Seattle Seahawks: 5 takeaways from win versus 49ers
By Jake Luppino
The Seattle Seahawks defeated the San Francisco 49ers, 37-27, in Week 8.
The Seattle Seahawks are now 1-1 in NFC West play after defeating the San Francisco 49ers, 37-27. The Seahawks bounced back nicely after losing to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday Night Football in Week 7. Coming off their first loss, the Seahawks responded. Week after week, the Seahawks defense was receiving a lot of hate.
Many felt that the defense would hold this team back going forward. While the criticism was granted — as we currently allowed the most yardage through the air per game — the NFL season is a marathon and not a race. Pete Carroll is a great teacher and is known for his teams to get better as the season progresses.
In the win over the Niners, the defense showed up. The Seahawks were in control for the majority of this game and walked away with a convincing win over a divisional rival. With both teams suffering several injuries to key players, it was nice as a fan to see the Seahawks win with such ease.
As always, here are 5 takeaways from the bounce-back win.
The Seahawks front four showed up
Prior to this matchup against the Niners, the Seahawks had 9 sacks. Their sack leader is Jamal Adams, who is a safety. Earlier in the week, the Seahawks made a much-needed move by trading for Pro Bowl DE, Carlos Dunlap. A large reason the secondary has been getting shredded is because of the lack of pass rush. Seattle hasn’t been able to get any pressure on the opposing quarterbacks. In the Week 7 defeat to the Cardinals, Kyler Murray was pressured 0 times.
Against the 49ers, with an injured secondary, Seattle decided to bring the house and it paid off.
The Seahawks blitzed on 23 of the 49ers' 45 dropbacks (51%) Sunday. That's their highest rate since 2010 and more than double the rate they had been blitzing (24%) this season, per ESPN Stats & Info. "I thought that the pressure we threw at them helped... https://t.co/ChTh9Bw30S
— Brady Henderson (@BradyHenderson) November 2, 2020
It was about time Seattle made this adjustment. The pressure on Jimmy Garoppolo allowed this Seahawk team to force turnovers and create extra opportunities for the offense. In fact, early on in the game on the 49ers second drive, the interception turned the momentum around. Although it was early in this game, this was one of the first drives that saw some yardage gained.
Both offenses started off sluggish. As the 49ers were driving, Garoppolo threw the pass early due to pressure and it was intercepted. After the interception, the Seahawks marched down the field as it ended with a DK Metcalf touchdown.
The Seahawks are a playoff team. If they want to be at the next level and win the Super Bowl, applying pressure on the quarterback is a must. The Seahawks have the secondary to lock down opposing teams with Shaquill Griffin, Quinton Dunbar, Ugo Amadi, Jamal Adams, and Quandre Diggs. I am excited to see what this front four is going to look like with Carlos Dunlap and Snacks Harrison.