"These two teams have more than a division in common.

The Seahawks and 49ers share a style of play that starts with a big-bodied defense, includes a hardheaded insistence upon running the football, and continues through a fixation on turnovers that could be diagnosed as clinically obsessive. That's the blueprint that has taken San Francisco to its first division title since 2002, and it's the recipe that explains how Seattle has rebounded from a 2-6 start.

"The formula has been very similar," coach Pete Carroll said.

That's what makes Saturday's game at CenturyLink Field so very intriguing. Something's got to give."