49ers, Seahawks both preparing for another ‘weird ending'

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Wherever Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks go, weirdness seems to follow.

The 49ers know all about that.

And they are trying to get prepared for more of the same when the teams square off Sunday in Seattle.

"We've been in a lot of those kinds of games over the years, and I feel like I've coached in a ton of them," Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said Wednesday on a conference call with Bay Area reporters.

"I do everything I can to make our team as poised and composed in all situations. You got to go through the experiences to get used to it."

The Seahawks are coming off one of the craziest games of the season, a 37-34 overtime loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday night. A year ago, the 49ers had two down-to-the-wire finishes against Carroll’s team.

Seattle dealt the 49ers’ their first loss of last season on a wild Monday night game at Levi's Stadium. The 49ers had a replacement kicker, Chase McLaughlin, nail a field goal to send it into overtime. Then, he missed a potential game-winner in overtime by about 100 feet or so.

The 49ers evened the score in Week 17 when Dre Greenlaw stopped Jacob Hollister just inches from the goal line in the closing seconds on a fourth-and-goal pass from Wilson.

The 49ers escaped with a 26-21 victory, the NFC West title and home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.

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Carroll and 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan both cited Wilson's unique skills and style as a reason the Seahawks seem to always be involved in games that are a little out of the ordinary.

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"Russ has such an extraordinary attitude, positive attitude and optimistic outlook that he's been a factor in making those games happen, being a contributor in those games," Carroll said. "It's not always because you're winning and all of a sudden, you're not.

"It's usually a lot of everything. We've come from behind a lot. We've been in games we had to hang on. We're just used to it. I can't tell you why, as much as how we're trying to handle it."

The 49ers head into this week expecting the typical ups and downs that seemingly come with every game the Seahawks play -- regardless of the opponent.

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Shanahan said it is a topic he will discuss with his team before making the trip north for the pivotal NFC West matchup.

“Any game that Russell Wilson's in, no matter what happens, they have a chance,” Shanahan said. “I think that's why you see so many weird endings, because he can always pull something out of the bag and pull something off crazy.

“You try to expect that in every game so you're never surprised by it. It happens a lot more with the Seahawks than it does everyone else.”

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