Start, end of this ‘showdown’ loss shows how far the Seahawks remain behind the 49ers
The Seahawks spent up to $124.5 million on the defense. They re-signed Geno Smith to a $75M deal.
They drafted Devon Witherspoon with the fifth pick in this year’s draft, to play cornerback and nickel. They traded a 2nd- and a 5th-round pick to the New York Giants for defensive tackle Leonard Williams.
All to close the gap on the 49ers.
Well...
The beginning and end of this Thanksgiving night showdown for first place in the NFC West showed how far the Seahawks are from closing that gap.
Massive malfunction on offense and defense put the Seahawks in a 24-3 hole that was actually deeper, while being out-gained by the 49ers 225-15.
By the time ailing Geno Smith and Seattle got semi-competitive, they were too far behind. The 49ers mostly coasted in the second half, sacking Smith six times and cruising for a 31-13 victory that wasn’t that close.
By the end, the many in red who apparently bought Seahawks’ season tickets in the lower bowl on secondary markets for this holiday were making all the noise inside Lumen Field. Again.
San Francisco beat Seattle for the fourth consecutive time since the start of last season. The combined scores of those games: 120-56.
“We’ve got another chance to go against these guys in a few weeks (Dec. 10 in Santa Clara, California),” Smith said. “I think everyone’s got to take that personal. I know I am,” Smith said. “We all got to take it personal, man.
“We can’t keep coming out here and letting them beat us like that.”
Or can’t they?
The pertinent question to the Seahawks after their second loss in the division in four days, and third loss in four games overall: Is this indicative of how far Seattle, for all its done to close that gap, remain behind the 49ers?
“What?” coach Pete Carroll said Thursday night, tilting his head and his voice rising.
Upon being asked the same question again, Carroll said: “They played a really good first half and jumped on us.
“I can’t think about that — I can’t make that determination.”
Smith, who played with a bruised triceps on his throwing arm then injured his ankle while getting sacked six times by the 49ers, was asked the same question after this game: Is this indicative of where the Seahawks are in relation to San Francisco, still?
“It’s one game. We lost one game tonight,” Smith said. “They beat us. Hats off to them. They are a really good team. They showed it tonight.
“I don’t feel like we can let one game affect us. We’ve got more games to play. We’ve got to move forward. And, like I said, we’ve got to work harder. I’m definitely going to do that, starting (Friday).”
Their first half from Hades Thursday, when they needed to be at their absolute best, puts the Seahawks (6-5) two games plus a tie breaker behind the 49ers (8-3) atop the West. Seattle next plays next Thursday at Dallas (8-3), then at San Francisco and home against defending NFC-champion Philadelphia (9-1).
Uh-oh.
Rookie Devon Witherspoon was colorfully blunt about what the Seahawks need to do now.
The 22-year-old cornerback said after his five tackles, one for a loss, and one pass defensed Thursday: “We just got to come out and drop our nuts.”
The moments that epitomized Seattle’s first half, and how far ahead the Niners remain of the Seahawks:
- Edge-rushing linebacker Darrell Taylor trying and of course failing to cover Deebo Samuel over the middle on third down, as Jamal Adams blitzed into a blocker. Seahawks blitzing to nowhere was why Brock Purdy had mostly all holiday to throw to his receivers, who eventually got open and burned Seattle for 209 yards and a touchdown.
- Cornerback Riq Woolen running into a teammate after an SF catch and Jauan Jennings running through rookie Devon Witherspoon for a first down on another third down. Woolen, unblocked, whiffed with one hand stuck out at Christian McCaffrey at the line. The Niners dynamo ran through that for 16 of his 114 yards rushing.
- Smith tripping on running back Zach Charbonnet while dropping back to pass, with the quarterback landing on own goal line.
- Smith angrily yelling, pumping his arms at a false start on 41-year-old right tackle Jason Peters that turned a third and OK into a third and 10. On that, Smith got sacked. Again. Seattle was 3 for 11 on third downs, continuing a season-long problem.
- DeeJay Dallas dropping a 49ers punt through his arms late in the half. Instead of falling at the loose ball at his feet, Dallas tried to pick up the ball and run with it. The 49ers swarmed him and recovered the fumble.
San Francisco converted that into a field goal for a 24-3 lead. That lasted into the third quarter.
Seahawks briefly, kinda respond
Early in the third quarter, out of nowhere, a Seattle Thanksgiving miracle: San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy threw errantly for one the first times in the game, high and behind Christian McCaffrey. The ball tipped high off the running back’s stretched hand, and into those of Jordyn Brooks. Brooks ran 12 yards with the first interception of his four-year career into the end zone.
It was the first interception of Brooks’ four-year career. Almost incredibly, despite being dominated, the Seahawks trailed only 24-10.
Seattle’s other score to that point was a field goal by Jason Myers, after a 66-yard return of a San Francisco kickoff by Dee Eskridge early in the first quarter.
By the end of the half, Peters was in the blue medical tent, injured.
His replacement Stone Forsythe body-slammed a 49er in the field-goal blocking scrum as Myers’ 53-yard try was, like the rest of Seattle’s half, no good.
Forsythe’s scrap resulted in pushing and shoving between the teams in the field’s middle as the half ended.
It was the most fight the Seahawks had shown to that point.
A stop by the defense gave Seattle some momentum. The Lumen Field crowd emerged from its post-turkey, poor-play daze. And Seattle’s offense, non-competitive to that point, went on a 14-play drive. Rookie Jaxon Smith-Njigba turned the wrong way on Smith’s third-down pass then turned around to it, dived and caught it brilliantly with one hand for a 34-yard catch.
But then: On second and goal from the 7, Smith-Njigba was held by 49ers cornerback Ambry Thomas in the end zone before Smith’s pass arrived. But officials did not throw a penalty flag.
On third and goal, Smith held onto the ball for a long time with four receivers down field. He got sacked. The 30-yard field goal by Jason Myers was deflating for the Seahawks. Despite winning the third quarter they were still down by two scores, 24-13, entering the final period.
Not getting that holding call on Smith-Njigba, and not getting a touchdown to get to within 24-17 proved the only chance the Seahawks had to get into this game.
Seattle’s awful start (cont.)
The 49ers gained 148 yards in the first quarter. The Seahawks gained zero.
Jarran Reed has faith
Through it all — and not much of it positive — Thursday night, veteran defensive tackle Jarran Reed was asked why he said he wasn’t concerned with how far his Seahawks may still be behind San Francisco.
“I’ve got faith. I’ve got plenty of faith,” Reed said at his locker in a quiet room postgame. “We work hard. We run hard. We are together.
“We’ve got to put it all together. And we’ve got to do that.
“Quick.”
Riq Woolen benched
One of the first fall guys for this debacle: the Seahawks’ Pro Bowl safety from a season ago.
Riq Woolen started as usual at right cornerback. In the first quarter he collided with a teammate while pursuing a 49ers receiver after that catch. That resulted in one of San Francisco’s 16 first downs in the first half, to Seattle’s three.
Woolen was also unblocked sitting in the hole McCaffrey ran to off left tackle early. Woolen stuck out his left hand as McCaffrey ran through it for 16 yards. That was on the first play of San Francisco’s 45-yard drive to a 1-yard touchdown run by McCaffrey. That upped the 49ers’ lead to 14-3 early in the second quarter. The Niners’ march got extended by Seattle cornerback Tre Brown bear-hugging tight end George Kittle in the end zone while Purdy scrambled short of the line to gain on a third down.
That 49ers drive was so short because of Smith falling over Charbonnet and backing Michael Dickson into his own end zone to punt. His boot uncharacteristically went just 39 yards.
For Seattle’s next defensive series, Michael Jackson replaced Woolen at cornerback. Woolen stood wearing a blue team parka over his uniform, next to teammate Tre Brown on the sidelines as the 49ers increased their lead to 21-3 on McCaffrey’s 8-yard run with 5 minutes left in the half.
The Seahawks’ public-relations staff confirmed Woolen had no injury issue. So he was benched.
But at least in one moment, Woolen didn’t sulk. Later in the second quarter, when the defense finally got a three and out, Woolen went down the bench as his defensive teammates returned to the sideline and slapped each of their hand congratulating them.
He was a limited participant in practices this Seattle week before Thursday’s game after its loss at the Los Angeles Rams Sunday. Woolen was not on the injury report for the 49ers game, though.
Carroll made it sound somewhat health-related.
“Riq wasn’t back all the way. He didn’t tackle well with the shoulder and went into the game wanting to see if he could hold up and didn’t feel like he was ready,” the coach said. “Mike was 100% ready to go and we think Mike is a terrific football player, and no problem putting him on the field.”
This story was originally published November 23, 2023 at 8:33 PM.
