For the second time in three weeks the Seattle Seahawks have lost a football game, and this was a particularly tough one to drop. Seattle fell 32-29 at home to the San Francisco 49ers, who have now improved upon their undefeated record to 5-0 on the year. Meanwhile, the Seahawks have fallen to 3-2 and a full 2.5 games behind their most hated rivals.
Seattle was plagued by the same issues that doomed them against the Washington Commanders: they simply could not stop turning the ball over. The Seahawks lost the ball four times on Sunday. Two interceptions thrown by quarterback Sam Darnold and two fumbles lost by running backs Emanuel Wilson and George Holani. Three of those turnovers resulted in 21 points of 49ers touchdowns.
It was a particularly
brutal day for Holani, who had an additional fumble that he himself eventually recovered. But he had one at the end of the half, when Seattle was backed up against their own end zone, that immediately became a Niners touchdown. Suddenly, San Francisco was up 21-13 at half time instead of only 14-13.
Darnold threw his second interception of the day on Seattle's opening drive of the third quarter, but the Seahawks were bailed out by a Niners missed field goal. Eventually, the Seahawks did claw their way into a lead. A field goal drive, followed by a touchdown drive (set up by a Brock Purdy interception to Nehemiah Pritchett) gave Seattle a 23-21 advantage. Eventually, it became a 26-21 lead after the Seahawks tacked on another three points following a fumble forced by Drake Thomas of Deebo Samuel.
San Francisco was on the verge of implosion it felt like... but they regrouped and marched 95 yards in 12 plays to get back on top 29-26. Seattle did manage to tie the game, but they couldn't prevent the Niners from taking their final lead of the game with a field goal drive.
Now the Seahawks had an opportunity to correct history. Last year, Seattle trailed 17-13 at home in Week 1 and had the ball last. They could not score. Sadly for them, history repeated itself. Sam Darnold got the Hawks offense off to a strong start with a 35-yard strike to Jaxon Smith-Njigba to get the Seahawks to the 50. But that is where it ended for them. Three-straight incompletions followed, including a brutal drop by JSN on third down that would have set Seattle up deep in Niners territory. Darnold's pass to Cooper Kupp on 4th down was caught, but Kupp was tackled just shy of the first down.
Seattle will head to Denver for a Thursday Night Football showdown with the similarly 3-2 Broncos.
This article originally appeared on Seahawks Wire: Seahawks lose 32-29 at home to the San Francisco 49ers
