Seahawks' defense doesn’t give the Niners a chance

It wasn’t so much a match but a mismatch. The score was relatively close. But the game wasn’t.  

It wasn’t so much that everything fell apart for the San Francisco 49ers, it was the Seattle Seahawks, with a magnificent defense, taking control of a game that left the Niners perhaps as bewildered as they were defeated.  

The game that was going to open the door for the Niners, who with a victory, could have gone to the Super Bowl without leaving their home stadium, closed with a disappointing 13-3 loss Saturday night at Levi’s.

Here is some statistical verification. Total yards: Seattle 361, Niners 173. Net rushing yards: Seattle 180, Niners 53. 

Christian McCaffrey, around whom San Francisco’s offense is built, rushed for only 23 yards and caught 6 passes for 34 yards. His inability to wrap up a Brock Purdy pass in the 4th quarter resulted in a Seattle interception on the Seahawks' 3-yard line. “We've got to be better,” said McCaffrey. “They were the better team today. I have to make the play to prevent the interception.”

San Francisco did have a couple of chances to keep things interesting if not triumphant, but after Kenneth Walker burst for 19 yards on a 3rd and 17 in the 3rd quarter and then McCaffrey losing the pass, the Niners were finished.

Kyle Shanahan is recognized as one of the finest offensive minds in the NFL, but the classic contention is that defense wins, and it certainly did this time. 

“We knew the Seattle defense was a challenge,” Shanahan conceded. “We couldn’t get the running game going. We only had 12 runs. They kept the ball from us.”

That’s because the Seahawks, using the schemes of second-year head coach Mike MacDonald, wouldn’t let them, occasionally using extra defensive backs and keeping the Niners off balance and guessing. 

Now the Seahawks, with seven straight victories, have a 14-3 record, while the Niners' own streak of victories has ended at 6, are 12-5, and are forced to travel for the postseason, as long as it lasts. 

“We have to do it the hard way,” said Shanahan. “It would have been nice to play the rest of the games here. It is what it is. We will be ready to play.”

It also would have been nice to have All-Pro offensive tackle Trent Williams, who along with defensive stars Nick Bosa and Fred Warner, missed the game. And it could be argued that San Francisco really felt the loss of wide receiver Ricky Piersall. Then again, the NFL is a league of survival. This season, the Niners survived until they couldn’t.

The argument can be made that with all their injuries, the Niners accomplished a great deal. Although yes, the philosophy of the front office is that any season that concludes without a Super Bowl triumph is unsatisfactory. 

Which means since the 1994 season, the 1995 Super Bowl, there has been plenty of dissatisfaction.