SAN FRANCISCO – Sunday wasn’t a good day for the Seattle Seahawks’ super subs.
The deep set of reserves that has helped keep the team afloat this season had plenty of problems in the 20-14 loss to San Francisco.
The most obvious player to struggle was quarterback Seneca Wallace, who was likely making his final start before Matt Hasselbeck returns from a sprained right knee. Wallace completed 19 of 31 passes for a career-high 252 yards, but he also threw three costly interceptions.
“Seneca threw some good balls in the second half, and we got back in it,” coach Mike Holmgren said, “but I didn’t like how he played the last seven minutes of the ballgame.”
Wallace did not shy away from the criticism.
“It was nobody’s fault but my own,” he said. “The receivers did their job. Next time, we’ll have to do a little better job of taking advantage of the opportunities that are presented to us.”
Another one-time backup who struggled was strong safety Jordan Babineaux, who was making his third start in place of benched starter Michael Boulware. Babineaux missed five tackles, two of which came on long Frank Gore runs, and he also got beat on a long pass that was eventually called back because of a holding penalty.
“I missed a few tackles in the open field,” Babineaux said when asked to evaluate his Sunday performance. “You hate to see those long runs. Anytime you take a loss like that, you always feel like you could have done more. The performance is never enough when you lose.”
Holmgren was also critical of the offensive line’s performance. Two starters – right tackle Tom Ashworth and center Chris Spencer – filled in for ailing starters.
Starting center Robbie Tobeck was in uniform but did not play because he’s still recovering from the flu.
“He was there in (case of) an emergency,” Holmgren said. “I never would have even thought of putting him back in the game unless something happened to Chris Spencer.”
Tobeck has missed two games because of the illness.
Hasselbeck dresses: Hasselbeck was in uniform Sunday but was listed as the “emergency quarterback.”
That designation meant that if he entered the game before the fourth quarter, the other quarterbacks on the active roster would not have been able to return to the game.
Holmgren had no intention of playing Hasselbeck, but he said the quarterback was healthy enough to play if needed.
“He could have played the game, but he could not have gotten out of trouble, necessarily,” Holmgren said, referring to Hasselbeck’s lack of mobility because he’s still recovering from a sprained right knee suffered in an Oct. 22 game. “We’ve got a lot of games left to play, and I wanted him healthy down the stretch.”
Hasselbeck did take the field for the opening coin toss. He’s one of six team captains.
Topsy-turvy: The NFC West was all askew on Sunday, and not just because the 49ers turned it into a surprisingly close race.
San Francisco and Arizona both won their games Sunday, marking just the third time in the past four seasons that those teams have recorded victories on the same date.
Meanwhile, the Seahawks and St. Louis Rams lost on the same day for just the fifth time in the past four years.
Peterson returns: Seahawks linebacker Julian Peterson spent a good part of the pre-game warm-ups catching up with old friends. The ex-49er joked with teammates but was in a much less jovial mood afterward.
Asked by reporters about the significance of losing to his former team, Peterson said: “I wanted to win, but it was just another game. I look forward to the next time we play them.”
Quick slants: Former 49ers and Seahawks receiver Jerry Rice was honored at halftime. Rice gave a short speech, then had his former quarterback, Steve Young, throw him “one final pass.” Also on hand for the ceremony was former San Francisco coach Bill Walsh, who is battling cancer. Holmgren said earlier this week that he planned to visit Walsh, his former boss, at some point over the weekend. … The 262 rushing yards the 49ers had on Sunday marked the most given up by a Seattle defense since 2000 (Denver, 301). … San Francisco cornerback Walt Harris had two of the 49ers’ three interceptions. … Sunday’s game marked the first time this season the Seahawks were shut out in the first half.
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