Thursday Night Football 49ers vs. Seahawks: Fantasy football breakdown

You can watch “Thursday Night Football: 49ers vs. Seahawks” at 8:20 p.m. ET/5:20 p.m. PT on Amazon Prime Video.

The NFL brings us another big division game on Thursday Night Football as the 2-3 49ers travel to Seattle to take on the 3-2 Seahawks. There are plenty of big fantasy football names on both sides of the scoreboard. So let's get to what we should pay attention to in this duel.

The Story of a Quarterback (Who Deserves Better)

Geno Smith currently ranks fifth among quarterbacks in fantasy points. He has just five passing touchdowns, but leads the league in passing yards and ranks seventh in rushing yards at the position. Smith also leads the league in completions and attempts and ranks third in completion percentage among QBs with more than 130 attempts.

But again, Smith only has five passing touchdowns — one per week, good for seventh-best in the league.

I don't know about you, but there's something wrong.

This is a situation that screams bad luck for me. Not only did Smith witness several completed passes to receivers until they were tackled at the 1-yard line, but Kenneth Walker III was exceptionally efficient at scoring touchdowns in the red zone and on the goal line this season; 67% of the Seahawks' touchdowns in four weeks came on the ground!

Simply put, the Seahawks have made scoring look easy on the ground while making it look incredibly difficult in the air. Things will balance out, perhaps in this game.

It doesn't seem right for a guy to throw as frequently and efficiently as Smith Despite it does not have a multi-passing touchdown game this season.

The Seahawks could be in the hunt for results two weeks in a row. In order for them to come out on top this time, they have to score points both in the air and on the ground. Be sure to pay close attention to Smith's work in the red zone in this game.

Will this be Jordan Mason's monster game?

Ever since Jordan Mason was named the 49ers' starter, we've been waiting for the great performance of the man he replaced. So far, Mason has balanced two great fantasy games (Weeks 1 and 4) with one good game (Week 2) and two subpar games (Weeks 3 and 5). To his credit, Mason is fifth overall in running back fantasy points and second in the league in rushing yards.

But we're still waiting for the 100-yard, three-touchdown game. Maybe we're spoiled by what we usually get from Kyle Shanahan's running attacks. Regardless, Mason was great, just not the weekly winner we were hoping for.

The main thing keeping Mason from that ceiling was his receiving effort. He has just seven catches on eight targets this season with no touchdowns, good for 40th among RBs this season. In comparison, Alvin Kamara has 23 catches on 28 targets and a receiving score. Mason simply wasn't a priority in the passing game, even with Deebo Samuel Sr., George Kittle and of course CMC out due to injuries.

But perhaps we'll see a little more of Mason in all facets of the game this week. Shanahan and the 49ers undoubtedly saw what the Lions' star RBs did to the Seahawks in Week 4. David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs combined for 158 yards and three touchdowns against Seattle. Sure, most of that damage was done on the ground (Monty managed 40 yards on one catch in that game), but the running game was one of the engines behind the Lions' 42-point outburst.

Not to mention, the 49ers suffered a loss to another division rival in which Mason only received 15 touches while Purdy threw the ball 35 times. It wouldn't be a surprise to see Shanahan return to his bread and butter to right the ship in this game. Mason scoring multiple points in TNF sounds like a good prop to me.

Vintage Brandon Aiyuk was on display in Week 5…but don't expect a repeat

We all suspected that it would take some time for Brandon Aiyuk to get fit. Last week, everything came together against the division rival Cardinals, with Aiyuk catching eight passes for a whopping 147 yards. He could have had an even bigger game if Purdy hadn't missed him a few times. Regardless, it was a welcome development and accomplishment for one of the better wide receivers in the league.

But betting on a repeat might be asking too much.

After starting the season with some solid defensive performances against outside receivers, the Seahawks' stopping unit showed some chinks in the armor, most recently with Darius Slayton, of all people, who dropped eight catches for 122 yards and a touchdown against them. Prior to this unexpected performance, Seattle's secondary had not allowed a single receiver to rush for over 80 yards against them (and Jameson Williams totaled 80 despite being limited to two catches). Unfortunately, they will be without cornerback Riq Woolen (ankle) for TNF in this session. They could also be without safety Julian Love (hamstring), who is questionable after playing limited training sessions this week in what was described as a game-time decision by HC Mike Macdonald.

Regardless, Macdonald's defense has been solid at limiting production from perimeter receivers this season, and that should continue in Week 6. As mentioned, I see this being a big Jordan-Mason game, but don't be surprised if Kittle and Samuel wreak havoc in the middle and have bigger outings than Aiyuk.