Here are six rapid reactions to the Seahawks’ Thanksgiving loss:
6 Rapid Reactions: Seahawks Couldn’t Avoid Errors In 31-13 Defeat
On Thursday night, the Seahawks fell behind the NFC West-leading 49ers early on and were never able to catch up.
Sure, there were some encouraging moments in the second half, especially in the defense department, but a careless first half proved to be too much to overcome against a formidable San Francisco squad. As a result, Seattle’s record fell to 6-5 at Lumen Field, two games behind the 49ers for the division lead.
1. First-half mistakes helped an already really good 49ers team that didn’t need any.
It’s difficult enough for teams that play clean to defeat a team as excellent as the 49ers, and the Seahawks were far from clean in this one. Without a doubt, the 49ers were the superior team on Thursday, but if the Seahawks had been able to get out of their own way, especially in the first half, the score wouldn’t have needed to be as high as it was.
The Seahawks lost early because of two turnovers, an interception, and a botched punt; an illegal contact call against Tre Brown on a critical third-down; a drive that ended when Geno Smith tripped over Zach Charbonnet’s feet in close to the goal line; and a plethora of other errors, including missed tackles, a false start, and a deep completion opportunity that DK Metcalf just missed.
Even if the Seahawks had played a cleaner game on Thursday, they might not have won, but at least they could have maintained a competitive advantage.
2. The Seahawks defense fought hard in the second half to keep the Seahawks in it.
After the 49ers took a 24-3 lead in the second half, the game might have easily gotten out of control, but Seattle’s defense did a good job of controlling the score for a time, even though the offense was unable to mount a rally. Following that three-point advantage, the 49ers’ next five drives resulted in three punts, a field goal after a mishandled punt gave them a short field, and an interception return for a touchdown by Jordyn Brooks. Even though the 49ers were able to add a touchdown late in the game, the defense put up a strong fight to stay in the game despite a significant deficit.
3. Despite some flashes in the second half, the offense couldn’t get on track.
The Seahawks offense was going to need to put up a really strong show against one of the best defenses in the NFL to win on Thursday, but they were unable to do so. They struggled to get going early on and never really got going again, save for a few promising drives in the second half.
Despite having better numbers in the second half (220 yards and 14 first downs), the Seahawks were still limited to just two field goals, save for a pick-six by Jordyn Brooks. Seattle’s offense produced just three first downs and 56 yards in the first half.
4. Jordyn Brooks scored his first touchdown to add to an already very good season.
Linebacker Jordyn Brooks has been having the best football season of his four-year career. This is especially remarkable considering that he was playing in the season opener less than eight months after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ACL sustained in Week 17 of the previous campaign.
Not only did Brooks rack up a team-high twelve tackles on Thursday, as he always does, but he also produced the biggest play of the game for Seattle’s defense when he caught a tipped pass and returned it 12 yards for a touchdown. It was the first touchdown of his NFL career and the only one the Seahawks would score all game.
5. Jaxon Smith-Njigba made what might have been the catch of the year.
A 3 for 11 third-down conversion rate was one aspect of Seattle’s offensive woes, but among those conversions came one of the season’s most amazing catches you will witness.
Smith threw a deep ball down the right sideline towards Smith-Njigba with the team facing a third-and-9 deep in their own territory. The rookie receiver twisted his body to adjust to the throw, then extended his right hand for a full-extension one-handed grab that stunned teammates, coaches, and nearly everyone else in the stadium.
Smith-Njigba has at least 40 receiving yards in six of the previous seven games, including two catches for 41 yards.
6. Dee Eskridge showed some explosiveness.
Injury-plagued and suspended for six games this season, Dee Eskridge’s three-year career has limited his opportunities to demonstrate the explosiveness that landed him a second-round pick. And while if it wasn’t enough to have a significant impact on Thursday’s game, Eskridge did have a few pleasant moments that hinted at his potential.
The most noteworthy play of the game was a 66-yard kick return by Eskridge to set up a field goal. Eskridge finished the game with 140 yards on four kick returns, his only offensive touch being a 10-yard run on a fly-sweep. He also had a 30-yard return in the fourth quarter.
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