Seahawks vs 49ers: 5 takeaways from Seattle's Blowout win

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

By Keith Myers | Sep 25, 2016

Sep 25, 2016; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks tight end Jimmy Graham (88) celebrates his touchdown reception against the San Francisco 49ers with quarterback Russell Wilson (3) during the second quarter at CenturyLink Field. Seattle Seahawks center Justin Britt (68) is at left. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports /

5 of 5

Sep 25, 2016; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle Garrison Smith (98) tackles San Francisco 49ers running back Carlos Hyde (28) during the second quarter at CenturyLink Field. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports /

Nickel is the new base

Chip Kelly’s offense is a run-first offense. People tend to forget that because of the huge scoring outputs that happened when he was at Oregon, but it is still a run-first offense.

How did the Seahawks counter that? By playing with five defensive backs of course. The League-wide trend to be in the nickel on two-thirds of defensive snaps hasn’t skipped Seattle.

And it isn’t just because the Seahawks were way out in front and expecting San Francisco to pass. The Seahawks didn’t bring in Mike Morgan and the “base defense” until the second quarter. They came out in the nickel and stayed there for the most part.

The Seahawks simply weren’t afraid to have San Francisco run at Seattle’s cornerbacks. They put a lot of faith in Sherman, Shead and Lane to come up and help in the run game.

Luckily, the Seahawks have the corners to make it work.

Home/Seattle Seahawks News