Week 12 Thanksgiving Day 49ers at Seahawks

[4XPIPS]

I would presume the entire betting world and sports critics have us taking a big fat L on this one and the 49ers covering the spread. I am going to need quite a bit of Buffalo Trace to get through this one, but stranger things have happened on a short week. The big question here is "can we play the 49ers like we did the opening drive against the Rams, after they went 3 and out?" for 80% of the game? If so then I believe there is a small chance we keep this game close to the end.

49ers 31
Seahawks 24

[RiverDog]

I would presume the entire betting world and sports critics have us taking a big fat L on this one and the 49ers covering the spread. I am going to need quite a bit of Buffalo Trace to get through this one, but stranger things have happened on a short week. The big question here is "can we play the 49ers like we did the opening drive against the Rams, after they went 3 and out?" for 80% of the game? If so then I believe there is a small chance we keep this game close to the end.

49ers 31
Seahawks 24

Buffalo Trace, huh? I'll probably be drinking some cheap California wine, hopefully spoils for the victor.

I think we lose this one by at least two touchdowns. I don't think there's any way in the lower reaches that our OL is able to win the battle up front, and their offense looks like it's really starting to click, with Deebo finally healthy and Purdy back in a groove.

Niners 27, Hawks 10.

[Aseahawkfan]

Spoon Time
Seahawks 31 49ers 24

[4XPIPS]

Buffalo Trace, huh? I'll probably be drinking some cheap California wine, hopefully spoils for the victor.

I think we lose this one by at least two touchdowns. I don't think there's any way in the lower reaches that our OL is able to win the battle up front, and their offense looks like it's really starting to click, with Deebo finally healthy and Purdy back in a groove.

Niners 27, Hawks 10.

Yeah. I was always a beer guy for most of my Seattle life when I lived in Edmunds near Richmond Beach. Alaskan Amber was my go to, and close second was Mac & Jack. I got into wines when I moved to Arizona, and there are some pretty good wines at affordable prices, but recently due to getting older (soon to be 46) I have to watch the sugar and carbs so I have been on a Coke Zero + Buffalo Trace, or Wild Turkey. Lately it has been working for me, and the way the Hawks have played it comes handy

[RiverDog]

Buffalo Trace, huh? I'll probably be drinking some cheap California wine, hopefully spoils for the victor.

I think we lose this one by at least two touchdowns. I don't think there's any way in the lower reaches that our OL is able to win the battle up front, and their offense looks like it's really starting to click, with Deebo finally healthy and Purdy back in a groove.

Niners 27, Hawks 10.

Yeah. I was always a beer guy for most of my Seattle life when I lived in Edmunds near Richmond Beach. Alaskan Amber was my go to, and close second was Mac & Jack. I got into wines when I moved to Arizona, and there are some pretty good wines at affordable prices, but recently due to getting older (soon to be 46) I have to watch the sugar and carbs so I have been on a Coke Zero + Buffalo Trace, or Wild Turkey. Lately it has been working for me, and the way the Hawks have played it comes handy

46? I have a wart on my ass that's 46.

Beer is a treat for me for much the same reasons as you mentioned. I've been drinking 2 glasses of chardonnay each evening. The odd thing is that whether it comes from a $50 bottle or a $15 5-liter box, it all tastes relatively the same, so I end up drinking the cheap California stuff.

My best friend, an 85-year-old who hates the Seahawks because they had the taxpayers fund the stadium (as if we were the only team that relied on public financing) is coming over for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. He's notorious for bringing with him some 2 Buck Chuck, ie California red wine, so I'll probably end up drinking some of it, too. I've already prepared my resignation speech if we lose.

[Oly]

I'm a pretty insufferable craft beer snob, so I'll have some Kentucky Breakfast Stout from Founders to make this loss go down more smoothly.

49ers 31
Seahawks 16

[Uppercut]

Sea 2
SF 0

My dream score

[4XPIPS]

Sea 2
SF 0

My dream score

Mariners vs Giants?

[Spohawk5092]

My 2 cents is that playing Geno tonight is puttin him at risk of much further injury. I think its a mistake..

[4XPIPS]

My 2 cents is that playing Geno tonight is puttin him at risk of much further injury. I think its a mistake..

I agree. Even with a healthy Geno this week I wouldn't see us winning, but given the injury concern it would be best to rest him till he is fully ready to play again, especially on a short week.

[RiverDog]

My 2 cents is that playing Geno tonight is puttin him at risk of much further injury. I think its a mistake..

I agree. Even with a healthy Geno this week I wouldn't see us winning, but given the injury concern it would be best to rest him till he is fully ready to play again, especially on a short week.

None of us are in a position to judge, but my impression is that he'll be fine. It's a bruise on his right elbow, and unlike a tendon or ligament, it's unlikely to be aggravated or injured any further. This is a big game, so if he's able to go, I say play him.

[4XPIPS]

None of us are in a position to judge, but my impression is that he'll be fine. It's a bruise on his right elbow, and unlike a tendon or ligament, it's unlikely to be aggravated or injured any further. This is a big game, so if he's able to go, I say play him.

I am no MD by any means, but that hit he took from Donald and sandwiched with the other defender as they went to the ground looked pretty painful. I agree if he is 100% a go and can play then we shall see what happens.

[Agent 86]

I see this as the type of game where after it's over there is going to be alot of talk about the O-line/D-line play. And that talk is going to be how inferior we are to the 49'ers at both spots. We all know it's a huge reason why you win consistently in this league, we had it for a while, and now we don't, and haven't for quite some time.

I am typically not a negative fan, but I don't see us winning tonight. Maybe I am giving the 49'ers too much credit, but I think they are better at pretty much every position over us, and their front 7 is far superior, and where they will probably dominate tonight. Purdy will probably have lots of time to dissect our secondary as well.

Man, I hate feeling this way, but I think we are what we are. Any given game is what I have to lean on tonight.....

[4XPIPS]

I see this as the type of game where after it's over there is going to be alot of talk about the O-line/D-line play. And that talk is going to be how inferior we are to the 49'ers at both spots. We all know it's a huge reason why you win consistently in this league, we had it for a while, and now we don't, and haven't for quite some time.

I am typically not a negative fan, but I don't see us winning tonight. Maybe I am giving the 49'ers too much credit, but I think they are better at pretty much every position over us, and their front 7 is far superior, and where they will probably dominate tonight. Purdy will probably have lots of time to dissect our secondary as well.

Man, I hate feeling this way, but I think we are what we are. Any given game is what I have to lean on tonight.....

Couldn't agree more, maybe our secondary collectively is slightly better than the 49ers with the recent loss of Hufanga, but I agree head to toe they are much more superior with individual talent, and that even includes right up from the head coach to the general manager.

[4XPIPS]

The defense isn't going to be able to contain the 49ers for very long with the way the Offense is falling apart.

Witherspoon is unable to make that tackle and gives up a 1st down on a 3rd down play. These are the plays that "stars" need to make and quite disappointed in Spoon for not bringing the receiver down.

[Aseahawkfan]

We are getting smoked. Not even real contenders again in year 9 of the Pete Carroll Post-Super Bowl regime. Absolutely destroyed at home.

I guess we can all hope for a second half comeback.

Abe Lucas riding the bench. Our guys getting outplayed on both sides of the ball.

[4XPIPS]

We are getting smoked. Not even real contenders again in year 9 of the Pete Carroll regime. Absolutely destroyed at home.

I guess we can all hope for a second half comeback.

Abe Lucas riding the bench. Our guys getting outplayed on both sides of the ball.

I get your drift, but I don't want to be too technical but this is year 13 for Pete Carroll. Anyhow, Abe wasn't quite ready from his injury anyhow, but not that he would have made a huge difference because Geno is playing like dog $hit again. The defense is failing hard on 3rd downs, bad penalties and unable to cover with this soft zone that Pete and Clint love to run, but its just leaves everything in the middle open for crossing routes. I was expecting a loss, but at least come out and make this respectable, but nope the Seahawks are a fake 6-4 team, soon to be 6-5, and most likely a losing season with the games ahead. It's a joke to even think we are playoff bound at this point.

We are not even at half time and its 16 1st downs to 1 1st down.

[MackStrongIsMyHero]

This is clown shoes. No excuse for Tre bear hugging Kittle and Dallas not immediately falling on that muffed punt. 49ers are good, no doubt, but these are bush league unforced errors.

[MackStrongIsMyHero]

It’s like no one came away from last game having learned their lesson.

[curmudgeon]

9-8 is a tall order but could squeak them into the playoffs. To be ousted in the first round……

[MackStrongIsMyHero]

Forsyth with that body slam. Why isn’t there a sideline ass chewing for that? Undisciplined. Again.

[c_hawkbob]

Amid all this negativity (not that it's un-due) somebody aughta at least throw up some props to JSN for that unbelievable catch!

[4XPIPS]

Amid all this negativity (not that it's un-due) somebody aughta at least throw up some props to JSN for that unbelievable catch!

Too bad NBC $hit on it with high lights of OBJ when he was the Giants. Too bad JSN isn’t hitting his full potential with they way Geno is playing, well sorry to be negative, but heck of a catch by JSN

[Aseahawkfan]

So on our homefield, the defense is the only one to score a TD.

That trade for Williams just looking more and more like a bad assessment by Pete and John on where this team is in the rebuild process.

[RiverDog]

Amid all this negativity (not that it's un-due) somebody aughta at least throw up some props to JSN for that unbelievable catch!

The gloves make all the difference. We've seen lots of one-handed catches because of them where we never used to. I remember Kenny Easley talking about OBJ's one handed catch, saying that if Steve Largent could have worn those gloves, that he would have caught that ball with his little finger.

[RiverDog]

9-8 is a tall order but could squeak them into the playoffs. To be ousted in the first round……

Yeah, at the start of the season, I said 9-8 and a wild card berth. Now, 9-8 looks like the ceiling for this team.

Cowboys win big against a team we barely beat and we get them on the road next Thursday.

[trents]

We were badly beaten on the trenches today, on both sides of the ball and Frisco is loaded on both sides of the ball. Geno made a couple of good plays with his feet in this game. I'd like to see him do that more often instead of holding onto the ball so long and getting sacked when no one is open. Turnovers, turnovers! The play calling is so unimaginative.

[Old but Slow]

The state of this team is not good. They seem to trending toward the Mora era. Geno has shot his wad, and the offensive line is struggling. Tackling is supposed to be one of Pete's strong teaching areas, but apparently the players aren't listening. I is gonna get ugly. Okay, uglier.

In response to earlier comments, I am a craft brew beer guy, and in Bellingham we have about 14 craft breweries. And, most are very good, as there is so much competition here, that they have to be. I like a variety of beer styles, especially strong ales like a barleywine or Imperial stout, but mostly I drink lagers and pilsners, and Winter beers when available (like now). And, as far as warts on my ass (or arse), I turned 80 on Election Day, but Yoder missed it. Tut, tut. I love you, man.

It is puzzling that the team has not drafted a QB in a while (7th round hardly counts), while it seems wise to take one nearly every year.

I guess that completes my monthly post.

[RiverDog]

The state of this team is not good. They seem to trending toward the Mora era. Geno has shot his wad, and the offensive line is struggling. Tackling is supposed to be one of Pete's strong teaching areas, but apparently the players aren't listening. I is gonna get ugly. Okay, uglier.

In response to earlier comments, I am a craft brew beer guy, and in Bellingham we have about 14 craft breweries. And, most are very good, as there is so much competition here, that they have to be. I like a variety of beer styles, especially strong ales like a barleywine or Imperial stout, but mostly I drink lagers and pilsners, and Winter beers when available (like now). And, as far as warts on my ass (or arse), I turned 80 on Election Day, but Yoder missed it. Tut, tut. I love you, man.

It is puzzling that the team has not drafted a QB in a while (7th round hardly counts), while it seems wise to take one nearly every year.

I guess that completes my monthly post.

An ObS sighting! I hope you're doing well, old man!

Mora era is a pretty brutal take, but I don't think you're that far off. The difference here is that we're good enough to compete for the playoffs but not good enough to compete for a championship, and when you consider that 14 of the 32 teams qualify, simply competing for a playoff spot makes us a mediocre, .500ish team. We're never good enough to compete and never bad enough to blow things up and start over. It's a vicious cycle, like a dog chasing its tail.

The only way things change is if Pete retires.

[Spohawk5092]

game went about the way many of us expected. I gotta go back to the home opener when we were blasted by the Rams, that was a WTH moment to me, and a potential harbinger of what was to come.

[c_hawkbob]

One quarter of decent football just ain't gonna beat the good teams.

[NorthHawk]

I think that's who we are at the moment.
A 2nd or on bad days 3rd tier team not able to really compete against the best teams in the NFL.

[4XPIPS]

The gloves make all the difference. We've seen lots of one-handed catches because of them where we never used to. I remember Kenny Easley talking about OBJ's one handed catch, saying that if Steve Largent could have worn those gloves, that he would have caught that ball with his little finger.

RD, give the young man some credit, its not just catching it one handed with 5 fingers, it's leaping forward and body control and catching in stride. Fred Biletnikoff is in the Hall of Fame, and he was known as Mr Stickum. Tell me Fred isn't a hall of famer if he didn't have stickum? Did the gloves help? yes of course, but it still takes concentration and skill to make that play at today's game speed.

[RiverDog]

The gloves make all the difference. We've seen lots of one-handed catches because of them where we never used to. I remember Kenny Easley talking about OBJ's one handed catch, saying that if Steve Largent could have worn those gloves, that he would have caught that ball with his little finger.

RD, give the young man some credit, its not just catching it one handed with 5 fingers, it's leaping forward and body control and catching in stride. Fred Biletnikoff is in the Hall of Fame, and he was known as Mr Stickum. Tell me Fred isn't a hall of famer if he didn't have stickum? Did the gloves help? yes of course, but it still takes concentration and skill to make that play at today's game speed.

Of course, I'll give JSN plenty of credit. It was a tremendous catch. I'm sure it will be in the top 4-5 catches this season. And you're right about Bilentnikoff and the stick-um, but that wasn't who I compared him to. The measuring stick was Steve Largent, and he never used it. The substance was banned entirely in 1981.

All I was saying is that you see a lot of those acrobatic catches nowadays when you didn't used to, and one of if not the biggest difference is the gloves.

[Agent 86]

Article from the Athletic after last week's game for your reading pleasure. Some ugly stats in here. As most of us have said, there is no comparison between these 2 teams the last 2 years, we are nowhere close to being a legit contender and will have to wait out the Frisco run here and keep on building with draft picks and eventually find that QB. With what I have seen recently with the QB play from guys coming from college, that might prove to be more difficult than it looks.



Bullied by 49ers (again), Seahawks look like pretenders, and it might only get worse

By Michael-Shawn Dugar
Nov 24, 2023

SEATTLE — This time was supposed to be different.

After three consecutive uncompetitive showings last season against the rival San Francisco 49ers — including a season-ending shellacking in the wild-card round of the playoffs — the Seattle Seahawks were supposed to put up a better fight on Thanksgiving night.

They were supposed to be better up front to deal with San Francisco’s running game. A healthy, revamped secondary was supposed to befuddle Brock Purdy and the Niners’ proficient passing game. The offense, with a few new weapons at its disposal, was supposed to have more answers for one of the toughest defenses in the league. All of Seattle’s offseason additions, scheme tweaking and overall improvement on both sides of the ball were expected to make for a more compelling contest.

Instead, what unfolded Thursday night between the Seahawks and 49ers at Lumen Field was just as bad as the three beatdowns last year.

Considering the big-picture ramifications, it might have been worse.

“They beat us, it’s as simple as that,” quarterback Geno Smith said. “You can’t really make any excuse for it. It’s football. It’s sports. Sometimes a team comes and beat you. But, you know, the good thing about it is we got another chance to go against these guys in a few weeks. I think everyone has to take that personal. I know I am.

“We all gotta take it personal, man. We can’t keep coming out here and letting them beat us like that.”

The Seahawks (6-5) have a rematch scheduled for Week 14 on San Francisco’s home field, but there’s little to no evidence left to suggest that the fifth meeting between these two since the start of the 2022 season will be any different from the first four.

The final score of 31-13 says that the 49ers were 18 points better than Seattle on Thursday. Viewed in a vacuum, that’s not completely deflating. But in the context of what has happened in the past, and what Seattle did in the offseason to prevent this from happening, this loss is particularly damning because it suggests that the Seahawks are still far, far behind their divisional rival, which continues to look like a championship contender.

Seattle, meanwhile, looks like a team in need of wholesale changes from the top down. The 49ers are tougher in the trenches, evidenced by their consistent ability to win both sides of the line of scrimmage. Purdy was sacked only once, whereas Smith was dropped six times. Christian McCaffrey ran for 114 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 6.0 yards per carry, while Seattle’s two running backs combined for just 57 yards on 16 attempts.

Seattle and San Francisco have comparable talent at the skill positions on offense, but it is Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk and George Kittle who consistently shine in these bouts, while DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett and Seattle’s tight end room are routinely held in check. Samuel and Aiyuk combined for 129 yards and a touchdown on nine receptions. Metcalf and Lockett had 62 yards on six receptions.

“They just had our number today, man,” said rookie receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, a newcomer to this matchup who had two catches (including a terrific one-handed grab) for a team-high 41 yards. “That’s just how it goes. They had a good game plan, they schemed and they played better than us today.”

After the game, Seahawks players lamented starting slowly on both sides of the ball. San Francisco scored in nine plays to start the game. The Seahawks got a 66-yard kickoff return from Dee Eksridge and then moved the ball just 1 yard. Seattle had zero net yards in the first quarter. The 49ers began three of their seven first-half drives in Seattle territory because of a bad punt, a muffed punt and an interception by Smith. Those short fields, coupled with San Francisco’s high-powered offense, put the defense holes it couldn’t overcome.

“We started the game real slow on defense. We can’t do that,” rookie cornerback Devon Witherspoon said. “That just gives the other team confidence. We gotta shut that down and come out and be more aggressive.”

San Francisco led 24-3 at halftime. Seattle threatened to make it a one-score game, facing third-and-goal from the 7 in the third quarter, but Smith was sacked, and Seattle settled for a field goal. He was sacked again on third-and-8 the following possession — Seattle finished 3-for-11 on third d0wn — and San Francisco countered with a fourth-quarter touchdown drive to halt any last-ditch comeback effort.

Coach Pete Carroll and a few of his players took some solace in the fact that the Seahawks competed harder in the second half. They tackled better. They moved the ball better. They outscored the 49ers 10-7 and outgained them 164-152. That’s part of the reason Lockett dismissed the notion there’s a gap between the two clubs despite the repeatedly lopsided results.

“When you look at how we did on offense in the second half, we were able to move the ball,” Lockett said. “I think we’ve just got to get out of our own way.”

The statistics and the on-field product tell a different story. One of a massive gap between Seattle and San Francisco. One that existed last season and still exists despite the Seahawks committing significant resources toward bridging that gap.

In the last four meetings with San Francisco, Seattle has scored four offensive touchdowns, and two of those came when the game was all but over. Seattle has a minus-7 turnover differential in those games; Jordyn Brooks’ interception for a touchdown Thursday is the lone turnover the team forced. The defense has recorded only four sacks in those games. Smith, on the other hand, has been sacked 14 times.

Seattle will enter Week 13 in position for one of the three NFC wild-card spots, but with games at Dallas (8-3), at San Francisco (8-3) and hosting Philadelphia (9-1) up next, it’s hard to see envision a scenario where the Seahawks play more than one meaningful game in the postseason — if they even make it, which is no sure thing even in a weak wild-card race. They’ve lost three of their last four games, and the offense has only three touchdowns in that span. They rank 30th in third-down conversion rate.

Smith once again called for players to look themselves in the mirror and vow to work harder and be better — himself included — but he has sung a similar tune for weeks and the results haven’t changed.

“Just got to work harder,” Smith said. “It feels like I’ve been putting in 20-hour days lately, but maybe I got to put in 24-hour days to get this thing right.”

The defense has a tackling problem so severe that it got cornerback Riq Woolen benched in the first half Thursday. The pass rush has been absent for the last two division games. A group that prides itself on toughness and physicality came out sluggish in a prime-time game with first place in the division on the line.

“We didn’t come out ready to go,” Brooks said. “The first drive, they were running the ball, throwing the ball. I don’t think we were all the way there mentally.”

Thursday night was the first of a four-game stretch in which the Seahawks were going to learn a lot about themselves, their ability to match wits with the best in the league and whether they’re worthy of calling themselves a contender. Attempt No. 1 was a nightmare. If they aren’t all the way there mentally in any of the next three, the outcomes will not change.

“This is playoff time every week,” Carroll said. “We got plenty of chances with the teams we’ll play in the next month that will show us where we are and where we fit with all that.”

[RiverDog]

Good read, thanks for posting it.

[NorthHawk]

3 Offensive TDs in the last 4 games.
Shameful.

[RiverDog]

3 Offensive TDs in the last 4 games.
Shameful.

And it's likely to get worse before it gets better. The Cowboys are ranked 3rd in total defense, 4th in scoring defense, and we play them in their house, where they haven't lost this season.

I'm not giving up yet, but neither am I investing a lot of emotional capital into this game. I'm expecting us to get smoked, so anything less will be a delight.