Saturday's matchup between the 49ers and Seattle Seahawks will be the third meeting between the two NFC West rivals this season.
One player who knows the rivalry better than anyone else is former 49ers and Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman.
On the latest episode of "The Richard Sherman Podcast," the five-time Pro Bowler was asked by co-host Mitch Eisenstein to predict the outcome of Saturday's NFC Wild Card Game at Levi's Stadium.
"It's going to be 25-25," Sherman joked.
Sherman was impressed with how Seattle closed out the 2022 NFL regular season but ultimately believes there is one player who will be the difference-maker Saturday.
"Geno Smith, Pro Bowl player, franchise record holder in a number of categories the first year he started," Sherman said. "D.K. [Metcalf] and Tyler [Lockett]. Tyler has had another really good season. A 1,000-yard season. Those young tackles have stood up really well, but ... Nicholas John Bosa. Future Defensive Player of the Year. It's going to be tough to beat him."
San Francisco currently is a 9.5-point favorite over its division rival, but Sherman believes, because of how close the 49ers' win over the Seahawks was at Lumen Field in Week 15, Saturday's game will be closer than the near-10-point spread.
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"It's going to be tough to deal with them, they're coming off a 10-game winning streak, but the game in Seattle was closer than a lot of people think," Sherman explained. "There was a 10-point swing right before the end of the first half, where an interception by Quandre Diggs could have happened. It was right in his hands, he threw it right to him. That could have changed the complexity of that game immensely, it could have changed really fast.
"... With Christian McCaffrey, this offensive line, this defensive line healthy now in San Francisco, it's a tough task asking Seattle to walk into San Francisco and come out with a win, but I don't think it will be a 10-point spread."
As surprising as the Seahawks have been this season, the 49ers, with rookie quarterback Brock Purdy, have yet to lose. San Francisco also will be the healthiest it's been all season, which could prove to be too much for the underdog Seahawks.
"I think it's tough," Sherman added. "Brock Purdy, in the NFL has been a lot of things. Mr. Irrelevant, is a seventh-round pick, but he has yet to be a loser in the NFL, he has not lost. If he has started a game, he has won it. 6-0, 115 passer rating, 13 touchdowns, four interceptions. And he's solid and he really loves George Kittle, he loves getting him the ball. He's scored seven touchdowns since Brock Purdy has started.
"He's feeding that man and he's coming into his own. And then you got Brandon Aiyuk, a 1,000-yard season. And then it's Elijah Mitchell coming back, Christian McCaffrey's there, Deebo [Samuel]'s there, everybody. They got the fixings."
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However, in the end, Sherman believes one player will be the difference maker on the field Saturday.
"It's going to be tight, but Nicholas John Bosa, he's the difference-maker, he's the disruptor."