SANTA CLARA, Calif. — For about 25 minutes, this appeared to be on the verge of the end of the Seahawks as we’ve known them.
The San Francisco 49ers appeared the faster, stronger, better team, moving at ease. Seattle’s offense literally could not move, going three and out on its first five drives. The Seahawks appeared lifeless in as almost a must-win game.
And then suddenly the Seahawks became the team we’ve so often seen in the Pete Carroll era — stingy on defense with a remade secondary featuring Sidney Jones getting his first start at cornerback and quarterback Russell Wilson looking spry as he was in 2012 to power an opportunistic offense.
It added up to a 28-21 win. The 49ers won the battle of the stats, but Seattle claimed the war on the scoreboard and stopped a two-game losing streak to improve to 2-2.
The score was tied at 7 when Wilson scored on a run from 16 yards with 5:22 to play in the third quarter.
A fumble on the kickoff gave the Seahawks the ball at the 49ers 14-yard line.
A play later Wilson spun out of a potential sack from blitzing San Francisco cornerback Dontae Johnson and end Nick Bosa to hit Freddie Swain for a 13-yard TD and a 21-7 lead.
And just like that, in the span of about 15 minutes of game time and maybe an hour of real time, the Seahawks went from wondering if there was any life left in their season to being right back in the mix of the NFC West.
This being the Seahawks, there were still some moments to sweat. A blown coverage gave the 49ers an easy TD on a 76-yard reception by a wide-open Deebo Samuel that made it 21-13.
But Seattle responded with a nifty, 81-yard drive in 10 plays — taking advantage of two 49ers penalties on third downs — capped by a 14-yard run through traffic by Alex Collins and punctuated by a somersault into the end zone, to take a 28-13 lead with 12:07 left to send fans in a two-thirds-full Levi’s Stadium streaming for the exits.
The 49ers scored a final touchdown with 1:20 left to cut the deficit to 28-21.
But Freddie Swain recovered the ensuing onside kick, and the win was secure.
Seattle kept alive a streak of never having lost three in a row since Wilson became the quarterback in 2012. The Seahawks also improved to 2-2 and now come home to host the Rams — who lost at home to the Cardinals — on Thursday night.
You’d hardly know it looking at the final stats — the 49ers outgained Seattle 457-234 and had 23 first downs to Seattle’s 14.
But the 49ers also committed eight penalties for 78 yards, missed a field-goal attempt and an extra point, made several other special-teams miscues and just in generally ended up with what felt like a lot of empty yards.
Still, there was no mistaking that the Seahawks were outclassed the first 25 minutes.
Seattle went three and out on its first five possessions, with a combined minus-7 yards and no gain of longer than five, and allowed the 49ers to pile 167 yards in the first quarter. Three times Wilson was sacked on third down.
But thanks in part to some 49ers misplays — a few bad passes by Jimmy Garoppolo including one picked off by Quandre Diggs, and a missed field-goal attempt by punter Mitch Wishnowsky, forced to kick due to an injury to Robbie Gould, Seattle trailed only 7-0.
And then Seattle caught another break — Trenton Cannon rolling into the end zone with a punt that could have been downed at the 1-yard line but was instead a touchback.
This time Seattle took advantage. A 28-yard pass to Collins gave Seattle its first first down of the game with just under five minutes to play in the second quarter.
Seattle then swiftly moved the rest of the way with Wilson hitting DK Metcalf with a 12-yard TD with 1:54 left in the half.
And just like that, the game was tied.
Seattle outgained the 49ers 83-52 in the second quarter, and Wilson finished the half with a passer rating of 125.4 to Garoppolo’s 79.1.
Garoppolo then headed to the bench to start the second half, listed as having a calf injury that made his return questionable.
Rookie Trey Lance, the third overall pick of the 2021 NFL draft, took over and the 49ers offense — already staggering at the end of the half — then lurched into a free fall.
After getting nine first downs in the first quarter the 49ers had just six over the next two quarters as the Seahawks took command.
Seattle didn’t move it on its first possession of the third quarter but did on its second.
With Seattle starting at its own 34, Wilson hit Tyler Lockett for 19 yards to jump-start a seven-play drive that ended with a 16-yard TD run by Wilson.
The TD was the first points Seattle scored in the third quarter this season and put the Seahawks ahead 14-7 with 5:22 to play.
Then came the fumbled kickoff, also by Cannon, Wilson’s pirouette and a game that featured about as drastic a turnaround as possible was pointed Seattle’s direction for good.
