San Francisco 49ers

49ers Face a Fork in the Road in Week 3 Matchup vs. Seahawks

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The San Francisco 49ers enter Week 3 posting the same record as they did a year ago. With a tough challenge facing them in the Seattle Seahawks, will the Niners end up enduring a repeat of the dreadful 2015 season? Or will this week mark a turning point for the franchise?

The San Francisco 49ers opened up on Monday Night Football with a smashing Week 1 victory, which led many fans to believe the new coaching regime was going to be a success.

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San Francisco was poised to prove the doubters wrong. Only then they had to travel east to take on a well-rested opponent that had debuted the season three days before on Thursday night.

And those Week 2 results weren’t pretty. The Niners were crushed.

We’re not talking about 2016 — Week 1 against the Los Angeles Rams and Week 2 versus the Carolina Panthers.

This was a year ago. The Niners upended the Minnesota Vikings, only to be routed by the Pittsburgh Steelers a week later.

Fast forward to 2016, and the 49ers are in an eerily similar situation. The Niners face off against another NFC West team in Week 3. And like a year ago, this week will be an indication which direction San Francisco is headed.

The Niners take on the Seahawks in Seattle — a place San Francisco hasn’t won since 2011. Granted, the 2015 Week 3 debacle fell under the watch of former head coach Jim Tomsula. Quarterback Colin Kaepernick had been figured out, and the Arizona Cardinals made easy work of the 49ers 47-7.

Sep 27, 2015; Glendale, AZ, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick (7) eludes Arizona Cardinals outside linebacker Alex Okafor (57) during the second half at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Cardinals won 47-7. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Head coach Chip Kelly isn’t Tomsula. And the Niners are improved along the offensive and defensive lines.

And yet San Francisco still has more questions than answers at this point. This puts this week’s divisional bout into an important context.

August 26, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Chip Kelly looks on against the Green Bay Packers during the second quarter at Levi’s Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

The Differences

Kelly has made a difference, even if the 49ers offense lacks playmakers and still has concerns at quarterback.

Upgrades to the offensive and defensive lines have also had a positive impact.

San Francisco has a full year under its belt to recover from the disastrous departures which plagued the franchise leading up to 2015.

So some of the pieces might be there. But not enough of them. Not yet.

The Niners are a flawed team. We know this. And yet a Seahawks opponent, which has generated a mere 15 points of offense over two weeks, could mean San Francisco actually has a chance.

Unlike the Cardinals a year ago, Seattle isn’t firing on all cylinders out of the gate. The Seahawks offensive line is a mess, the running game is a major problem and quarterback Russell Wilson is looking, well, human.

But the more things change, the more they stay the same.

The Similarities

Grant Cohn of the Santa Rosa Press Democrat put together an interesting read on the predictability of the Niners offense. It’s worth taking a look at.

Whereas Tomsula and former offensive coordinator Geep Chryst had little clue how to draw up a successful offensive game plan, Cohn breaks down how Kelly’s scheme has stuck to its tendencies.

While the context is slightly different, remember how Cardinals safety Tyrann Mathieu called out the simplified Niners offense a year ago at this time?

Kelly should have the understanding how to adjust from one week to the next. He didn’t have back-to-back 10-win seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles without good reasons or adjustments.

Still, its a comparison eerily similar to what took place a year ago.

The Fork in the Road

Week 3 presents a unique challenge to the 49ers. Unlike previous years, Seattle is vulnerable at home for the first time in quite some time.

The Seahawks’ offensive woes are enough to give a Niners defense, considerably better than a year ago, a better opportunity than it had a year ago.

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And yet Seattle’s defense — currently ranked No. 1 in the NFL — might also make mincemeat out of San Francisco’s inconsistent and talent-lacking offense.

So this puts the Niners at a crossroads. A loss at CenturyLink Field isn’t the proverbial “nail in the coffin” to San Francisco’s 2016 campaign. But it would reveal this year’s 49ers are not far removed from where they were a year ago at this time.

But a win here would show the 49ers are turning the tables on what they went through in 2015. They’re making progress in the right direction.