PHILADELPHIA — Last week Richard Sherman got into it with both the 49ers’ sidelines and the San Francisco/Santa Clara crowd with taunting and, uh, playful banter. That resulted in the Seattle Seahawks’ All-Pro cornerback saying he was the target of a glass bottle thrown from the stands after the game. Sherman called 49ers fans “mediocre.”
Even though he was bowing and jokingly putting his hand to his ear at the Eagles crowd during the third quarter Sunday, Sherman was far more complimentary of Philadelphia fans.
Yes, the same people who of course are renowned for booing Santa Claus.
“They are great fans. … They are passionate. There’s nothing wrong with it,” he said. “They weren’t saying craziness. They were just being passionate for their team. You appreciate that. It gives you a little extra edge.”
Not that the excitable Sherman needs many more of those.
On the field, the NFL’s leader with 23 interceptions the last four seasons was primarily assigned to blanket Jeremy Maclin. He did. Philadelphia’s top receiver entered with 71 catches, 1,088 yards and nine touchdowns, the latter third most in the league. Sherman and Seattle limited Maclin to three inconsequential receptions for 21 yards, including a 1-yard touchdown catch on a bubble screen.
Sherman had fun yapping back and forth with Maclin.
“He was complaining a little bit. I don’t like people who complain,” Sherman said. “We cleared that out of the way early. … He’s a good competitor, and we had a good, competitive matchup. It was fun.”
Ryan’s drop
Seahawks punter Jon Ryan essentially gave Maclin that touchdown.
Facing fourth-and-9 at the Seahawks’ 38-yard line, Ryan took an accurate snap from punt snapper Clint Gresham and simply bobbled it. Swarmed by Eagles defenders, Ryan lost the ball. It was recovered by Philadelphia tight end Zach Ertz at the Seattle 14.
“I just dropped it,” Ryan said. “The wind was blocking down there, but it wasn’t an excuse. It was just one of those things that happens. I guess you just have to put it behind you and move forward and hopefully it doesn’t happen again.”
Coach Pete Carroll was still mystified about the play after the game.
“I don’t know how that happened,” Carroll said. “I said, ‘Hey, Jon, you caught a million of (snaps). The next one that’s going to happen. It’ll be 10 years from now — so I don’t have to worry about it.”
Walters inactive
The Seahawks left Bryan Walters inactive. That made Baldwin the primary punt returner and, in Carroll’s words, put more players in familiar spots on other special-teams units.
Baldwin let a couple punts bounce on Carroll’s advisement because of a 20-mile-per-hour wind. That resulted in 10-plus yards of lost field position.
“The wind was pretty tricky,” Carroll said. “It hurt us a few yards, but I didn’t care. It was better than forcing the issue.”
Extra points
The rest of Seattle’s inactives were not a surprise: Injured nickel back Jeremy Lane, reserve LB Allen Bradford, injured C Max Unger (who may be back next Sunday against the 49ers), reserve DT Travian Robertson, injured TE Cooper Helfet and reserve TE RaShaun Allen. … The only injury Carroll noted was CB Tharold Simon’s dislocated finger. LG James Carpenter went out for one play in the first half while a team doctor tested his left arm/shoulder/pectoral muscle, then returned and played the rest of the game.
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