San Francisco – On a balmy Sunday afternoon at Candlestick Park, a 23-10 loss to the San Francisco 49ers was the least of the Seattle Seahawks’ concerns.

More worrisome for Seahawks coach Jim Mora was the health of starting quarterback Matt Hasselbeck. The veteran quarterback, who turns 34 this week, suffered a rib injury late in the first half when 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis drilled him as he tried to dive into the end zone.

Hasselbeck, who missed nine games with a bulging disc in his back last season, writhed in pain as he struggled to get off the field. A woozy Hasselbeck finally crumpled to his knees, falling in a heap near the sideline as trainers came to his aid.

Hasselbeck eventually left the field on his own power, heading to the locker room for further evaluation. He did not return, and backup Seneca Wallace took over for the rest of the way.

After the game, Mora said Hasselbeck went in for X-rays, which were negative, and a CT scan, which was inconclusive. Mora described the injury as a rib bruise, and said Hasselbeck was feeling better. Hasselbeck met the team back at the airport and flew home with the rest of the Seahawks.

“It was a great effort by Matt trying to get into the end zone,” Mora said. “You love to see that, but you hate to see the results.”

Hasselbeck’s injury was one of several that Seattle players suffered. Lofa Tatupu (hamstring), Sean Locklear (ankle) and Josh Wilson (ankle) all left the game after sustaining injuries and did not return. Brandon Mebane (strained calf) never suited up.

Mora said the Seahawks played without 10 projected starters Sunday.

The injuries certainly conjured memories of last season, when Seattle finished among the league leaders for the number of players who finished the season on the injured reserve list.

However, Nate Burleson said this year is different.

“I don’t think anybody’s thinking about that,” said Burleson, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in the 2008 opener. “Last year, it was pretty self-evident. It was huge – you couldn’t miss it. A lot of guys were banged up and there were some major injuries. Right now, guys are a little nicked up and bruised and we want to get them back on the field obviously, but really we have confidence in guys who are stepping up in their place.”

Mora agreed.

“It makes perfect sense for the people out there to say, ‘Oh my goodness, here we go again. Matt’s down. All these guys are hurt.’ That’s not the feeling in that locker room,” he said. “That’s not the feeling with this coach right here, at all. Not one single bit does that creep into this environment.”

The Seahawks (1-1) were victimized by the fleet feet of 49ers running back Frank Gore, who finished just short of a single-game career high with 207 yards on just 16 carries, including long scoring gallops of 79 and 80 yards.

Along with the shortcomings in stopping San Francisco’s running game, the Seahawks could not get into any kind of rhythm offensively, finishing with 283 total yards, only 66 of which came on the ground, and failing to get a first down on five of the team’s 11 possessions.

But the two long runs by Gore were the difference.

The 49ers took a 3-0 lead in the first quarter on a 37-yard Joe Nedney field goal. San Francisco got the ball back again after shutting down Seattle for three straight plays.

On the first play from scrimmage, Gore broke cleanly through the line on a counter play, cut back against safety Jordan Babineaux and outran Babineaux and cornerback Ken Lucas to the end zone for his 79-yard TD, putting his team up 10-0.

Seattle managed to crawl back into it, getting an Olindo Mare 36-yard field goal on the ensuing possession to cut the lead to 10-3. With just over three minutes left in the half Nedney booted another field goal, this one from 42 yards, to put the 49ers up 13-3.

The Seahawks had their best drive of the game just before the half, with Hasselbeck expertly leading his team down the field in the two-minute offense before suffering the rib injury at the goal line.

Wallace finished things off a play later, hitting Julius Jones with a swing pass from 1 yard out to make it 13-10.

The Seahawks went into halftime feeling like they could make a game of it in the second half, but that changed when Gore broke loose again on the first play from scrimmage of the third quarter. He accelerated through a gap in Seattle’s defensive front and raced down the middle of the field 80 yards for his second touchdown, giving the 49ers’ stingy defense a 20-10 lead.

“We felt like we were back in it,” Mora said about the play. “We had some momentum and we were fired up and we were focused. Then, pop, 80 yards. Boy, that sucks the air out of you.”

NTwo weeks into the season, San Francisco finds itself the unlikely leader of the NFC West with a 2-0 record.

So will coach Mike Singletary and company finally get some respect?

“Well, you know what, if they’re not taking us seriously, that’s OK,” Singletary said. “They can keep doing that. We’re going to continue to take ourselves seriously.”

Eric D. Williams: 253-597-8437

eric.williams@thenewstribune.com

blog.thenewstribune.com/seahawks

ROAD WORRIERS

The Seahawks have lost four of their past five road openers:

DateOpponentScore

Sundayat San FranciscoL, 23-10

9-7-08at BuffaloL, 34-10

9-16-07at ArizonaL, 23-20

9-10-06at DetroitW, 9-6

9-11-05at JacksonvilleL, 26-14