Seahawks leap past 49ers 20-3
As the Seattle Seahawks built a 17-point lead early in the fourth quarter of Thursday night’s game against the San Francisco 49ers, it was fair to wonder: Would it be enough?
But it turns out, all the Seahawks needed to solve their late-game woes was to play a floundering Niners offense.
For now, this rivalry is dead and barely resembles the heated and competitive games these two teams played from late 2012 through early 2014. With their 20-3 win, Seattle now has won six of the last seven games against the 49ers and pulled themselves out of their tie for last-place in the NFC West. Seattle still trails the Arizona Cardinals, who host the Baltimore Ravens on Monday night.
The Seahawks won big at Levi’s Stadium last year, too, part of an impressive second-half run that culminated in their second consecutive appearance in the Super Bowl. While Thursday’s result has to be encouraging for coach Pete Carroll, it would be foolish to just assume these current Seahawks are about to embark on a similar winning streak. Even though this team dominated the 49ers, it still has its flaws, particularly on offense.
Quarterback Russell Wilson was sacked five times, to bring his season total to 28 — the most of any quarterback in the NFL. Wilson threw two interceptions, including one on a particularly poor decision before halftime when he was picked off in the end zone with Seattle trying to put the game away. A score on that drive — even just a field goal — likely would have put the game out of reach before the third quarter.
Wilson led the offense to just two touchdowns. One came at the end of a long, grinding drive early in the first quarter in which running back Marshawn Lynch did the majority of the work, including picking up a fourth-and-1 inside the 5-yard line before diving over the pile for a 1-yard touchdown.
The other score was a quick strike, a 43-yard play-action touchdown from Wilson to rookie wide receiver Tyler Lockett.
But in the second half, the Seahawks offense went stagnant, much like last week against Carolina Panthers. The difference Thursday was the Niners had no chance to mount a comeback — in part because of San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s ineffectiveness and in part because of a swarming, unrelenting pass rush from the Seahawks.
Seattle sacked Kaepernick six times, including 3½ from defensive lineman Michael Bennett, who more than doubled his season total. That pressure left no chance for breakdowns and miscommunications in the secondary like the Seahawks experienced in the recent losses to the Cincinnati Bengals and Carolina.
The 49ers have now scored just six total points in their last two games against Seattle. Thursday’s loss must be particularly disheartening for a San Francisco squad that showed progress in a win last week against the Baltimore Ravens. Kaepernick completed 13 of 24 passes for 124 yards as the Niners managed just eight first downs while punting nine times against Seattle.
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Follow Lindsay H. Jones on Twitter @bylindsayhjones
PHOTOS: Week 7 NFL action