Rapid Reaction: Seahawks Cough Up Chance to Seize NFC West in 32-29 Loss to 49ers
Battling back from a self-created halftime deficit, the Seahawks had chances to overcome a bunch of miscues and beat the 49ers on Sunday, but their comeback efforts came up just short.
SEATTLE, Wash. - Unable to overcome their own litany of mistakes that led to 21 points off turnovers for the opposition, the Seattle Seahawks couldn't pull off a late comeback as they dropped a 32-29 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
Struggling for much of the afternoon, Sam Darnold threw for 195 yards with a 16-yard touchdown to Jaxon Smith-Njigba and two interceptions, while Emanuel Wilson scored a rushing touchdown for a second straight game. Byron Murphy II finished with two sacks and a key tackle for loss, while Nehemiah Pritchett intercepted a pass and forced a fumble on special teams in the defeat.
Here are five quick takeaways from a difficult Week 5 loss littered with self-inflicted mistakes at Lumen Field:
1. Sea of turnovers puts behind the Seahawks behind the eight-ball in the first 30 minutes.
As far as disastrous halves of football go in Seattle's 51 seasons, Sunday's debacle may very well belong in the upper echelon of offensive atrocities. Matching his efforts from one week earlier when he threw a pick on the first offensive play from scrimmage, Darnold tried to squeeze an out route to Smith-Njigba on third down, only for cornerback Renardo Green to undercut the pass for an interception at the Seattle 18-yard line. After a 13-yard completion from Brock Purdy to Mike Evans, the veteran receiver scored on a two-yard slant, putting San Francisco up 7-0 less than five minutes into the game.
The Week 5 gift-giving wasn't done with Darnold's pick either. After a Devon Witherspoon tackle on Purdy forced a punt inside 10 minutes to play in the second quarter, linebacker Fred Warner smashed Wilson and forced the football loose, allowing safety Malik Mustapha to recover at the Seahawks 11-yard line. On the next snap, Christian McCaffrey sprinted untouched off tackle and powered his way past the goal line for an 11-yard score to put the visitors back in front 14-10 with multiple touchdowns off of turnovers.
