More of the same in Seattle as Seahawks Pummel 49ers

Week 13 - Coming into the 2018-19 NFL season, the (2-9) San Francisco 49ers had lofty expectations of making it to the playoffs and finally ending their 9-game losing streak (including playoffs) to the division rival (6-5) Seattle Seahawks. And while their playoff hopes had all but slipped away the moment quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was lost for the year due to injury, defeating the Seahawks still remained a possibility. But with Seattle playing their best ball of the season as of late after getting off to a slow start, and San Francisco still seeking their first road win of the season, the odds would be stacked against Kyle Shanahan's football team once again as they entered Sunday having lost four of their six road games this season by 8-points or fewer and were headed to a stadium they haven't won in since 2011.

Looking to take advantage in the NFC Wild Card race as the Carolina Panthers were dealt a blow earlier in the day after losing to NFC South rival Tampa Bay, the Seahawks had plans of helping head coach Pete Carroll notch his 86th career win with the franchise which would tie him with former Seattle coach Mike Holmgren for the most regular season wins in team history. It would practically be a done deal by halftime as Carroll's team found themselves leading 20-3 at the half. Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson would complete just 4 of 6 pass attempts in the first half, but three of those would go for touchdowns as he logged the fewest completions in a half with three TD's since Mark Rypien of the Washington Redskins in 1991. Though his busy day finding the end zone wouldn't end there. The Niners would have their chances to make it a much closer game before halftime, but a pair of fumbles including one inside the red zone by backup running back Jeffery Wilson and another on a muffed punt by Richie James, kept the San Francisco offense at bey with only a field goal to show for through the first two quarters.

The second half wouldn't start any better for San Francisco as Seattle return man Tyler Lockett returned the opening kickoff 84-yards before rookie running back Rashaad Penny took one to the house for a 20-yard touchdown run just one play into the third quarter. The 49ers would finally strike pay dirt of their own as rookie receiver and Washington alum Dante Pettis made a nifty move to find the end zone on a 17-yard score. It would be a busy day for Pettis who would later score on a 75-yard touchdown before finishing the game with 129 yards on 5 receptions and accounting for the only two trips to the end zone on the day for the 49ers. QB Nick Mullens would log a career-high 414 passing yards, but was intercepted by Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner who cashed in a 98-yard pick-six, the longest in Seattle franchise history. Russell Wilson would throw for only 185 yards in total, but tallied a season-high in passing touchdowns with four as Seattle ran away with the 43-16 win. The victory which helped Seattle improve to 7-5 on the year, was the 71st win of Wilson's career, tying Joe Flacco of the Baltimore Ravens for the most wins at the QB position in NFL history thru the first seven seasons. Equally as impressive are the 63 TD passes Wilson has thrown since the start of last season which is the most in the league during that span.

Falling to 2-10 on the season, it would be a not-so-deal first attempt at a revenge game for former Seahawk Richard Sherman as the 49ers have now lost their 9th straight regular season meeting to Seattle and 10th overall when counting their loss in the 2013 NFC Championship in what's become a one-sided rivalry. The nine straight wins for Seattle over San Francisco ties Kansas City for the longest active winning streak against a divisional opponent as the Chiefs have also won nine straight against the rival Chargers.

Week 14 Preview - Returning home for a three-game homestand, the 49ers will play host to the (6-6) Denver Broncos who look to keep their AFC Wild Card hopes alive and are currently riding a 3-game winning-streak. Coming off a 24-10 road win over the Bengals, the Broncos will likely go with a heavy dose of rookie running back Phillip Lindsay on offense as the undrafted workhorse is coming off a 157-yard, 2 touchdown performance which helped him become just the 4th undrafted rookie since 1970 to record at least 1,000+ scrimmage yards in a single season. As for the 49ers who would own the 1st overall pick of the 2019 NFL Draft if the season ended today, the remaining schedule for San Francisco will be a tough one, despite playing three of their next four games at home. With the coaching staff and front-office ready to put this season behind them, the 49ers will continue to evaluate what they have on the current roster in preparation for 2019 as this young team will continue to get valuable experience down the stretch in these last handful of weeks.


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