Daily Californian sports writers Eric Hayrapetian and Kenzo Fuduka represent their favorite NFL teams in a week 12 recap between the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers.
In their week 12 matchup, the Seattle Seahawks took on the juggernaut of the NFL: the San Francisco 49ers. As I (sadly) expected, the 49ers steamrolled to a 31-13 victory — and my fellow Daily Californian sports writer Kenzo Fukuda let me hear all about it.
What was the story of the game?
Kenzo Fukuda: The inability of the Seahawks' offense to generate any kind of offensive momentum. Sure, the Niners hung 31 on Seattle in their own stadium, but I didn’t feel like San Francisco’s offense was unstoppable. The Seahawks got stops, they forced the Niners to punt, they got a pick-six to keep hope alive and they put pressure on Brock Purdy. But the fact that Geno Smith and the offense didn’t score a single touchdown speaks volumes to the story of the game. The Niners' revamped pass rush came up with six sacks, hounding Smith all game. In the secondary, Charvarius Ward sat DK Metcalf at the Thanksgiving kids’ table, holding him to three receptions on nine targets for 32 yards. Nothing worked for the Seahawk offense and it left the defense out to dry against an elite 49er offense.
Eric Hayrapetian: This was an ugly game. The Niners had their way against Seattle and Christian McCaffery was feasting all night long. Even after the Seahawks regained some of their momentum following their pick-six, San Francisco shut the door on any aspirations of a comeback. This is all without mentioning how bad the offense remained. Smith might be playing his last year as a starter, and Seattle’s offensive coordinator Shane Waldron should have been fired three weeks ago. 3-11 on third down is unacceptable and there are no excuses left for this offense.
Team MVP?
KF: I’ll give it up to defensive coordinator Steve Wilks. I was hard on him before the bye week because he wasn’t capitalizing on the most talented 49er defense of the last 20 years. But since he left the booth and came down to the field, this defense has looked absolutely ferocious. The defensive game plan was perfect: From Ward shadowing Metcalf for the duration of the game to the stunt blitzes at timely moments, Wilks out-schemed Waldron with ease. I’m still not sure he should be blitzing as much as does but I will give him props for turning it around.
EH: It’s a toss up between Devon Witherspoon and Jordyn Brooks. Witherspoon continued his outstanding rookie campaign, but Brooks deserves his flowers. Brooks is playing the best football of his life and his first career interception was responsible for Seattle’s only touchdown on Thursday. The fourth-year linebacker is definitely making the Seahawks regret their decision to not pick up his fifth-year option.
One compliment and one diss to the opposing team!
KF: Witherspoon is an elite cornerback. Still not sure how he deflected that Purdy dart to Brandon Aiyuk in the first half. He literally broke coverage off of his own man to stick his hand between Aiyuk and the ball.
However, Smith looks cooked. Some of those sacks he took were not because the Niners’ pass rush was unstoppable. He would stand there and as soon as he felt pressure, he would put his eyes down and take the loss. I won’t mock the Seahawks for not drafting a quarterback with one of the first-rounders because Witherspoon is a stud and their picks didn’t really put them in a position to attain a young QB. But the Seahawks have to start planning life without Smith sooner than later, because right now, it’s ugly.
EH: It’s nearly impossible to exploit any part of this Niners team as they remain the most complete team in the league. Kyle Shanahan easily has the best scheme, making it hard for defenses to find a consistent rhythm. However, are we sure this team can perform in the playoffs? I know we clown the Dallas Cowboys for never performing in the playoffs, but the Niners should be right there in that conversation. The lights could be too bright or Shanahan could still be getting nightmares about blowing that 28-3 lead in the Super Bowl. Regardless, I’m glad I’ve never witnessed a Niners Super Bowl victory. Let’s also not forget that Seattle still owns San Francisco with a 30-21 all-time record.
Contact Eric Hayrapetian at Eric.hayrapetian@gmail.com
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