SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Russell Wilson and Michael Bennett called their teammates together in a huddle immediately following last Sunday’s late-game meltdown against Carolina.
They asked for a re-dedication.
“Believe in one another,” was the quarterback’s and defensive end’s message to their Seahawks teammates mired in a 2-4 start to this season filled — burdened? — with expectations of a third consecutive Super Bowl.
“There’s no reason why not to believe,” Wilson said following Thursday’s 20-3 domination of the 49ers. “We’d lost four tough, close games, but we could have won every one of those. … I think it was just the right timing for it.
“Just because we had lost a couple tough games wasn’t reason to jump ship.”
After this reviving Thursday night against an awful foe — a roll past inept San Francisco that easily could have been 34-3 or more — Seattle is 3-4.
And, yes, all are on board.
“The whole thing after we broke the huddle last week after the tough loss, we said, ‘We choose to believe,’” Wilson said after he completed 18 of 24 passes for 235 yards with a touchdown to Tyler Lockett — while enduring five sacks and two interceptions.
“That’s kind of been our motto the past week: Believe in one another. … Believe that we are a great football team.”
“Great” was a relative term against the 49ers. They were pretty much a mess from start to finish. San Francisco’s offense was no threat while scrounging together its fewest yards in a game in nine years (142).
Yet Wilson and the Seahawks offense kept the Niners sort of in the game, down 17-3 in the second half, by continuing its season-long inconsistency.
Wilson’s first turnover was a forced throw to Doug Baldwin in the back of the end zone. He didn’t see cornerback Tramaine Brock shading inside from his outside, left cornerback spot. Brock peeled back to pick off the pass in the end zone at the end of the first half to keep it 17-0.
Wilson’s most uncharacteristic throw was one about which coach Pete Carroll said after the game “we don’t need to be doing that.”
Wilson threw a home-run ball intended for Jermaine Kearse into double coverage midway through the third quarter. Kenneth Acker caught the overthrown pass beyond Kearse at the San Francisco 12, so it again remained 17-0.
Wilson said he and Kearse got confused, the receiver breaking deep thinking Wilson was going to scramble instead of step up and throw it. In the end, Wilson’s mixed night befit the offense’s.
Again.
But against the 49ers the Seahawks didn’t need to be even close to perfect.
“It’s just one game,” Wilson said. “Can’t get too high …”
Yet it sure beat the low four days earlier in that huddle following the loss to the Panthers.
“That was huge but it’s just one game,” Wilson reiterated. “It’s nice to have three days off this weekend to relax, recoup and study the film to get better as a collective group and continue to go.”
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