The Seattle Seahawks beat the San Francisco 49ers 20-3 under the bright lights of Thursday Night Football. Marshawn Lynch put up a touchdown and looked sufficiently recovered for the Seahawks. Russell Wilson threw a pair of interceptions, but the 49ers were unable to capitalize and the Seahawks improved to 3-4 on the season with a relatively easy victory.
Seahawks vs. 49ers 2015 final score: Seattle dominates in 20-3 win
Russell Wilson threw a couple interceptions and was sacked several times, but the Seahawks still improved to 3-4 after beating the 49ers on Thursday.
Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
It was an ugly game for San Francisco's offense. Colin Kaepernick did not look comfortable in the pocket, and even when the protection was there his passes were off-target or he threw the ball well before his receivers were ready for the ball. He looked uncomfortable under center, and even when a play looked promising, he would often roll out and put himself right in front of a Seahawks player eager to get a sack on him.
The Seahawks ultimately sacked him multiple times, and hit him far more. Kaepernick had a couple strong performances prior to this game, but he’ll definitely go back to the drawing board after Thursday’s performance.
Seattle forced a three-and-out on the first drive and then drove 61 yards in 12 plays to go up 7-0 in the first quarter. The two teams exchanged punts a couple times before the Seahawks kicked a field goal and then put up another touchdown when Russell Wilson hit Tyler Lockett on a 43-yard bomb. The 49ers punted on every drive in the first half.
Kaepernick was sacked four times in that first half, and threw for just 44 yards in total. Wilson, on the other hand, already had 150-plus yards and Marshawn Lynch was on his way to a big game, as well.
The second half was more of the same, with less scoring. Phil Dawson kicked a 35-yard field goal to put the 49ers on the board in the third, but the Seahawks negated that with Steve Hauschka's second field goal of the day in the fourth quarter. The 49ers had nothing to offer the Seahawks on offense in the fourth quarter, and the game ended without issue for Seattle.
Seattle now has a game against the Dallas Cowboys up next, while the 49ers will take on the St. Louis Rams.
3 things we learned from Thursday’s game
Lockett may have been a draft steal
Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Tyler Lockett cost the team a third-round pick and he's delivering big time as a rookie. Lockett had 12 catches for 138 yards coming into Thursday's game, but also had touchdowns on a punt return and a kick return. He was still searching for that elusive receiving touchdown, but he got it on Thursday:
Lockett and Randall Cobb are the only rookies in the past 15 seasons with touchdowns on punt returns, kick returns and receptions, according to Randall Liu. The Seahawks have been trying to find stability at the receiver position for awhile now, and Lockett looks primed to be a fixture there going forward. On Thursday, Lockett finished the game with five receptions for 79 yards and a touchdown.
Lynch seems healthy
Despite having Marshawn Lynch on the roster, Thomas Rawls lead the Seahawks with 334 yards rushing going into Thursday's game. Wilson was in second with 251 yards, while Lynch had 182 yards and a per-carry average of just 3.3 yards. That's because he's been banged up this year, and was clearly hobbled against the Carolina Panthers in Week 6.
But Lynch didn’t look at all hobbled against the 49ers on Thursday. He carried the ball 27 times for 122 yards and a touchdown. He ran hard, and punished the 49ers on every single yard. San Francisco’s defensive line and linebackers had their hands full all night, and he’s a big part of the reason the Seahawks managed a win in this game.
Wilson needs to correct the mistakes
The Seahawks were dominant in Sunday’s game, but the score didn’t accurately reflect how poorly the 49ers played. That has a lot to do with the fact that Russell Wilson is still making big mistakes. The Seahawks have benefited from Wilson’s strong play ever since he took over this season, but he’s made more than his fair share of mistakes. That’s a big reason the team hasn’t looked great this season.
That’s Kenneth Acker’s third interception of the year for the 49ers, but he’s had multiple balls thrown right to him. He didn’t have to do much other than make a pretty good catch. Wilson had no business throwing that ball the way he did. Wilson had three picks coming into Thursday’s game, and he added two more in it. He’ll need to clean that up if the Seahawks are going to turn this season around.
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