Seahawks coach Pete Carroll talked on Tuesday about how happy he was to watch the Lions eliminate the Packers on Sunday night to put Seattle in the playoffs. And then Carroll immediately shifted to the task ahead of his team.
“Unfortunately, we’re playing the Niners, and they’re loaded,” Carroll said. “And they’re loaded and healthy and on a roll, and about as hot as you can possibly get, and doing it in a really commanding fashion with a young quarterback who’s doing it so well. They’ve kind of bucked the odds — nobody thought you could do that, nobody in the media anyway.”
Caroll said the 49ers have “a lot of respect for who we’re playing” and view the 49ers as perhaps the most impressive defense in the NFL.
“It starts with their defense. It has for a number of years. They’ve got a great, great group over there,” Carroll said.
The Seahawks are currently 9.5-point underdogs against a 49ers team that everyone knows is loaded.