For the fourth time in a row, and second year at Lumen Field, the Seattle Seahawks have lost to the San Francisco 49ers. This time, they fell 31-13 to the visiting NFC West rivals.
The Seahawks have now dropped two-straight games to fall to 6-5 on the year, quickly losing more and more ground in the division. It has been a sharp turn of events these past four weeks, as they have fallen from first place in the division to the 7th and final seed in the NFC playoff picture.
Fans will have to wait a week to see if Seattle can finally get back on track, but will face a stiff challenge against the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday Night Football to start Week 13.
Here are the top takeaways from the Seahawks’ demoralizing Thanksgiving defeat:
Offense couldn't get anything going
Playing the San Francisco 49ers is a challenge for any NFL team. But any hope at a win is quickly extinguished when an offense is incapable of producing anything. Such was the case for the Seattle Seahawks, who mustered all of 56 total yards in the first half, and only 220 in the game.
As far as points were concerned, Seattle was held to a pair of field goals, and one of them was only because a 66-yard kick return got the Seahawks in instant scoring position. Seattle had a chance to make things interesting in the third quarter, but a missed interference penalty and a sack on third down killed the momentum.
The Seahawks’ offense has felt broken for quite some time now. Aside from an explosive 17-point first quarter against the Browns, this team simply struggles to put points on the board. Through 12 weeks, they hardly look like the explosive unit we witnessed last season.
Geno Smith was under unrelenting pressure
To the surprise of absolutely no one, the 49ers are outstanding at getting to the quarterback. Their defensive line of all stars make life miserable for opposing quarterbacks, and certainly did so against the Seahawks.
Geno Smith was harassed all night, being sacked five times. All but one of the sacks came on third-and-long. It was a deadly combo for Seattle: the offensive line was unable to provide adequate resistance against the 49ers, and Smith is still averse to throwing the ball away when there’s nothing he can do.
The Seahawks still have no answer for Christian McCaffrey
Running back Christian McCaffrey (and his fantasy owners) must love playing the Seahawks. The former Stanford Cardinal has played Seattle in five career games – both with the Panthers and 49ers. In those games, he has logged 825 yards from scrimmage and seven total touchdowns. He has rushed for at least 100+ yards in all but one meeting, and has eclipsed that mark in all three games with San Francisco.
On Thanksgiving, McCaffrey had another 114 yards on 19 carries and a touchdown, while recording 25 yards through the air. The 49ers’ offense literally runs through McCaffrey, and so far the Seahawks have not cracked the code on how to slow this one-man weapon down.
Jordyn Brooks almost single-handedly brought the Seahawks back into the game
What linebacker Jordyn Brooks has accomplished thus far in a season coming off an ACL injury has been remarkable. The former first round pick from the 2020 NFL draft has returned to form in a big way. On Thanksgiving, he was arguably the best Seahawk on the field.
Brooks led the team with 12 total tackles – no one else was in double digits. But his biggest play came in the third quarter. With the 49ers in the shadow of their own endzone, Brooks intercepted an errant pass from San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy, and promptly returned it 12 yards for a touchdown.
Suddenly, 24-3 became 24-10 and the Seahawks had a pulse. Unfortunately, the team was not able to truly capitalize, but that’s no fault of Brooks’.
Officiating remains "suspect" when it comes to the Seahawks
For a second straight week, the referees continue to make plenty of “questionable” calls – or no calls – that negatively impact the Seattle Seahawks. Not only was the above picture not flagged for a blatant facemask, it wasn’t even the most egregious penalty the officials allowed San Francisco to get away with.
Momentum was truly killed when officials somehow missed obvious interference on Jaxon Smith-Njigba. What should have been a new set of downs was missed, and it quickly became third down.
WOW: The #NFL refs do not call a PI on the #49ers defender despite him YANKING #Seahawks WR JSN’s arm
😳😳😳
(@Rate_the_Refs) pic.twitter.com/tAWTVpBIse
— LJG Football (@LJGfootball) November 24, 2023
Another frustrating moment was when Bobby Wagner had Brock Purdy dead to rights, draped over him. But instead of calling the play dead due to “in the grasp” the officials allowed the play to continue, which turned into a complete pass from Purdy.
San Francisco's dominance over Seattle continues
Historically speaking, the Seattle Seahawks own the San Francisco 49ers. Seattle leads the all time series 30-20. From 2014-2018, the Seahawks beat the 49ers ten-straight times. But as of lately, the tables have turned.
San Francisco has now beaten the Seahawks in four-straight games, and none of them have been particularly competitive. They have gone as follows:
- 27-7
- 21-13
- 41-23 (Wild Card)
- 31-13
Defensively, Seattle cannot contain the 49ers’ offense. Conversely, the Seahawks offense can’t seem to ever get anything going.
This four-game streak is tied for San Francisco’s longest win-streak against Seattle all time.
