SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Boy was that a brutal hangover.
Six days after one of the most feel-good wins of the Pete Carroll era, the Seahawks came crashing back to earth Sunday, turning in a performance that revived a lot of the preseason fears about what kind of season this might be.
The 49ers pretty much thrashed the Seahawks in a 27-7 win that for most of the day didn’t look as close as the score indicated — Seattle might have suffered one of its worst losses of the Carroll era if not for a third-quarter blocked field goal and touchdown.
The 49ers played the final three quarters with former starter Jimmy Garoppolo at quarterback after second-year man Trey Lance suffered a serious ankle injury that resulted in him being carted off the field. An ESPN report stated that Lance will miss the rest of the season.
That development — the 49ers being forced to go back to Garoppolo — will dominate the storyline of this game in San Francisco.
But in Seattle, the worries are about an offense that crossed midfield only once until the final minute of the game and was held to 216 yards and has now gone six straight quarters without scoring.
Typifying the slog of a day that it was for the offense was a curious play call in the second quarter to have running back DeeJay Dallas throw a pass on second-and-5 from the 49ers 8-yard line. The pass, intended for DK Metcalf, was instead picked off by Charvarius Ward.
The Seahawks never got closer than the 49ers 33 the rest of the game.
It was the third-worst margin of defeat for the Seahawks in their past 187 games, dating to the middle of the 2011 season, behind only a 42-7 loss to the Rams in 2017 and a 38-10 defeat at Green Bay in 2016.
Seattle appeared ready to be run out of the building when the 49ers lined up for a 20-yard field goal with 5:39 to play in the third quarter — a muffed snap between Garoppolo and center Jake Brendel helped lead to a third-down stop.
But with the 49ers needing just a chip shot to take a 23-0 lead, rookie Tariq Woolen blew past the edge and blocked the kick with the ball taking a perfect bounce to Michael Jackson, who returned it 86 yards for a TD to get the Seahawks on the board. The lead was cut to 20-7 with 5:25 left in the third quarter.
But that was about it for highlights in a game in which the 49ers dominated statistically from start to finish.
Seattle now falls to 1-1 and heads home for something of a must-win next week against an Atlanta team that shapes up as one of the most beatable left on Seattle’s schedule.
Lance was injured with 2:33 left in the first quarter when he took off up the middle on a designed run.
After a two-yard gain, he was met at the 19 by Cody Barton and Bryan Mone, with his right leg trapped underneath the pile of bodies.
An air cast was put on Lance’s right ankle on the field and he was carted off, though, only after players on both sides approached to give him condolences.
That brought on Garoppolo for the rest of the game, if not the season.
His first pass, on third-and-6, came up 2 yards short, and the 49ers settled for another field goal — and a sixth straight time the Seahawks held an opponent without a touchdown when inside the 20 to begin the season.
The 49ers took a 13-0 lead on Garoppolo’s first full possession when he hit tight end Ross Dwelley for a 38-yard TD in which the San Francisco tight end was left wide open due to a blown coverage by Seattle.
Still, the Seahawks appeared as if they might get right back in the game when they drove to the doorstep of a TD midway through the second quarter.
The drive was jump-started by a big break when San Francisco’s Emmanuel Moseley was called for pass interference when he bumped into Metcalf on a pass over the middle, with 49er linebacker Fred Warner picking the ball off.
The penalty instead gave the Seahawks a first down at the 49ers 42 on what was a third-and-17 play.
That marked the first time in the game the Seahawks had gotten past midfield, with 6:08 to play in the first half.
But the drive ended in unlikely fashion when Dallas’ pass in the end zone was picked off by San Francisco’s Charvarius Ward.
Dallas was one of four Seattle running backs on the field on the play, with rookie Kenneth Walker III taking a direct snap and then handing to Dallas, who threw to Metcalf, who was covered by two 49er defenders.
Still, the Seahawks held and were poised to get the ball back late in the first half hoping for a drive to get back in the game, still down just 13-0.
But as Lockett prepared to catch a punt he was bumped into by teammate Xavier Crawford, who was pushed back by a 49er Tarvarius Moore.
San Francisco recovered at the 22 and drove quickly for another TD to make it 20-0 at halftime.
It was a first half in which all three phases failed for the Seahawks.
Seattle’s defense was run through, over and around early on as the 49ers had 108 yards rushing in the first quarter alone.
The offense didn’t get past midfield until there was under seven minutes left in the second quarter.
And a special teams mistake led to a fumbled punt that led to a San Francisco touchdown — one of three turnovers in the first half, all in the second quarter.
Seattle was outgained 259-135 in the first half and held to just 24 yards rushing on nine carries.
The Seahawks wanted to try to pound the 49ers into the ground with their rushing attack, in part to combat potential inclement weather (which turned out to not be much of a factor) and control the clock.
But that didn’t work as the Seahawks had just 17 yards rushing on their first six carries and then were forced to play catchup the rest of the way
The Seahawks defense hung through for most of the second half, with a goal-line stand leading to the blocked field goal.
This story will be updated.