Seahawks-49ers final score: Seahawks cruise to 24-13 win over 49ers

The Seattle Seahawks improved to 7-4 on the season with a fairly comfortable 24-13 win over the 1-10 San Francisco 49ers. On a rainy, breezy day at Levi’s Stadium, Seattle’s offense struggled to get itself going, so much so that the first play of the game was an interception, but Seattle pulled away in the second-half to get their fourth consecutive road win on the year.

1st Quarter

Windy conditions benefited the Seahawks, as the opening kickoff from the 49ers went out of bounds, so Seattle started at its own 40. Russell Wilson threw an interception to Eric Reid on the game’s first play, so that field position was wasted. San Francisco went three-and-out, so the pick wasn’t costly.

Paul Richardson converted a 3rd and 10 on Seattle’s next possession, then turned a slant into a 26-yard gain into San Francisco territory. After the drive stalled, Blair Walsh’s 48-yard field goal pulled wide left. Wilson was lucky not to be picked off on the play preceding the miss.

San Francisco got a few runs going with Carlos Hyde, but Beathard couldn’t extend the drive any further, and they punted right back to Seattle after just five plays. Wilson juked out Reuben Foster on a 3rd and 5 to pick up a first down, then recovered a fumbled snap and completed a pass to Nick Vannett for 11 more yards. Eddie Lacy got going with his own 11-yard rush on the next snap. A personal foul bailed out another poor Wilson decision that nearly led to an interception. A false start by Ethan Pocic effectively killed chances of another field goal, so Seattle punted from the SF 36 and it became a touchback.

2nd Quarter

The two teams exchanged three-and-outs, then Bobby Wagner pulled off an outrageous interception on a pass intended for Trent Taylor. This set the Seahawks up at the 49ers 16.

A pitch to JD McKissic gained 12 yards, then Russell Wilson kept on the read-option for the touchdown. 7-0 Seahawks.

Matt Breida had San Francisco’s only first down on the next possession, as Beathard continued to look hopeless as a passer. They would get the ball back fairly quickly, and Beathard connected with Marquise Goodwin for a 23-yard gain, with Byron Maxwell in coverage. Bobby Wagner devoured Carlos Hyde on some weird screen pass, and it was punt time once more.

As usual, Seattle’s offense was of little use, so the puntfest continued. C.J. Beathard beat the Seattle blitz for a huge 32-yard throw to Marquise Goodwin, who beat Jeremy Lane to get to the Seattle 34. A third-down strip-sack by Marcus Smith II put the Niners out of FG range, so the Seahawks dodged a bullet.

Seattle’s next drive stalled thanks to a ridiculous OPI call on JD McKissic, who didn’t commit OPI on what was a third-down conversion by Tyler Lockett. San Francisco put points on the board on a Robbie Gould field goal, with Trent Taylor’s 30-yard slant as the key play on the drive. 7-3 Seahawks.

3rd Quarter

Having ended the previous possession with a field goal, the 49ers offense tacked on three more points, with the running game doing the bulk of the work. 7-6 Seahawks.

Faced with a three-man rush, Russell Wilson had plenty of time in the pocket, and he converted a 3rd and 10 to Doug Baldwin, who picked up 23 yards. Tanner McEvoy got free on play-action for 25 more yards. Two plays later, Nick Vannett found the open space and scored his first NFL touchdown. 14-6 Seahawks.

After a three-and-out by the 49ers, the Seahawks offense went back to work from their own 35. Russell Wilson somehow escaped multiple pass rushers to find Jimmy Graham on a third-down conversion, then shortly thereafter, JD McKissic turned a short gain on a screen pass into 14 yards thanks to great balance. A really bad defensive pass interference penalty bailed out a failed third-down throw by Wilson to Baldwin, so the Seahawks entered the final quarter with the ball at the 1-yard line.

4th Quarter

Slant from Wilson to Graham. Too easy. Graham’s eighth touchdown of the season and one of the easiest he’s scored. 21-6 Seahawks.

Seattle burned five minutes of game clock on their next series, as the 49ers continued to look feckless on offense. Michael Bennett ended San Francisco’s dwindling hopes for a comeback by sacking Beathard, forcing yet another three-and-out. Jimmy Graham was wide open down the field for a gain of 25 yards. Blair Walsh nailed a short field goal to make it 24-6 Seahawks.

The 49ers felt like they needed to try and score to make the final tally more respectable, and C.J. Beathard was hurt with 1:07 to go. Michael Bennett was offsides when he hit Beathard just above the knees, and he was down for quite some time before walking off under his own power. Jimmy Garoppolo came in for mop-up duty, and threw a touchdown to Louis Murphy as time expired. I hope they’re happy about that. 24-13 Seahawks final.

Seahawks injury report

TE Luke Willson was concussed in the first-half and was ruled out for the game.

LB Josh Forrest dinged up his ankle and I do not believe he returned.

DL Quinton Jefferson was injured in garbage time and walked off the field with the training staff.

Next week’s opponents

Seattle hosts the 10-1 Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday Night Football on NBC, with a kickoff time at 5:30 PM PT.