It’s finally happened. After five long, desperate performances against the San Francisco 49ers, all culminating in very similar losses, the Seahawks have finally beaten them.
I think the most pleasing thing aside from the result was the different look to this game. The familiar ‘Seahawks dig themselves a hole, the 49ers capitalise, there’s a little bit of a rally that goes nowhere and the Niners eventually win comfortably’ was getting old. This had to be different.
Thankfully it was. The Seahawks made it a close contest and made having the last serious possession count. Suddenly the NFC West is wide open again and instead of mild disinterest in the Arizona game next week, it actually looks like one to look forward to and potentially savour.
It does have to be acknowledged that San Francisco were playing without George Kittle, so often a thorn in Seattle’s side. Trent Williams was banged up. Nick Bosa played through clear pain before eventually exiting. All 20 of Seattle’s points came without Bosa on the field.
Even so, the 49ers still had ample talent and were looking for a third straight win. It never felt like a game Kyle Shanahan had control of. For probably only the second time this season, the Seahawks made the game the type of contest they wanted to play. I don’t think they achieved that even in their three early season wins. Against Atlanta and today in Santa Clara, they dictated the flow.
Defensively they deserve a lot of credit. It’s a second reasonable showing in a row. It wasn’t flawless — the Jauan Jennings play on 3rd and 11 where he carried three defenders over the line to gain, with pre-snap confusion on his side of the field, had me (and I’m sure you) shouting at the screen in frustration. The Seahawks also had some iffy moments in the secondary.
However, they contained Christian McCaffrey and limited the run-game damage, created just enough pressure on Brock Purdy to be a factor and overall just played a mostly disciplined, organised four quarters. That’s a big upgrade on what we saw a few weeks ago.
Offensively it was another up and down game. The two touchdown drives were fantastic, especially the final one for obvious reasons. At times the play-design and scheming was eye-catching and clever. Geno Smith’s improv running the ball to win the game was inspired. Then there was the awful interception to start the second half, the second game in a row where they failed to get a yard on two plays on 3rd and 4th down and a continuing inability to unleash a serious running attack.
Olu Oluwatimi wasn’t noticeable, which is probably a good thing. It was good to see Abe Lucas back (and nobody should expect him to shut-out even an injured Bosa on his return). The two guards didn’t wreck the game. Yet Charles Cross seemed to have a bad day.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba is really coming along and is starting to look like the real deal. At the same time, are they ever going to find a way to get the most out of Ken Walker’s obscene potential? And why does Zach Charbonnet look so utterly ‘meh’?
The whole offense is one big melting pot of good and bad. I don’t know whether we’re seeing ample potential to believe Ryan Grubb is an O-line away from glory or whether he’s likely to be a one-and-done failed experiment.
I’ll leave that for another day. Ultimately the offense got the job done at the end and for once, it’s the Seahawks who are victorious against the 49ers. It’s really good to say that again.
