Slow start, fast finish gives Seahawks the win over the 49ers

We’ve seen this script before from Seattle. Happily we got the right ending this week, but not without some unexpected drama from the 49ers.

As usual, the Seahawks got off to a slow start in this game. Russell Wilson has not been good in the first quarter this year. You know this if you’ve been paying attention. His passer rating for the first half of all games is 83.4. That doesn’t include his bad performance in this first half, either. He held true to form against the 49ers, as he promptly threw a pick on his first pass. While he didn’t throw another in the half, he didn’t exactly get much better. Wilson was 8 – 19 for 80 yards in the first half. He did do this, though:

While the offense struggled the Seahawks defense was stout

The 49ers weren’t able to do much against Seattle. The Seahawks kept Carlos Hyde bottled up, and San Francisco managed just two field goals. The first half ended with the Seahawks holding a slim lead, 7 – 3. As we’ve seen too often at the half, the stats were ugly.

On to the start of the game – known as the second half to 12s

The good news: Wilson’s passer rating in all second halves is 108.9. He played true to form here, too. Wilson made two big connections in a row to start the second half. After a quick run by Eddie Lacy, Wilson found Nick Vannett in the end zone. It was Bennett’s first career score. More importantly, it gave the Seahawks a 14- 6 lead.

On their next possession, Wilson performed his usual escape act. Like this:

A pass interference call put the Seahawks at the 49ers one hard line. Sarcastic editorial comment – I was shocked when Eddie Lacy failed to punch it in. On the next play, that other tight end for Seattle scored. Odd that it took two and a half seasons, but Jimmy Graham is finally the red zone weapon we all expected. That was Graham’s eighth touchdown catch in his last seven games, after tallying exactly none in the first four.

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A few side notes, if I may

A quick note on Eddie Lacy. I previously pleaded that Lacy ride the pine for the rest of the season. He did nothing to change my mind in this game. He couldn’t take it home from the one. He couldn’t pick up first downs when the Seahawks needed to move the chains in the fourth quarter. A 2.7 yard average against a bad run defense isn’t going to cut it. He did manage an 11 yard run. Without that, he barely averaged two yards per carry. J.D. McKissic averaged 5.5, and he’s really a wide receiver. Please, bench Lacy.

While I’m calling out people, Ronde Barber was terrible on commentary. More than once, he declared a pass as on target when it was actually thrown to the wrong shoulder of the receiver, or held them up enough to prevent a bigger gain. Exactly the opposite of Barber’s call. He needs to work on his booth game as hard as he did on the field.

Hey, there’s a game on. Can we get back to the Seahawks?

Yeah, sorry, back to the game. Seattle stymied another 49ers drive. The ensuing punt had a bit of high comedy as the ball bounced off a 49ers helmet and into the arms of another. The 49er who took it to the end zone had a long run for naught as the play was naturally overturned. Seattle’s drive stalled, but Blair Walsh kicked a field goal twice (penalty on Seattle, of course) to stake the Seahawks to a 24 – 6 lead. Walsh did miss one earlier. Frankly, if people got on Wilson for his first quarter mishaps like they do on Walsh, he might be in therapy.

The Niners drove down in the closing minutes to salvage some pride. They hadn’t scored a touchdown against the Seahawks all year. Unfortunately, Michael Bennett fell on C.J. Beathard’s leg. That meant Jimmy Garoppolo made his debut to the loudest applause of the day at Levi’s Stadium. He promptly Wally Pipped Beathard with a completion and a scramble to pick up another first down. Of course he capped it off with a touchdown pass as time expired. I guess Kyle Shanahan’s offense wasn’t as complex as the Fox team kept insisting.

Related Story: A smarter, better look at the Seahawks win

Overall, the Seahawks defense played better than I expected. The offense played exactly as I thought they would, because they’ve played that way all year. They can’t run, and then the league MVP bails them out with heroics in the second half. Oh, and they lose a player to injury. This time it was Luke Willson. Hopefully he can get back on the field soon, along with about fifty other guys.