The Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers will meet for the second time in three weeks this Sunday. The Seahawks, having rounded into form defensively over the last three games, can officially end the 49ers playoff chances with a victory over their NFC West rival this week.
In their meetings in recent seasons, the 49ers have only been able to win against Seattle when running back Frank Gore has had a strong performance. San Francisco has lost four of their last five games to the Seahawks and Gore has been held to under 30 yards rushing in all four losses, including the NFC Championship game last January.
Despite the rivalry, Gore respects Seattle’s defense and especially middle linebacker Bobby Wagner.
“They have a good team, man. I can’t take nothing away from them,” Gore said. “We know what type of game it’s going to be when we’re playing against them. Especially that No. 54, Bobby, man... he’s f----- fast as f---, man. They play great together. They do. I respect that. I respect their team a lot.”
Wagner reciprocated the respect for Gore when informed of the comments later on.
“It’s a great compliment coming from a great player. I love playing against him, Wagner said. “Every time I play against him it’s a fun, fun matchup. He’s a great running back. He’s a very, very good, shifty guy so I’m looking forward to playing him again.”
It’s certainly more difficult for this rivalry to feel as heated with two teams clearly going in opposite directions, which unfortunately isn’t nearly as fun.