Takeaways: Seahawks Suffer Tough Loss at the Hands of the 49ers

By Jackson Safon

The Seahawks received their second loss of the season yesterday and this time it was at the hands of their division rival the San Francisco 49ers. In a low-scoring game the Seahawks beat themselves with ugly play in the first quarter and with penalties throughout the game. The 49ers played a strong game on all accounts and deserved to win that game. Although a loss is never what you want, this one could be just what the ‘Hawks need to spark them to a strong finish to the season.

1. Can’t beat yourself

The Seahawks had nine penalties for 85 yards and had a punt blocked in the first quarter that led to a 49ers field goal. It is tough to expect a win with close to 100 penalty yards and a mistake as drastic as a blocked punt from the ‘Hawks own 17 yard line. Although the defense was stout for most of the game, the ‘Hawks could not overcome the abundance of penalties they received. The lack of discipline the Seahawks showed yesterday is one of the few things that can hold this team from a berth in the Super Bowl so it needs to be fixed and it needs to be fixed quickly.

2. Can we have Percy back?

Coming into yesterday’s game, the Seahawks offense had scored the second most points in the NFL and had done so relatively easily. This game however was a completely different story as they only totaled 13 first downs and 264 yards. The 49ers have one of the better defenses in the NFL but that does not mean the ‘Hawks should look as inept on offense as they did. Although Seattle has had a high scoring offense throughout the season, I thought yesterday they missed the presence of an electric player like Percy Harvin. Yes, Marshawn Lynch and Golden Tate are both dynamic players, but Harvin is a hybrid of both of those players, which the elusiveness of Tate and the strength of Lynch. Having him as part of the offense yesterday would have made it a completely different game.

Gangster Harvin needs to make a return to the playing field this season.

Concord Monitor

3. No need to panic

This loss means that the Seahawks are now only one game ahead of New Orleans for first place in the NFC, but there is still no reason to panic. First of all, the ‘Hawks hold the head-to-head tiebreaker which essentially means they are up two games, and second of all the Saints still have to play the Panthers in Carolina and the ‘Hawks have two of their remaining three games at home. This was the first time this season where the opposing team actually played well enough to beat the ‘Hawks so I do not think there is any reason to be concerned about getting the top seed in the NFC.

4. Injuries…time to panic?

Of course not. Max Unger left the game with a “chest injury” that seems to be a left pectoral injury and K.J. Wright left the game with what ended up being a broken foot which could sideline him for up to six weeks. Unger remains week-to-week at this point, but with only three more weeks remaining in the regular season, losing Wright to a six week injury could be detrimental. Malcolm Smith will take Wright’s place in the starting lineup and he is more than capable, but he is not K.J. Wright, who has been playing magnificently as of late. Wright tweeted out that he expects to be ready for the playoffs, but that seems like a bit of a stretch to me. That being said, because the ‘Hawks will almost assuredly have a first round bye, it is possible that Wright makes it back for their first playoff game and if not, he should be back in time for the NFC Championship, if the Seahawks were to make it that far. Because the ‘Hawks shouldn’t have a big problem keeping the number one seed in the NFC, there is no need to panic about these injuries.

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