NFL Predictions: Week 3 Picks and Hot Takes

San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks, 4:05 p.m. ET on Sunday

Can you imagine being Pete Carroll right now? Heading into a home game, against a divisional opponent, coming off of a game in which his team scored three points? That guy must be going through three packs of gum an hour (which, in reality, probably isn’t much more than his usual consumption).

Seattle’s approach to Sunday’s game doesn’t have to be a complicated one. It won’t take an intricate recipe on either side of the ball to pull off this win. Ultimately, a vanilla game plan with proper execution should be enough to get the job done, especially against a 49ers squad that isn’t expected to make much noise after their impressive season opener against LA. Darrell Bevell has no other choice but to get back to the basics and find a way to push the ball down the field, by whatever means necessary. It isn’t that this team isn’t stacked with playmakers, rather schematically, they’ve struggled to find ground early. The defense will do their part; it’s up to Bevell’s unit to find a way.

The 49ers aren’t the most talented squad in the NFL, but they have a chance to keep this game competitive. Even deep into the fourth quarter last Sunday, they had a somewhat realistic shot to knock off Carolina on the road. Watch out for Torrey Smith and the presence of the deep ball … if San Francisco wants an opportunity to capture a victory here, their playcalling must be anything but vanilla.

Seahawks find a way to win late, 20-16.