Here’s how the Seattle Seahawks grade out in their 31-13 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday at Lumen Field:
OFFENSE
This may have been Seattle’s least-effective offensive effort of the season, with the exception of the loss at Baltimore. Don’t be fooled by the 13 points, seven of those were scored by the defense and three by the special teams. Seattle managed just 220 yards of offense, allowed six sacks, receivers DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett were non-factors, and third down (3-for-11) continues to be a major problem. Maybe the offense needs to be graded on a curve, given the fact quarterback Geno Smith was playing with a sore elbow, and the Seahawks were facing arguably the best defense in the NFL. But those kind of numbers won’t win many games.
Grade: F
DEFENSE
The defense wasn’t quite as bad as it looked in the first half, when it gave up 24 points. No, the Seahawks couldn’t stop San Francisco running back Christian McCaffrey, but the defense was put in terrible field position because of the offense’s ineptitude. The defense knocked the 49ers out of field-goal range with a third-down sack in the first quarter, then forced a San Francisco three-and-field-goal following a Smith interception deep in his own territory. The defense also came up with the play that gave Seattle a glimmer of hope on Jordyn Brooks’ pick-six early in the third quarter. Third down (5-for-11) continues to be a major problem.
Grade: C
SPECIAL TEAMS
There was a lot of good and a lot of bad from Seattle’s special teams. On the plus side, Dee Eskridge broke off a 66-yard kickoff return prior to the Seahawks’ first possession, and Jason Myers nailed a 51-yard field goal, also in the first quarter. On the minus side, Myers once again missed from 50-plus as time expired, this time at the end of the half, and DeeJay Dallas muffed a punt in the second quarter that was recovered by the 49ers and resulted in a gift field goal. Punter Michael Dickson had one punt that was downed at the 4, but also had one that didn’t cross the 50. There was a near game-changing play when Coby Bryant forced a fumble on a fourth-quarter punt return, but the 49ers recovered.
Grade: C
COACHING
Well, give the coaches credit for trying. After a miserable first half on both sides of the ball, Seattle changed things up by going to the no-huddle on offense, the defense was far more solid following halftime adjustments, and at 24-13 with the ball early in the fourth quarter there was a real sense of belief inside the stadium. Yes, there’s a concern about the original game plan, given the lopsided nature of the game early on. But there’s only so much a team can install in a short week, and this could simply be a case of one team’s personnel being better than the other’s.
Grade: B-
OVERALL
This was potentially a season-defining game for Seattle. A victory would have put the Seahawks in a tie for first place in the NFC West, and Seattle would have held the tiebreaker against the 49ers. Instead, the Seahawks fell two games behind San Francisco, with the 49ers holding the tiebreaker, and like against Baltimore Seattle came up far short when facing a team with championship aspirations. It doesn’t get any easier from here, either, as the next three games see the 6-5 Seahawks playing at 8-3 Dallas, at 8-3 San Francisco and at home against 9-1 Philadelphia. This result doesn’t inspire much confidence in winning any of those.
Grade: D+
– Nick Patterson, Herald writer
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