Seahawks vs. 49ers: 5 takeaways from Seattle’s dominant win

The Seattle Seahawks went on the road in Santa Clara and beat up the San Francisco 49ers. It was an extremely one-sided game was wasn’t as close as the 20-3 score suggests.

San Francisco managed only 142 of total offense. Seattle’s Marshawn Lynch almost matched that on the ground all by himself. Had it not been for a couple of silly turnovers, the Seahawks would have completely blown out San Fransisco.

It is time for a celebratory beverage; but first, here are 5 takeaways from Seattle’s big win:

1. Seahawks are getting healthy

There were no new injuries tonight. Gary Gilliam missed some time with a sore ankle, but he came into the game with that. Everyone else who left the game with an injury during the game returned after just one play. Thomas Rawls has a tight calf, but it isn’t anything serious.

The Seahawks also got Tye Smith, Frank Clark and Bobby Wagner back this week. Now they get a extra-long week to rest before playing Dallas in 10 days. They should have Jordan Hill and Marcus Burley back by then.

That is a good sign for the Seahawks. They were severely banged up a week ago, and that attributed to the collapse against the Panthers. If the Seahawks can get and stay healthy, they should be able to go on a run lock down a playoff spot in the coming weeks.

Next: Was that blocking?

Oct 22, 2015; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson (3) in the huddle against the San Francisco 49ers during the third quarter at Levi

The offensive line was better

You should note that it says “better” and not “good.” That unit still cannot pass block worth a damn. It was better tonight though. Wilson had time on a few passes, especially in the first half.

Gilliam, even on a bum ankle, was better than Bailey at RT in pass protection. Bailey was a traffic cone out there. When Gilliam was in there, the pressure typically came from elsewhere.

The run blocking was also much better. Marshawn Lynch was able to get at least to the line of scrimmage before contact on most runs. That’s a marked improvement from earlier in the season.

There is still a lot of work to be done there. The pass protection really broke down in the second half, which lead to five more sacks of Russell Wilson.

Overall though, there was improvement this week, and that’s a good sign.

Next: More BeastMode!