Blown Opportunities Doom 49ers in Music City Meltdown

Week 16 - The final Thursday Night Football game on the 2021-22 NFL schedule would be a doozy and a major letdown if you're a fan of the San Francisco 49ers (8-6). On the road to take on the Tennessee Titans (9-5) in the Music City, Thursday's match-up would mark the latest point in the season that the 49ers would have to travel two time zones and over 2,000 miles in preparation for a game, not to mention on short rest. But none of that would seem to bother coach Kyle Shanahan's team early on as San Francisco quickly jumped out to a double-digit lead, while also missing several other opportunities and leaving plenty of other points on the table. 

San Francisco was in total control of the game through the first two quarters and came out guns blazing on offense as quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo connected on each of his first five pass attempts, including a big play on a 23-yard gain to receiver Deebo Samuel to setup the game's first touchdown. Playing without rookie running back Elijah Mitchell who missed his third straight game with a knee injury, Jeff Wilson Jr. got the start and answered the call with a 1-yard touchdown to put his team ahead, 7-0. The Niners offense which didn't face a single third down on their initial possession (11-plays), would march just as easy on their second possession after a big play from fullback Kyle Juszczyk who's 26-yard reception turned into a 41-yard gain after a face-mask penalty against the defense. Several plays later, the 49ers would setup shop for a 2nd and goal from the 8 yard-line. It would be there where San Francisco would commit their first of many blown opportunities. Looking to connect with tight-end George Kittle, Garoppolo's pass was intercepted in the end zone, ending the scoring threat and marking Jimmy G's first red zone interception since 2019. 

Though Tennessee's offense failed to do anything with the takeaway and was forced to punt, the damage was still done as Garoppolo never looked the same from that point on. The Niners would add to their lead with a Robbie Gould field goal one possession later, but only after Garoppolo missed his target on a deep pass to a wide-open Juszczyk who was streaking down the right sideline but was overthrown. What should've easily been a 17-0 lead, was only a 10-0 advantage for the Niners who walked off the field and into the locker room at halftime having dominated through the game's first two quarters. However, the game would quickly turn into a tale of two halves as Tennessee came out firing on all cylinders to open the third quarter. After four offensive possessions and only four punts to show for through the first two quarters, head coach Mike Vrabel was able to get through to his Titans team at halftime. With the Niners leading by 10+ points for a seventh straight game, Tennessee chipped away at San Francisco's lead with a field goal to open the second half. Showing some signs of life, the Titans defense would get yet another gift just one play into the Niners' ensuing possession when Garoppolo air-mailed a pass intended for Deebo Samuel and into the arms of a Titans defender. 

Taking over in the red zone, the Titans would find the end zone several plays later to tie the game at 10-all. In a matter of less than two-minutes, the 49ers quickly saw their 10-point lead evaporate and all momentum shift to the side of Tennessee. Making it across mid-field on their next possession, San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan faced a difficult decision to go for it on 4th and 1 which then turned into a 4th and 6 following a false start penalty on 49ers All-Pro Trent Williams. Even that wouldn't stop Shanahan as the decision to gamble would backfire once Garoppolo was unable to connect with Brandon Aiyuk for the first down. Making matters worse, the San Francisco defense would have the Titans pinned back on several third and long's on their next drive, including a third and 23 & a third and 10, but were unable to come up with a stop on either play. Having to play without their whole left side of the offensive-line, Tennessee did catch a break in time for Thursday's game by getting a pair of starting wide-receivers back in A.J. Brown who's been out since Week 11, and Julio Jones. Marking the first time since Week 9 that Titans QB Ryan Tannehill would have both targets at his disposal, the game would quickly turn into the A.J. Brown show as the star receiver came up with both receptions when facing those aforementioned third and long's. 

Rewarding him for his big third down conversions, Tannehill continued to feed Brown, including on an 18-yard strike in the end zone that gave Tennessee a 17-10 lead, their first of the game. In need of a response, the 49ers would get just that two possessions later. The Niners entered Thursday night's game with a league-leading five drives of 90+ yards and they would get another late in the fourth quarter, embarking on a 9-play, 95-yard touchdown-scoring drive to tie the game at 17-all. Fueled by a 56-yard play from Garoppolo to Deebo Samuel which left the Niners duel-threat wideout winded and on the sideline for the remainder of the drive, Jimmy G found Brandon Aiyuk all alone in the back of the end zone for the easy score. Taking over with less than two and a half minutes in regulation would be the Titans offense led by Tannehill who entered the game with 12 game-winning drives since joining the franchise in 2019, the most in the NFL in that span. With a number of dink and dunk plays through the air and on the ground, Tannehill would wait until his team's final drive to show off his athleticism as he broke free for a 23-yard scramble up the middle to put his team in field goal range. Kicker Randy Bullock would take it from there, splitting the uprights from 44-yards out for the game-winning field goal. With only 4-seconds remaining, the Niners would be in need of a Music City Miracle of their own, but came up short as time expired as Tennessee escaped with the 20-17 victory. 

After committing four turnovers a week ago in Pittsburgh, the Titans registered a clean sheet on Thursday as the 49er defense was unable to force a single turnover, eventually losing the turnover battle -- 2-0, both on a pair of Jimmy Garoppolo interceptions. With the win, Tennessee improved to 10-5 on the year, completed their mission of clinching the AFC South Division. Meanwhile, the loss by the 49ers dropped them to 8-7 on the year and clinched a playoff spot elsewhere in the conference for the Dallas Cowboys. In the loss, Garoppolo threw for a game-high 322 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions compared to Tannehill's 209 yards, 1 touchdown and 0 interceptions. Deebo Samuel hauled in 9 receptions for 159 yards, while also adding 32 yards on five carries for San Francisco. A.J. Brown made his return to the field a memorable one, catching a game-high 11 passes for 145 yards and a touchdown. Neither team did much on the ground, with the Niners' Jeff Wilson Jr. leading all rushers with only 45 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries in a game played without Tennessee's All-Pro running back Derrick Henry. 

Week 17 Preview: The Niners will return to Levi's Stadium to play their last home game of the season when they welcome the visiting Houston Texans (4-11). Facing another one of Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan's previous employers, the Texans are riding their first two-game winning streak of the season after upsetting a depleted Chargers team behind a pair of strong performances from rookie QB Davis Mills and a career day from running back Rex Burkhead who carried the ball 22 times for a personal-best 149 yards rushing and a pair of touchdowns. With L.A. missing several key players due to Covid issues, Houston took advantage of the holes in the Chargers' lineup and put up their highest point total of the season. Not to be taken lightly, Houston can not be overlooked by a 49ers team that can ill afford dropping another winnable game against an inferior opponent with the playoffs on the horizon. With a chance to flush the disappointing loss at Tennessee, the Niners control their own fate in the NFC Wild Card picture after both the division rival Rams and Cardinals clinched playoff spots in Week 16 on Sunday. 

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Niners Down Dirty Birds, 31-13

Week 15 - With the exception of their annual struggles each and every year when playing in Seattle, the San Francisco 49ers (7-6) entered Sunday's game as one of the better teams since the start of the second half of the season, while playing their best ball yet. But the two things that have haunted the Niners this year, aside from the injury bug, has been missed tackles and their woes on special-teams. Both would show up early and often in Sunday's game against the Atlanta Falcons (6-7) who along with San Francisco, are also in the hunt in the NFC's Wild Card picture. With the 49ers receiving the opening kickoff, the Falcons would receive a gift right out the gates as San Francisco's struggles on special-teams continued when running back JaMycal Hasty fumbled the ball which was recovered by Atlanta. Looking to capitalize on the early miscue and take advantage of the exceptional field position, the Falcons offense would make it all the way to the 1-yard line before running into trouble. 

Having stood their ground a number of times with goal-line stands this season, San Francisco's defense came thru yet again when they needed it most. Electing to go for it on 4th and goal, Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan failed to complete a pass inside the end zone to his rookie tight-end Kyle Pitts. Unable to get beyond their own 10-yard line, the 49ers offense would have to punt which eventually setup Atlanta's kicker Younghoe Koo for the go-ahead field goal. After getting a field goal of their own on their next possession to tie the game at 3-all, San Francisco's offense would finally get going as Jimmy G and company flipped the switch and began firing on all cylinders. Finding the end zone with four straight touchdown-scoring drives, it was fullback Kyle Juszczyk who opened up the Niners' touchdown-scoring barrage. Setup by a big play from receiver Brandon Aiyuk who made sure his only reception of the game was a big one by turning on the burners for a 36-yard gain, Juice struck pay dirt with a 6-yard score, logging his first rushing touchdown of the season to put San Francisco up, 10-3. The Niners' first lead of the game would be short-lived, however, as Atlanta's offense was awarded another gift, this time by the officials. 

After a big stop on 3rd and 4 by the San Francisco defense, defensive-end Arden Key's 5-yard sack that would've setup 4th down and a likely 52-yard field goal attempt by Atlanta, instead turned into an automatic first down as Key was flagged for "landing on the quarterback" as he was taken to the ground. The bogus penalty would give the Falcons offense new life which they would take advantage of on the very next play as Ryan connected in the end zone with receiver Russell Gage for the game-tying 20-yard touchdown. Feeling like they should still be leading the game, the 49er offense made sure they'd take a lead into the half as Garoppolo hit Deebo Samuel for a 30-yard catch and run. Awarding him for his big play, Deebo would take a handoff several plays later for a 10-yard touchdown to give him seven rushing touchdowns on the year. Continuing his historic 2021, no other receiver in the Super Bowl era has more than four rushing touchdowns in a single season. Even more impressive, it would be his fifth consecutive game with a rushing touchdown, something no other player has accomplished in the Super Bowl era. 

Opening the second half with a 17-10 lead, the 49ers would have their roles reversed with the Falcons just a few plays into the third quarter. After fumbling the opening kickoff to start the game, the Niners forced a fumble on defense just three plays into Atlanta's possession to start the second half. Chasing and bringing Matt Ryan down from behind, San Francisco's Nick Bosa tallied his 15th sack of the season and stripped the Falcons QB of the ball which was recovered by Fred Warner. Needing only four plays to convert it into another touchdown, running back Jeff Wilson Jr. plowed his way into the end zone to give San Francisco their first multi-score lead of the game. After Atlanta answered with another field goal, the 49er offense went right back to work. Picking up right where they left off, a 12-play, 75-yard drive ended with QB Jimmy Garoppolo finding Jauan Jennings for the 4-yard touchdown. Playing catchup to start the fourth quarter, Falcons head coach Arthur Smith would gamble the rest of the way on offense. Making it to the red zone on two of their final three drives, the Falcons offense would be stood up twice inside the 10-yardline, including once at the 1 as San Francisco's goal-line defense epitomized the bend but don't break mentality, forcing a pair of turnovers on downs, the third of the game for the Niners inside the 10. 

Marching away with the 31-13 victory, the Niners improved to 8-6 on the year, moving two games above .500 for the first time since their 2-0 start to the season as coach Kyle Shanahan defeated his former team. Logging his second straight game without an interception, Garoppolo registered a clean game in the win, avoiding any sacks or turnovers on his way to passing for 235 yards and a touchdown on 18 of 23 passes for a 123.7 passer rating. The win would mark Jimmy G's eighth straight game with a passer rating of 90+, good enough for the second-most among 49er QB's since 1950, trailing only Hall of Famer Steve Young's streak of 15 straight from 1994-95. Atlanta's Matt Ryan finished with a similar stat line -- 19/32 passes, 236 yards and 1 touchdown, but only a 92.7 passer rating. On the ground, 49ers running back Jeff Wilson Jr. finished with 110 yards rushing and a touchdown on 21 carries, making him the first 100-yard rusher against the Falcons defense since Week 17, 2019. 

49ers tight-end George Kittle had another strong game on Sunday, despite being held out of the end zone for the first time in the last three weeks, finishing with a game-high 93 yards receiving on six receptions. With three games still remaining on the regular season schedule, Kittle surpassed Rob Gronkowski for the third-most receiving yards by a tight-end in his first five NFL seasons. And after a slow start, at least slow to his standards, the 49ers All-Pro tight-end has logged 28 catches for 425 yards and 3 touchdowns over his last 3 games. This after logging 35 catches for 425 yards and 3 touchdowns thru the first 8 games of the season. His 425 yards over a 3-game span are tied for the most ever by a tight-end in NFL history. 

Week 16 Preview - It will be a quick turnaround for the Niners who will need to be ready for their only Thursday Night Football game on the schedule in Week 16 when they pay a visit to the Music City of Nashville to take on the Tennessee Titans (9-5). Coming off a road loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers where Tennessee lost the turnover battle -- 4-0, the 49ers would love a repeat performance if they're able to force as many turnovers as the Steelers did. Shutout in the second half, the Titans entered halftime with a 13-3 lead in Pittsburgh before three fumbles and an interception doomed them, including three turnovers in the second half before falling, 19-13. Sitting atop the AFC South with a 1-game advantage over the Indianapolis Colts, the Titans would've been the top seed in the conference had they pulled off the win on Sunday over Pittsburgh. Instead, they'll look to right the ship with a rebound performance on Thursday night. Jimmy Garoppolo and the Niners will look to put a stop to that while maintaining their own ground in the NFC's playoff picture as they currently own a 1-game advantage over the New Orleans Saints (7-7) for the 6th seed. 

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49ers pull off Walk-off Winner over Cincy in OT

Week 14 - Looking to bounce back from a heartbreaking loss to an inferior opponent in Week 13 and stay afloat in the NFC's Wild Card race, the San Francisco 49ers (6-6) continued their road trip to Cincinnati, Ohio where they'd take on Joe Burrow and the Bengals (7-5). No easy task by any stretch of the imagination given the many weapons on offense that the Bengals would feature, the 49ers were able to subdue Cincinnati's play-makers and were able to dominant thru the first three quarters. But as was the case in Seattle a week ago, San Francisco was unable to get anything going on offense in the 4th quarter when they needed it most, as their only scoring opportunity late in the game went up in flames. 

Neither team would have much to show for on offense to start the game, with both teams exchanging punts. It wouldn't be until San Francisco's second possession that also ended in a punt, when they would finally have a chance to score. After being on the wrong end of a forgetful day on special-teams a week ago versus the Seahawks, the Niners were able to capitalize on not one, but two miscues by the Bengals special-teams unit on Sunday. A muffed punt by Cincy return man Darius Phillips would allow the Niners to open up the scoring with a Robbie Gould field goal, which the Bengals would answer with a field goal of their own. After missing one of their biggest playmakers on offense a week ago in Deebo Samuel, the receiver turned Swiss Army Knife was back on the field in Week 14 making plays just like he was prior to his groin injury suffered against the Vikings just two weeks earlier. Taking a handoff 27-yards to the house, Deebo would give the Niners a 10-3 lead with another history-making touchdown to add to his remarkable season. The go-ahead touchdown would make Deebo the first wide-receiver in NFL history with a rushing touchdown in four straight games played and would also give him six rushing touchdowns on the year. No other receiver in the Super Bowl era has more than four in a season. 

Leading 10-6 with under two-minutes remaining in the first half, the 49ers were looking to add to their lead before halftime. Instead, that plan nearly backfired as the San Francisco offense was forced to punt after two passing plays that netted only 5 yards, a 10-yard holding penalty and an incompletion. Eating up only 45-seconds on the clock, the Niners were slated to give the Bengals the ball back with a minute left before disaster struck for a second time to Cincinnati's special-teams when Phillips muffed his second punt return of the afternoon. Pouncing on the ball, the 49ers would get another touchdown just before the half, as a taunting penalty against the Bengals turned a would-be 4th and 7 and likely field goal attempt into an automatic first down for the San Francisco offense. And on the very next play, 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo knew just what to do with it, hitting tight-end George Kittle who made an acrobatic play for a 14-yard touchdown. 

Opening the second half with a field goal after holding Cincy to a three and out punt, Bengals kicker Evan McPherson would attempt to respond with a field goal of his own, but missed from 46-yards out. Clinging onto a 20-6 lead entering the fourth quarter, the 49er defense which had done a stellar job through the first three quarters, took a turn, specifically in the secondary as guys were suddenly left wide-open. Burrow and company would take advantage of these openings as Tee Higgins and Ja'Marr Chase came up with big gains thru the air. Facing a 4th and 5 from the San Francisco 17 yard line, Burrow hit Chase in the back of the end zone for a touchdown as the rookie sensation had snuck by the 49er defense. Having been relatively quiet up to that point, the impressive touchdown grab would give him confidence and breath life back into Burrow and the Cincinnati offense. After a trio of punts, including two by San Francisco, the Bengals would tie the game with a 13-play drive that ended in another touchdown pass to Chase who beat the defender and left rookie cornerback Ambry Thomas in his dust for the 32-yard score. 

With the game tied at 20 a piece, the 49ers would get the ball back with just under a minute and a half remaining in regulation. Needing to go 79-yards to find the end zone, the 49ers were unable to strike pay dirt, but did march well within field goal range after a circus catch from George Kittle on third and 10 gave them 19-yards and a first down with 13-seconds to go. Setting up a potential game-winning field goal from Robbie Gould, the 47-yard attempt sailed wide-right as time expired. Sending things into overtime, the Bengals won the coin-toss and elected to receive. After a pair of big plays thru the air for gains of 26 and 23 yards, Cincy appeared to be destined for the end zone, but came up short after a big QB sack from the Niners' Nick Bosa. Settling for a field goal, the Bengals took their first lead of the ballgame in OT. Just like Burrow, Jimmy G would hit on a couple of big plays thru the air Jauan Jennings and George Kittle helped setup a wild finish. Marching down to the 12 yard-line, Garoppolo hit Brandon Aiyuk with a short pass before the second-year receiver sailed near the goal-line after being pushed out of bounds. Ruled out of bounds at the 1, the play went under review and was reversed to a walk-off touchdown. 

Playing strong football through the first three quarters, the 49er defense did a stellar job holding Bengals running back Joe Mixon to under 100 yards and out of the end zone, something no team has been able to do since Week 3, snapping Mixon's 9-game touchdown streak which set a franchise record. But no player on the field for either team had a better game than that of San Francisco's George Kittle. Hauling in his sixth touchdown reception on the season late in the third quarter, Kittle now has the most TD's by a 49ers tight-end since Vernon Davis' 13 in 2013 which set a record at the time. Sunday's game would also mark the 13th 100-yard receiving game of Kittle's career, finishing with 151 yards and a touchdown while catching 13 of 15 targets. With his career far from over, no other 49ers tight-end has more than 9 100-yard performances since 1950. Both QB's did a great job slinging the rock as Jimmy Garoppolo threw for 296 yards and 2 touchdowns to Joe Burrow's 348 yards and 2 touchdowns. 

Week 15 Preview - Returning home to face and fend off another team vying for an NFC Wild Card spot, the San Francisco 49ers will play host to Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons (6-7). In a log jam with four other teams, the Falcons will need to continue winning if they want to sneak into the playoffs. Featuring a Swiss Army Knife of their own in receiver turned running back Cordarrelle Patterson, the Falcons' offensive weapon who has a total of 10 touchdowns on the year, including one in last week's road victory at Carolina, will look to add to that mark and keep the 49er defense on its heels. San Francisco on the other hand will need a much sharper game from start to finish on defense, as the Falcons are one team you cannot let stick around late in a game, especially with QB Matt Ryan under center. The 49ers were upended and caught by surprise the last time they hosted the Falcons when a last-second touchdown pass from Ryan to Julio Jones spoiled their chances of clinching the division and number one seed back in 2019. Looking to avenge that loss, Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan will face his former team and quarterback that he called plays for and helped to a Super Bowl appearance the year before landing in San Francisco. One player who can help them accomplish that is Nick Bosa who logged his 10th game of the season with at least 1 quarterback sack, the most such games by a 49er since Aldon Smith's 10 in 2012. 

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Ugly Game in Seattle ends with Ugly Results for 49ers

Week 13 - Whenever the San Francisco 49ers take a trip up north to face the division rival Seattle Seahawks, it's almost guaranteed that it will be a meeting filled with strange events, head-scratching decisions or nail-biting outcomes. In this case, with both teams on complete opposite sides of the spectrum entering Sunday's game as the Niners came in riding a three-game winning streak, whereas Seattle came in on a three-game losing skid, Sunday's game would have no shortage of the trio, featuring all three. Especially for the 49er Faithful who showed up in droves in enemy territory, as red and gold could be seen throughout the stands at Lumen Field. But the game would begin with a scary moment when an injury occurred on the opening-kickoff that put a stop to the game and required an ambulance for one Trenton Cannon of the 49ers. 

In what was a nightmarish afternoon on special-teams for San Francisco, Trenton Cannon would need medical assistance after taking a knee to the head and neck area from a teammate while attempting to make a tackle on the opening-kick. Staying overnight at a nearby hospital with what doctors described as a concussion, the 49ers would have to continue without their return man and gunner. And of course, the loss of Cannon would serve as a bad omen that came back to haunt them later in the game. Once play resumed, the 49ers appeared to have Seattle right where they wanted them by forcing a three and out punt, but head coach Pete Carroll had a trick up his sleeve as the Seahawks special-teams dialed up a fake that was executed to perfection. Catching the Niners off-guard, running back Travis Homer took a direct-snap 73-yards to the house for an early touchdown. What ended up being the longest fake-punt rushing touchdown in the last 30 seasons, would be a tough break for the San Francisco defense as they suddenly found themselves trailing 7-0. From then on, you got the feeling that it was going to be one of those games for the visiting 49ers, and boy was it ever. 

While the game wasn't anything to write home about for Seattle fans either and proved to be a game that general football fans would prefer to forget, San Francisco's inability to defeat the Seahawks in Seattle over the greater part of the last decade or so again reared its ugly head. Other than the 49ers' victory on the goal-line stand in Seattle during the final game of the 2019 regular season, Sunday's game was more of the same between these two teams in the pacific northwest. But San Francisco would have some fight in them, at least in the first half. After being held to a three and out punt on their first offensive possession, the 49ers would get their first of many gifts in the turnover department when Seattle tight-end Gerald Everett fumbled just two plays into Seattle's next drive. The Niners would turn that mistake into points as quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo found George Kittle in the end zone for a 24-yard touchdown on the first next play, tying the game at 7. With another three and out forced by the 49er defense, Garoppolo followed up the good with the ugly as he was intercepted on the very first play of San Francisco's ensuing possession. Luckily, Seattle would be held to a field goal which they would miss. 

San Francisco would take their first lead of the ballgame on their next drive as a big play by Kittle helped setup an easy touchdown run in by 49ers rookie running back Elijah Mitchell from 2-yards out. Logging their first quarterback sack of the day on Seattle's ensuing drive, the 49er defense again held the opposition to a three and out punt, this time marching down the field and adding to their lead with a Robbie Gould field goal from 50-yards out. Seattle would bite into that lead with a touchdown-scoring drive during their next possession as future Hall of Fame running back Adrian Peterson trotted into the end zone from a yard out to make it a 17-14 game, and logging his 126th career touchdown, tying him with the great Jim Brown for 10th on the NFL's all-time touchdown list. Other than the touchdown, it would be a quiet day for Peterson who finished the game with only 16 yards on 11 carries while making his Seahawks debut. The 49ers would storm back with a 10-play, touchdown-scoring drive on another big play by George Kittle who this time tip-toed his way near the sidelines for a 48-yard score to again put his team ahead by double-digits. Unfortunately, the San Francisco defense was unable to keep their hand out of the cookie jar as they were penalized on a pair of roughing the passer calls, one of which was ticky-tack on the newest 49er Charles Omenihu, ultimately setting Seattle up inside the 10-yardline. Seahawks QB Russell Wilson would turn that gift into pay dirt one play later with a touchdown just before the half as 8-seconds remained. 

With San Francisco clinging onto a 23-21 lead to start the third quarter, things would go from bad to worse as the game would be a tale of two halves. Following up their poor start to the first half on special-teams, the 49ers got off to another rough start when receiving the second half kickoff. Taking the place of the injured Trenton Cannon, San Francisco's Travis Benjamin fumbled the return that appeared to put Seattle within striking distance. But another gaffe by Gerald Everett would bailout the Niners near the goal line. Bobbling what appeared to be an easy touchdown pass from Wilson to his tight-end, Everett kicked the ball up into the air which allowed for an easy interception in the end zone by the 49ers' K'Waun Williams who didn't get far and was brought down at the 3-yardline. Of course, Jimmy Garoppolo and company would fall victim to the worse case scenario when pinned deep near your own end zone as the 49ers QB was brought down for a sack on third and long, resulting in a safety that tied the game at 23-23. Jimmy G's outing would again get worse as he was intercepted for a second time on San Francisco's next drive as a pass intended for Kittle was air-mailed up the middle and picked-off by the Seattle defense. 

The Seahawks would use that turnover to take their first lead since the opening drive as Russell Wilson connected in the end zone with Tyler Lockett. From there on, the game would turn into a struggle fest as both teams failed to score and continued the theme of ugly football. After a series of punts, Seattle had a chance to take a two-score advantage, but their 13-play drive that lasted nearly seven minutes, went up in flames when Gerald Everett who had already suffered a game to forget, committed his third turnover of the day when he fumbled near the goal line. Giving San Francisco new life and a chance to tie the game, the Niners would need to travel 98 yards in just over 4-minutes on offense to find the end zone. They would end up traveling a total of 115 yards after a pair of costly penalties, and still failed to reach the end zone. Making it as far as the Seattle 3-yardline, a missed pass interference call in the end zone on an incomplete pass intended for receiver Trent Sherfield on third down, would setup a do or die 4th and goal attempt. Looking Sherfield's way again, Jimmy G cocked back to throw to his man who appeared to have a path to the end zone, but the ball was batted down at the line of scrimmage by Seattle's Carlos Dunlap for the game-saving stop. Falling 30-23, San Francisco dropped to 6-6 on the year and into the 7th and final playoff spot in the NFC Wild Card race, being eclipsed by Washington and landing just a game ahead of Philadelphia. 

Other than San Francisco's George Kittle who had himself a monster day on Sunday, hauling in 9 receptions for 181 yards and a pair of touchdowns, nobody on either team really had a noteworthy day on offense. Jimmy Garoppolo threw for 299 yards and two scores on 20 of 30 passes, but also threw for two interceptions. Meanwhile, Russell Wilson threw for 231 yards and two touchdowns, but was also intercepted and sacked four times by the 49er defense. One player who was deeply missed on offense was San Francisco's Deebo Samuel (groin), as no 49ers receiver even came close to touching Kittle in either the receptions or receiving yards categories. As for absences on the defense, 49ers All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner was forced to miss the first game of his career with a hamstring injury after starting in each of his first 59 career games. 

Week 14 Preview: Sunday's loss would spell more doom on the injury front for the 49ers (6-6), with this week's victim being cornerback Emmanuel Moseley who suffered a high-ankle sprain in the first quarter and is expected to miss the next few weeks according to head coach Kyle Shanahan. Unfortunate news considering the many weapons that the Niners will be up against in their next match-up. Continuing their road trip, the 49ers will make a trip to Ohio to face Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals (7-5). After back to back double-digit wins against the Raiders and Steelers, the Bengals were nearly doubled up at home against the visiting Los Angeles Chargers. If the 49ers register another lackluster game on special-teams and commit the same number of turnovers against Cincinnati that they did against Seattle, a team that has been putrid on offense prior to Week 13, the Niners could be in for a long day against a high-powered offense like that of the Bengals. If the lethal receiving corps of Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd and rookie sensation Ja'Marr Chase isn't enough to worry about on defense for the 49ers, running back Joe Mixon who is having a career year for the Bengals offense, will also need to be accounted for. 

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