Rapid Reaction: Seahawks Relegate 49ers’ Offense Punch-less, Win NFC West With 13-3 Victory
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Seattle Seahawks linebacker Drake Thomas (42) reacts after an interception against the San Francisco 49ers during the second half at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images [/caption]
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Using a physical ground game and suffocating defense to earn their first NFC West title in six years, the Seattle Seahawks shut down the San Francisco 49ers for a decisive 13-3 victory, capturing the No. 1 seed in the NFC in the process.
Playing an efficient game under center, Sam Darnold completed 20 out of 26 passes for 198 yards without any turnovers, while Ken Walker III and Zach Charbonnet combined to rush for 171 yards with the latter ripping off a 27-yard touchdown in the first quarter. Nick Emmanwori led the defense with seven tackles and a tackle for loss, while Derick Hall returned triumphantly from a suspension with a sack and two quarterback hits to hold San Francisco to 173 total yards of offense.
Celebrating a division crown after winning a defensive slugfest, here are five takeaways from Seattle’s 14th victory at Levis Stadium:
1. Blown chances by Seattle’s offense kept the game close, but Thomas returned the favor in crunch time.
When it came to finishing drives in the red zone, the Seahawks and 49ers both found creative ways to take points off of the scoreboard throughout the evening. Starting off with a productive drive that marched down to the San Francisco one-yard line after a defensive pass interference penalty in the end zone, Sam Darnold opted to bypass an open pass to Zach Charbonnet in the flats on a first down play action concept and took an 11-yard sack. Two short runs followed and Seattle decided to go for it on fourth and goal from the four-yard line, only for Darnold’s throw to Cooper Kupp to have too much mustard and sail out of bounds for a turnover on downs. Two drives later, Jason Myers saw his 47-yard field goal slide right of the uprights for a miss, leaving 10 potential points off the board.
Those miscues loomed large in the fourth quarter, as the 49ers finally got something going on offense with a couple of explosive passes to tight end George Kittle and receiver Jauan Jennings, moving the ball inside the Seahawks’ 10-yard line. But with their backs against the wall, the defense came up with a massive turnover, as defensive end Boye Mafe got a fingertip on Brock Purdy’s pass to Christian McCaffrey and the normally outstanding receiver couldn’t secure the throw. The ball deflected off of his hands and Thomas managed to catch the carrom before drifting out of bounds for his first career interception, turning San Francisco away without any points at the 10:27 mark. A touchdown or even a field goal there could have changed the complexion of the final stanza, but the pick deflated an already struggling offense and made the earlier miscues by the Seahawks more forgivable.
2. Building momentum on the ground at right time, ‘Hawks run game rocks and rolls in prime time.
Finding consistency rushing the football has been a major hurdle for the Seahawks all year with Klint Kubiak calling plays, but with the playoffs approaching, that narrative appears to be changing. After two straight wins posting 160-plus rushing yards, Ken Walker III and Zach Charbonnet kept humming out of the gate on Saturday night, starting with 29 yards on six carries on the opening drive. After not scoring on that possession, lightning struck in the form of Charbonnet, who bolted outside behind a great block from tight end AJ Barner before breaking Malik Mustapha’s tackle attempt to find pay dirt for a 27-yard scoring run.
Walker got into the act on the next series, opening with a 20-yard run through the teeth of San Francisco’s defense that was one tripped up tackle away from potentially being a home run. In the third quarter, he turned a 3rd and 17 into a remarkable 19-yard run zigging and zagging around multiple tacklers. By the fourth quarter, the speedy back started to take over with back-to-back 11-yard runs as the offensive line continued to push the pile with Charbonnet mixing in bruising downhill runs and each successive first down carry chewed more clock.
3. Married up pass rush, coverage frustrates Brock Purdy and grounds 49ers’ aerial attack.
Prior to Saturday night, the 49ers had been on an absolute heater during a six-game winning streak, scoring north of 35 points per game behind Purdy’s arm. The heat streak came to a crashing halt in the season finale, however, with the Seahawks’ defense serving as the fire extinguisher. San Francisco went three-and-out on its first two drives, headlined by Derick Hall returning from a suspension to sack Purdy and several nice open field tackles on third downs to force punts. The next drive went a bit better for the home team advancing into Seattle territory, only for a hit by Jarran Reed on Purdy’s fourth down heave to force an incompletion and a turnover on downs. At the half, Purdy had just 47 passing yards on 13 attempts, regularly under pressure from an active front line with an occasional blitz mixed in.
After halftime, the onslaught on Purdy continued with few opportunities to get the ball downfield. After leveling the quarterback on fourth down earlier, Reed collapsed on Purdy for a sack to help thwart a promising third down drive, and the defense wound up getting to him five times in the final two quarters, including Hall decking him from behind on fourth down at the end of the fourth quarter to put the dagger in the 49ers. Overall, the Seahawks produced a trio of sacks with eight quarterback hits, four pass breakups, and Thomas’ interception in the red zone, limiting San Francisco to just 127 passing yards and 4.7 yards per attempt on the night in a truly dominant performance against the same offense that lit up Chicago for 42 points six days earlier.
4. Disruptive Nick Emmanwori, front seven sets tone to stone wall Christian McCaffrey and screen game.
Away from making life miserable for Purdy, the Seahawks didn’t allow McCaffrey to get rolling at all either. Already past the 2,000 all-purpose yards mark going into Saturday night, the multi-time All-Pro selection didn’t do much of anything in the first two quarters, rushing three times for a grand total of seven yards and accounting for 18 yards on three receptions. He averaged under three yards per carry on first down runs on the night, finishing with 23 yards on eight carries as the 49ers rushed for just 53 yards as a team, never offering much of a threat to complement the passing game.
Meanwhile, Emmanwori continued to make his presence felt as one of the NFL’s most exciting defensive weapons. Along with delivering a big hit on Purdy to force a first quarter incompletion, he blew up George Kittle for a six-yard loss on a tight end screen and wound up leading the team with seven tackles, offering the kryptonite to San Francisco’s usual palette of tight end routes in the passing game while also being a nuisance in the run game. Through it all, with the rookie safety being a big part of shutting him down, Kittle had just 29 yards on five receptions, failing to make much of an impact at all.
5. Far from his finest hour, Jason Myers ends a fantastic year by kicking a dud.
By the time AP voters begin sending their selections for All-Pro honors in, Myers may very well be a first or second-team selection, but it won’t be because of Saturday night. Typically one of the most reliable place kickers in the sport, the veteran endured an uncharacteristic off night even with the rain holding off until after the final whistle, starting with a 47-yard kick on Seattle’s third possession that sliced wide right to the cheers of the 49ers’ faithful, keeping the score at 7-0. Later in the half, he had a kickoff bounce out of bounds, gifting the 49ers with outstanding starting field position at the 40-yard line that resulted in an Eddie Pineiro field goal to cut the deficit to 10-3.
Putting the rotten cherry on top, Myers failed to finish off Seattle’s penultimate possession in the fourth quarter when he had a short 26-yard field goal doink off of the upright with 2:24 to play, keeping San Francisco within 10 points. While he did make two field goals to aid the win, going 50% on four attempts with one of the misses being shorter than an extra point will certainly leave a bad taste in his mouth heading towards the postseason, while miscues like the one kicking a ball out of bounds can’t happen in the playoffs either. Fortunately, he will get an extra week to forget about this ugly outing with hopes of rediscovering his groove for the Divisional Round.
