream. I don’t know what it is, but it’s something unique and special that we have, and you can’t ignore it. You can’t say that it doesn’t factor in, it does, and so we’re extraordinary fortunate that we have this following and the fan base that we have.’’
Box him in
Unlike most teams, the 49ers are able to dominate with their pass defense without committing an extra player in the box in run support.
That could be a huge deal against Marshawn Lynch, who last week rumbled for 140 yards and two touchdowns to devastate the Saints. Lynch, though, managed just 115 yards in the two games this season against the Niners, barely averaging three yards a carry.
“I think that’s where the game comes down to, if they can lighten up the box and run the ball,’’ linebacker NaVorro Bowman said.
“I think that’s what makes us unique. We’re able to do that more than other teams, and it forces them to do other things. That’s the reason why they run the ball so much when we’re in nickel, because the box is lighter. But if we can stop it, they have to go to another plan.”
At arm’s length
There is no doubt the Seahawks are more concerned about containing quarterback Colin Kaepernick on the ground than they are worried about his passing ability. The last time Kaepernick hit the road to play the Seahawks he ran for a 87 yards but threw for just 127 yards, and he tossed three interceptions.
“Kaepernick’s not developed as a passer as some of the other guys in the league,” Seattle cornerback Walter Thurmond said. “He holds the ball a little bit, stares down his receivers, things like that.”
Gore-y details
When Frank Gore was stopped cold (16 rushing yards) by the Seahawks in Week 2, the 49ers were overwhelmed.
When Gore got rolling (110 yards) in Week 14, the Niners were able to edge the Seahawks. Gore often gets overlooked in the roll call for great running backs, but his team cannot win unless he produces.
“He runs the football very effectively,’’ 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh said. “Nobody does it better. He blocks in protection. And he catches the ball out of the backfield. Does everything that you’d want a back to do.’’
Numbers to know
4.5: Sacks 49ers LB Ahmad Brooks has in the 2013 postseason. Since sacks were made an official statistic in 1982, no player has more than six sacks in a single postseason.
14: 2013 Pro Bowl players in this game. The 49ers have eight, the Seahawks have six.
231: Points the Seahawks allowed this season (14.4 per game), the fewest in the NFL. The Seahawks also led the league in total defense (273.6 yards per game) and pass defense (127 yards per game).