On the first play of last season’s NFC Championship Game, 49ers outside linebacker Aldon Smith sacked and stripped Seattle’s Russell Wilson and recovered the fumble.

Ten months later, the stage could be set for a similar plays Thursday night when the 49ers host the Seahawks, who allowed a season-high seven sacks in a 19-3 win against Arizona on Sunday. The Cardinals finished with 11 tackles for losses against Seattle’s patchwork offensive line and coach Bruce Arians thought their sack total could have been even higher.

“Seven sacks is a nice day,” Arians said, “but when you miss four more, it could’ve been a huge day.”

Seattle had two season-opening starters — center Max Unger and left guard James Carpenter – out because of ankle injuries against Arizona. Carpenter is expected to return for Thursday’s game, but Unger will likely remain sidelined.

Seattle coach Pete Carroll acknowledged the Seahawks have issues to correct before meeting the 49ers, who matched a season-high with five sacks in a 17-13 win over Washington on Sunday.

“We had all kinds of problems,” Carroll said. “We got beat one-on-one, we had some scheme issues, and we held the ball too long. To have that kind of an onslaught it took a lot of stuff.”

On Sunday, Patrick Lewis made his second career start in place of Unger. Lewis entered the NFL in 2013 as an undrafted free agent and has been on the roster of four NFL teams, an odyssey that includes two stints with the Seahawks and Browns.

On Monday, Carroll said he wasn’t sure Lewis would start against the 49ers. Seattle’s other option is Lemuel Jeanpierre, who has made eight starts in his four-year career.

“We will find out,” Carroll said. “We will let these guys battle again this week. Lemuel will be a week older with us this time around. We will see how it goes.”

Twitter: @Eric_Branch