The Seattle Seahawks struggled to find their rhythm against the San Francisco 49ers, ultimately falling short in a tense battle. Former No. 3 pick Sam Darnold took the first-team quarterback reps, going 16-of-23 for 150 yards. Instead, he folded under heavy pressure for two critical lost fumbles. The Seahawks couldn’t muster more than 13 points over ten possessions, a damning indictment of an offense reeling from lack of consistency and execution.
On the day, that was all Seattle’s offense ended up earning—just 230 yards of offense an entire game. They got 84 of those yards rushing. Even though they had highly touted running backs Zach Charbonnet and Kenneth Walker go over three yards per carry barely. Charbonnet had a productive day on the ground, carrying the ball 12 times for 47 yards and a touchdown. That said, the rushing attack was unable to do enough damage on a consistent basis.
Seahawks’ inability to finish on third down was very costly, as they only converted three of ten tries. Darnold took responsibility, recognizing that the team is putting itself in third down situations too often on first and second down as well.
“Obviously not the start that we wanted,” – Sam Darnold
Seattle’s offense did find some bright spots. Rookie Jaxon Smith-Njigba made a big statement with nine catches for 124 yards. He was great at generating separation with his footwork and making big-time plays at the right moment. As the clock ticked on, the Commanders marched deep into San Francisco territory, even getting within nine yards of a game-winning touchdown. They missed their chance to follow through.
San Francisco controlled time of possession, possessing the football for almost 38 minutes. This approach gave them the opportunity to control the tempo of the game, effectively taking Seattle’s attack out of the matchup.
In the second half, 49ers’ kicker Jake Moody went through his own struggles. He just couldn’t kick field goals when his team needed him the most. QB Brock Purdy was able to hit Ricky Pearsall on a huge 45-yard deep ball that made things even more difficult for Seattle’s defense.
On the other side defensively, Riq Woolen misplayed two enormous throws by Brock Purdy that let the 49ers in the door at key points. While Seattle’s defense made some key stops, they were unable to contain San Francisco’s balanced attack effectively.
“Credit those guys. I thought their defense came out and played really well. They had some good scheme. … For us, it was just not enough today. I felt like we weren’t as efficient as we wanted to be on first and second down; third down, we’ve got to be way better as well. So not our best day today,” – Sam Darnold
That frustration was clear among the players in the post-game press conference after the loss. Safety Julian Love expressed his disappointment candidly.
“I can’t sugarcoat it — it sucks,” – Julian Love
As the team looks forward to the coming weeks, questions remain about how they can develop consistency on offense and capitalize on their scoring opportunities. As for what’s next, it’s up to more players to complement Smith-Njigba, coach Mike Macdonald said.
“We’ll see who else steps up so it’s not just the Jax show every snap,” – Mike Macdonald
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