SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The Seahawks defied all expectations getting here, riding a castoff quarterback to the playoffs in what many assumed would be a rebuilding season.
As heavy underdogs against their biggest rival, Geno Smith and the Seahawks continued that trend in the first half Saturday, taking the lead into halftime in a wildly entertaining start. Ultimately, the 49ers did what just about everyone expected them to do, looking very much like a Super Bowl contender while pulling away for a 41-23 wild-card playoff game at Levi’s Stadium.
Here are three immediate impressions from the game:
So close, yet so far
There’s much to like if you’re the Seahawks. Ample reason to celebrate, even. They got here to the playoffs with a young team after a tumultuous offseason in which they traded Russell Wilson and released Bobby Wagner. By any reasonable measure, the season was a wild success.
But it’s valid to feel a sense of disappointment by how it all ended. The Seahawks had a chance Saturday. Not a great chance. But a chance.
They made you believe with the way they played in the first half. Pete Carroll could not have scripted a better halftime scenario, holding a 17-16 lead after Jason Myers’ 56-yard field goal as the first-half clock expired. The Seahawks were playing clean and organized, Geno Smith was sharp, DK Metcalf was unstoppable, Kenneth Walker III was loose and the Seahawks looked as inspired as they’ve been all season.
That’s the way it should be in the playoffs, right?
The second half was a full 180.
The 49ers were always the more talented team, and the Seahawks had to be just about perfect — as they mostly were in the first half — to have any chance at pulling off the upset.
The turning point was Smith’s fumble in the red zone late in the third quarter. The Seahawks, trailing 23-17, were in prime position to at least kick a field goal and stay within striking distance.
Smith was stripped by Charles Omenihu. Nick Bosa recovered it at the 49ers’ 30-yard line. It was the first turnover of the game, and that wound up being the Seahawks’ last best opportunity to stay in it.
Smith had another turnover in the fourth quarter, on a poor throw that was intercepted by Deommodore Lenoir, but the game was all but decided by that point.
The 49ers, simply, were too good. They scored 25 straight points in the second half. The Seahawks’ charmed first half didn’t last. They couldn’t tackle the 49ers’ primetime playmakers, they couldn’t run the ball, and Metcalf couldn’t do it all by himself on offense.
The QB question
Smith’s breakthrough was one of the best stories of the NFL season.
His future will be the Seahawks’ biggest storyline entering the offseason.
The Seahawks are expected to try re-sign him. They could use the franchise tag to ensure that happens, at a cost of about $30 million for the 2023 season.
Smith’s performance Saturday played out much like his season. He was brilliant early, competing 9 of 10 passes for 104 yards in the first half, including a perfectly thrown 50-yard TD pass to Metcalf that gave the Seahawks a 14-13 lead.
He was uneven after that, committing those two second-half turnovers, and forcing some throws into tight spots.
Smith finished 25 for 35 for 253 yards with two touchdowns and a passer rating of 98.9.
Metcalf was excellent again in a playoff game, posting 10 catches for 136 yards and two touchdowns. But the Seahawks just weren’t dynamic enough on offseason — certainly not enough to keep up with the 49ers’ potent offense.
Walker, in his first playoff game, had 54 yards on 13 first-half carries. But he was a nonfactor after that, posting just two carries (for nine yards) in the second half as the Seahawks fell behind 41-17.
Fully loaded, indeed
Carroll opened the week talking about how “loaded” the 49ers are on offense, and the 49ers spent the second half proving just how loaded they truly are.
Christian McCaffrey, acquired in a midseason trade from Carolina, rushed for 119 yards on 15 carries, and he scored the 49ers’ first touchdown on a 3-yard touchdown pass.
That was the first of three touchdown throws by rookie QB Brock Purdy, who passed for 332 yards with a passer rating of 131.5. He was sacked only once, and the Seahawks couldn’t take advantage of several of his wild throws in the first half.
Purdy is 6-0 as the 49ers’ starter.
Deebo Samuel had six catches for 133 yards, including back-breaking 74-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter that extended the 49ers’ lead to 38-17.
The Seahawks had trouble tackling, a particular issue for much of the first half of the season, and it cost them. The 49ers finished with 505 yards of offense, averaging 7.9 yards per play, and they didn’t commit a turnover.