Coming off of two impressive wins, it looked as if the San Francisco 49ers had righted their 2020 ship and were overcoming injuries and were well-suited to compete against the NFC West-leading Seattle Seahawks. It turns out, that was not the case, as the 49ers lost, 37-27, and it wasn’t even that close. With the loss, San Francisco falls to 4-4 and are last in the division.
“I was disappointed with the whole group,” said 49ers’ head coach Kyle Shanahan. “No one played great, and that starts with me.”
Injuries have been the story of the 49ers’ season and today was no different. Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who struggled all game, looked as if he might have re-aggravated his high ankle sprain.
“…[H]igh ankle sprains linger,” Shanahan said. “You never know when it’s going to affect you. We’ll wait until tomorrow to see how bad it is.”
Tight end George Kittle left with a foot injury, but X-rays ruled out a fracture. The 49ers will know more tomorrow. Running back Tevin Coleman re-injured his knee, while linebacker Fred Warner left with a stinger but he returned and finished the game.
This is an offense who came into the game down running backs Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson, Jr. and down wide receiver Deebo Samuel.
The much-maligned Seahawks defense came alive against a 49ers’ offense that was pretty much DOA. Garoppolo was 11-of-16 for 84 yards and an interception and was sacked three times, while the 49ers’ couldn’t get much going on the ground, rushing for a total of 52 yards on 22 run plays.
Nick Mullens came in for the injured Garoppolo and went 18-of-25 for 238 yards and two touchdowns. Mullens certainly looked better than he did against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 4, but it will be most likely Garoppolo’s health that determines the 49ers’ Week 9 starter.
Meanwhile, Seahawks’ quarterback Russell Wilson continued his MVP-caliber season, finishing the day 27-0f-37 for 261 yards and four touchdowns.
“They’re a great offense and Russ obviously is a great player,” Warner said. “We didn’t play our best ball today by any means.”
Wide receiver DK Metcalf had 12 receptions for 161 yards and two touchdowns.
After a Garoppolo interception in the first quarter, the Seahawks went on a 4:06 drive that was capped by a 46-yard Metcalf touchdown, in which he evaded pretty much the entire 49ers’ secondary on his way to the end zone. The 49ers then scored a touchdown of their own on on JaMycal Hasty one-yard run but then it was pretty much Seattle domination after that.
The 49ers don’t have a lot of time to wallow, as they host the Green Bay Packers for Thursday Night Football. And yes, that would be this Thursday.
“I’m so happy we are playing Thursday,” said fullback Kyle Juszczyk. “After a game like this, you just want to get the taste out of your mouth.”
At 4-4 and last in the division, the 49ers’ chances of winning the NFC West are dwindling but not non-existent. Beyond that, each Conference has seven playoff spots, so all is not lost.
“There’s definitely still a lot of fight in this group,” said fullback Kyle Juszczyk.
Here’s hoping they come out swinging.