This matchup could decide whether 49ers win or lose Week 1 to Seahawks

One thing we know about the Seattle Seahawks is that they are going to run the football often in their Week 1 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers. With Klint Kubiak coming in as the new offensive coordinator and the team investing in the line in the first round, there is no doubt about what Seattle intended to improve this offseason. 

Will the San Francisco 49ers struggle to defend the run against the Seattle Seahawks?

Their attention was on the run, and Pro Football Focus is turning their eyes that way in their game preview. Their matchup to watch involves Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker taking on the 49ers' run defense. 

The Seahawks are underdogs at home in this NFC West battle, but if they can control the ground game, they can give the 49ers' defense fits. San Francisco spent quite a bit this offseason in an attempt to fix a 28th-ranked run defense from last season (54.6 PFF grade), but that hasn’t paid off yet, as tackling issues continued to plague the unit in the preseason.

That could spell trouble against Kenneth Walker III, who holds the second-highest rate of missed tackles forced per attempt (0.27) since he entered the league in 2022. If he is 100% healthy, Walker will be an X-factor in this contest. Mason Cameron

Walker has been a very good running back behind poor offensive lines and schemes. The line is not going to flip into a rock-solid unit just because they drafted Grey Zabel, but Arbaham Lucas has been banged up in each of the last two seasons, and this year he is entering the season fully healthy and ready to roll. 

It is more about the scheme, though. Kubiak obviously comes from a philosophy that his father, Gary Kubiak, coached and learned under 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan and his father, Mike. 

San Francisco knows what Seattle can do, but the question is whether they can stop it. If the offensive line can create a few holes, it could lead to Walker bursting into the second level.