Week Six Crystal Ball - Thursday: A Rivalry Renewed
"If the ball goes, we all go." - Anonymous
My friends, THE GURU is ready for some Thursday Night Football with the San Francisco 49ers (2-3, 0-2 away) visiting the Seattle Seahawks (3-2, 2-1 home). Kickoff is in just a few minutes on Jeff Bezos Television.
If you’re a football fan, you know this is a serious rivalry with the two teams often duking it out for NFC West supremacy. In fact, since NFL divisional realignment in 2002, Seattle (nine titles) and San Fran (six) have been the top dogs in the West1.
Of course, Niners-Hawks wasn’t always such a big deal as these teams didn’t occupy the same division until the aforementioned reshuffling that moved Seattle to the NFC West from the AFC East. Since then, it’s been on like Donkey Kong with the Hawks holding a 24-18 edge in the 2000s2.
To set the stage for tonight, let’s go back - way back - for a few sentences. Yup, we’ll return to the first time these teams squared off because, on that day, a star was born.
It was September 26, 1976, and the Seattle franchise was in its third week of existence. Like most expansion teams, they weren’t good, entering the home game against San Fran with an 0-2 record. Future Skins head coach Jim Zorn was at QB for the hosts and coach Jack Patera, facing off against new 49er Jim Plunkett and his head coach, Monte Clark.
Predictably, the game got ugly early with the heavily favored Niners scoring 17 first-quarter points faster than the locals could say “smoked salmon on rye.” Running back Hugh McKinnis then got Seattle on the board with one-yard TD run before Plunkett threw two second-quarter TD passes to make it 31-7, Niners, at the break.
McKinnis added another one-yard score in the third quarter and then, in the fourth, a largely unknown kid made the kind of big play that would soon become his hallmark.
Steve Largent was - and is - an unassuming guy, listed in the program at 5’11” and 187 pounds, with both numbers a possible stretch. Even in 1976, there wasn’t much of a market for short receivers, especially a guy like Largent who was traded by Houston shortly after being drafted. What’d it cost Seattle? Just a 1977 eighth rounder3 and a boiled ham sandwich. Cool Ranch, sadly, was not yet a thing.
Still, in his third pro game, the University of Tulsa product came through, snagging seven passes for 128 yards, including a fourth-quarter six-yard touchdown pass from his buddy Zorn. It was the first score of his career and also his first 100-yard effort4. Thirteen seasons later, he retired as the NFL’s career leader in catches (819), receiving yards (13,089) and receiving touchdowns (100).
How big a deal was Largent’s TD? Well, the hometown Seattle Times didn’t include a photo of it in the next day’s paper, instead showing a shot of wideout Sam McCullum as he scored for the third time in the young season.
A solid pro who lasted a decade in the league with Seattle (1976-81) and Minnesota (1974-75 and 1982-83), McCullum was fourth in the team in catches (32) in 1976 and second in yards (506). Largent led the team in receptions (54) and yards (705), tying McCullum with the team lead in TDs.
The current-day Seahawks boast two stud wideouts in Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf, a duo that will be challenged tonight by a struggling Niners team fresh off a stunning home loss to Arizona. Health has been a bit of an issue but, even with their top guys in the lineup, something just doesn’t look right.
Like San Fran, Seattle seeks to rebound from a tough day at the office, a surprising defeat to the visiting New York Giants. It’s the first big test of rookie coach Mike McDonald’s tenure and here’s betting he gets it done. Call it 24-22, Seahawks.
Enjoy the game, folks, and be sure to tune in this weekend when I unveil a new award in honor of my buddy PIGHEART JEFF. God bless!
The Rams have four titles in that span with the Cards bringing up the rear (three).
Overall, Seattle holds a 30-22 edge in the series, including 1-1 in the postseason.
The Oilers chose Georgia wide receiver Steve Davis with that ‘77 pick, and the kid never played an NFL snap.
Largent recorded 40 100-yard games in his career, good for second all-time when he retired after the 1989 season. And his 100