SEATTLE — Jim Harbaugh’s postgame mood was as dark as the storm that delayed San Francisco’s game at Seattle.
Harbaugh had reason to be sullen: the defending NFC champions fell 29-3 to the Seahawks on Sunday night in a sloppy performance the intense coach said “wasn’t our finest hour.”
“It wasn’t good football,” he said, his answers clipped following the game, which was delayed 60 minutes in the first quarter when a lightning storm moved through.
Seattle flustered Colin Kaepernick into his worst passing game as a starter. He completed just 13 of 28 passes for 127 yards with three interceptions.
“We’re not going to win games if I play like that,” Kaepernick said.
Marshawn Lynch ran for two touchdowns and caught another for the Seahawks, who scored 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to put the game away.
Lynch finished with 135 total yards, including 98 yards rushing. His TD run on the first drive of the second half gave the Seahawks a 12-0 lead. His scoring reception pushed the advantage to 19-3 early in the fourth quarter.
“I think they were a little frustrated,” Lynch said of the Niners. “They expected a different outcome to the game.”
His performance helped to mask the struggles of Russell Wilson, who completed just two of 10 passes in the first half before finishing 8-of-19 for 142 yards, a touchdown, and an interception.
Kaepernick was intercepted in the end zone in the first quarter when Earl Thomas hauled in a deflected pass intended for Vernon Davis. That proved to be the only time the 49ers threatened to score a touchdown.
Kam Chancellor intercepted Kaepernick again midway through the fourth quarter, returning the pick to the San Francisco 2 and leading to Lynch’s third TD.
Then there was Sherman, Seattle’s ultra-confident All-Pro, who intercepted Kaepernick’s deep sideline pass for Davis with about 13 minutes remaining. He celebrated his first interception of the season by dancing with the Seahawks cheer squad. Steven Hauschka kicked a 37-yard field goal, and the Seahawks’ lead was 22-3 with 11:31 left.
“There were a couple of balls I forced down there trying to get things going,” Kaepernick said.
Kaepernick ran for 89 yards, but Frank Gore was held to just 16 yards rushing on nine carries. Anquan Boldin, who tortured Green Bay last week for 13 catches and 208 yards, was targeted just once in the first three quarters. His only catch came with 9:40 remaining.
The 49ers finished with five turnovers and no TDs in a game for the third time since the start of the 1979 season.
Leading 5-0 at halftime after a wacky first half of delays and points coming via safety and a field goal, Seattle started the second half going to Lynch. He carried on the first four plays, and when Seattle faced third-and-12, Wilson scrambled and bought time for Doug Baldwin to get open downfield for a 51-yard reception to the 20. After a penalty backed up the Seahawks to the 14, Lynch took an inside handoff and darted nearly untouched for his first touchdown of the season.
Seattle extended the lead later in the half thanks to a careless personal foul penalty from Aldon Smith, who slapped the helmet of Seattle’s Breno Giacomini behind the play after Zach Miller and the Seahawks were stopped short on third-and-28. Given another chance, Wilson stayed in the pocket against blitzing safety Craig Dahl on third-and-4 and found Lynch wide open in the left flat. Lynch took a few steps toward the end zone, stopped and waited, and finally crossed the goal line, pushing the lead to 22-3.
San Francisco lost nose tackle Ian Williams and safety Eric Reid to injuries. Harbaugh said that Williams’ ankle might be broken, but he hadn’t seen the X-rays. Reid sustained a concussion.
The defending NFC champions were coming off a 34-28 victory over Green Bay in the season opener last week. They will face the Indianapolis Colts next Sunday at Candlestick Park.
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