The San Francisco 49ers came into Week 3 with some higher expectations than normal for a game up in Seattle. Things reverted to what we’ve seen the last two years as the Seahawks crushed the 49ers 37-18. Carlos Hyde had two touchdowns and a two-point conversion in the 4th quarter after the team was down 37-3. Hyde finished the game with 103 yards rushing.
Things got off to an ugly start as the Seahawks rolled down the field on the opening drive for a quick score. A 34-yard pass to Doug Baldwin was quickly followed by a 41-yard Christine Michael touchdown run. He burst through the line and was virtually untouched. The Seahawks would add another Michael touchdown to make it 14-0 in the first quarter.
The 49ers defense clamped down on the run after that, but the Seahawks had no problem shredding them through the air. Jimmy Graham had a breakout game after a slow return from his torn patellar tendon. He finished with 100 yards and a touchdown, and Baldwin finished with 164 yards and a touchdown.
The one defensive positive to take from the game was Ahmad Brooks playing like a man possessed. He had a sack and two tackles for a loss, while also almost managing an interception in fairly deep coverage of Luke Willson. So that was nice.
But things were all around awful on offense. The worst part on offense was Blaine Gabbert’s constant throws short of the sticks. The team failed to convert a single third down, and that was frequently a result of Gabbert throwing a pass that had little chance of being turned into a first down. It was incredibly frustrating. It didn’t help that the Seahawks were doing a strong job in coverage, per usual, but it didn’t make it any easier to watch. The 49ers were abysmal in Week 3.
Injuries
It was a rough day on the injury report. Jimmie Ward left the game with a quad injury that occurred without contact, and was subsequently ruled out. Vance McDonald left the game with a hip injury and was subsequently rule out. Torrey Smith suffered an ankle injury in the fourth quarter, so we’ll wait and see if anything comes of that.
Up next
The 49ers host the Dallas Cowboys in Week 4. The Cowboys have a bad defense, and a rookie quarterback. A win is certainly not out of the question, but if the 49ers don’t clean anything up from this game, it won’t really matter. The Cowboys are not as good as the Seahawks, so I’m not going to pretend that what we saw today transfers entirely to the Cowboys. But the 49ers offense is inconsistent and mostly awful when they are not getting set up by the defense. I don’t know what to expect next week.