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The Seattle Seahawks (7-7) didn’t get blown out by the San Francisco 49ers (10-4), but not getting blown out is still a loss. Two touchdowns by Brock Purdy to George Kittle and a Christian McCaffrey touchdown off a costly Travis Homer fumble led to a 21-13 win for the 49ers to take the NFC West title at Lumen Field.
Seattle is not only staying out of a playoff spot but they no longer “control their destiny” such that winning out wouldn’t be enough. The offensive line got dominated by the 49ers’ monstrous defensive front, and while the defense did have some bright spots, the talent disparity on both sides of the ball was too much to overcome.
1st Quarter
Godwin Igwebuike took the opening kickoff to his own 35, giving the Seahawks solid field position to begin the game. It was wasted after only getting one first down, and Geno Smith was fortunate not to get intercepted on his third attempt by Dre Greenlaw.
The 49ers’ first possession ended in a three-and-out! Christian McCaffrey had a rush and a catch but the 49ers were backed up and didn’t go for it on 4th and 1 at their own 19. Seattle got the ball back and promptly went three-and-out.
A huge run by McCaffrey for 23 yards gave the 49ers their first jolt of offense. Only a handful of plays later, Kyle Shanahan dialed up a double fake screen and then a Brock Purdy throw down the middle to an open George Kittle for a touchdown. Just a brilliantly designed play. 7-0 49ers.
Seahawks offense comes back out onto the field and goes three-and-out again. The 49ers got great field position on a lame Joey Blount fair catch interference penalty. Their own penalty on Mike McGlinchey erased a 3rd down conversion, and led to a punt. Darrell Taylor (who forced McGlinchey to hold) jumped offside on 4th and 7 for some reason, but the 49ers bailed them out. Seattle gave it back on a three-and-out, plus DK Metcalf got penalized for taunting. The team is losing, DK.
2nd Quarter
A block in the back penalty on Brandon Aiyuk combined with consecutive incomplete passes by Brock Purdy (who hit on his first 11 passes) forced another punt. Finally the Seahawks got a good drive going with a couple of Geno strikes to DK Metcalf, as well as an 18-yard run by Smith on a 3rd and 13. A completion to Noah Fant had the Seahawks on the cusp of the red zone, but eventually that stingy 49ers defense got the job done and held Seattle to a 38-yard field goal by Jason Myers. 7-3 49ers.
Quandre Diggs nearly picked off Brock Purdy on the other side of the two-minute warning, which would’ve set up great field position for the Seahawks. Instead they began their drill at their own 19 with all three timeouts. It was going well until Travis Homer fumbled on a huge hit by Dre Greenlaw. Charvarius Ward picked it up and took it all the way to Seattle’s 6. Christian McCaffrey scored two plays later. 14-3 49ers.
3rd Quarter
One minute into the 3rd quarter, Purdy found a wide open George Kittle on a busted coverage for a touchdown. 21-3 49ers.
A pick-6 by Geno was negated by a roughing the passer call on Nick Bosa that was pretty iffy. Body weight rule, I suppose. Seattle was able to get a good drive going out of that good fortune and then had a setback when Geno’s deep throw to rookie Dareke Young at the 2-yard line was negated for an Abe Lucas hold. A Nick Bosa sack took them out of FG range, but Geno got them back into it with a throw to Metcalf. Jason Myers drilled one from 51. 21-6 49ers.
The 49ers converted a 3rd and 15 to Ray-Ray McCloud on their ensuing possession, but an illegal formation put them behind the sticks and as a result they punted the ball back to Seattle and pinned them at their 4. Not every day you see a team get penalized three times in one play, but the 49ers did that and gave Seattle a new set of downs.
4th Quarter
Seattle got into 49ers territory and had 3rd and 4 at the 35, which naturally is the time Geno Smith got devoured. A punt followed and Michael Dickson kicked a beauty to the 1-yard line. San Francisco only got one first down on a 3rd down throw from Purdy to Jennings, but that was all they got. The Seahawks got it back and Geno took a grounding penalty and that was the end of that.
A busted coverage/great play design by Kyle Shanahan saw Purdy hit an open backup TE Tyler Kroft to get into field goal range. However, a dropped pass led to a field goal attempt by Robbie Gould that was pulled wide right from 43 out. Still a two-score game with 5 minutes left!
Smith and Kenneth Walker III combined for a big play, with Geno finding K9 out in the flat for a catch-and-run of 34 yards. The next play was a Geno Smith touchdown pass to an open Noah Fant! 21-13 49ers with 3:35 to go.
Needing a stop, the Seahawks couldn’t prevent Brock Purdy from escaping the pocket and converting a 3rd and 1 with his legs. With 2:16 left and the Seahawks out of timeouts, it’s bleak stuff. Carroll challenging Purdy sliding too early was unsuccessful. The next 3rd down led to a 56-yard run by rookie Jordan Mason for the clinching first down. 21-13 49ers FINAL.
Scoring Summary
1st Quarter: George Kittle 28-yard touchdown pass from Brock Purdy - SEA 0, SF 7
2nd Quarter: Jason Myers 38-yard field goal - SEA 3, SF 7
2nd Quarter: Christian McCaffrey 1-yard touchdown run - SEA 3, SF 14
3rd Quarter: George Kittle 54-yard touchdown pass from Brock Purdy - SEA 3, SF 21
3rd Quarter: Jason Myers 51-yard field goal - SEA 6, SF 21
4th Quarter: Noah Fant 9-yard touchdown pass from Geno Smith - SEA 13, SF 21
No quit in these @Seahawks. One possession game in Seattle!#SFvsSEA on Prime Video
— NFL (@NFL) December 16, 2022
Also available on NFL+ https://t.co/gyMqx7NKs2 pic.twitter.com/UzqfKEOvt4
Seahawks Injury Report
LB Tanner Muse limped off the field in the 1st quarter on a Seahawks punt. He returned to the game.
DT Bryan Mone suffered an injury in the 1st quarter to his left leg. He was ruled out.
LB Jordyn Brooks suffered a neck injury in the 2nd half and was replaced by Tanner Muse.
WR Tyler Lockett went into the locker room with a wrist injury in the 4th quarter.
Next Week’s Opponent
The Seahawks plays on Saturday in a Christmas Eve road game against the soon-to-be AFC West champion Kansas City Chiefs (10-3) at 1 PM ET/10 AM PT on FOX.
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