Consequently, ball security will be something to watch for both teams. They did move the ball effectively at times throughout the game, but two poorly-timed turnovers by new quarterback Brian Hoyer damaged their chances. Quarterback Cam Newton was able to lead his offense to just 287 total yards, as the rebuilt San Francisco defense demonstrated it would not be the easy pushover it was in 2016. Wilson’s stat line was not great, 23/39 for 198 yards and a touchdown with 12 carries for 34 yards, but he made the plays when he needed to.
“After we got the X-Rays, I asked when was the soonest I can get on the field”, Richardson recalled after Seattle won 12-9, the wideout’s finger still heavily protected. The offensive line was better, but still gave the 49ers too many shots at Wilson. Seattle is still trying to find the best use for Eddie Lacy, who had just five carries for 3 yards in the opener. Staley definitely will play on Sunday, and Ward should be ready to play against the Seahawks.
The 49ers scored twice as many in the first half against Seattle thanks to a pair of long runs in the second quarter. Seattle was woefully ineffective on the ground in last week’s opener against the Packers. At home, the Seahawks have not lost to the 49ers since late in the 2011 season.
That appears to mean the only Seahawk who won’t be available due to injury is linebacker Terence Garvin, who did not practice all week with a shoulder issue and was officially listed as doubtful for Sunday. Sherman and Garcon had heated battles when Garcon was with Washington. He can earn nearly $200,000 more in weight clause incentives, but the Seahawks can save $62,500 in per-game roster bonuses if Lacy is inactive.
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: Seahawks DT Nazair Jones. Wilson has one or less touchdown passes in seven of his last eight games.
It did not quite take an act of God for the Seahawks to score their first touchdown of the season. On defense, DeForest Buckner racked up 11 tackles and Navarro Bowman had eight. Hyde now has two 100-yard games in Seattle since 2012. The 49ers had the ball only 23 minutes, 2 seconds to Seattle’s 36:58. He rushed for 830 yards as a rookie in 2015, but has been plagued by numerous injuries the last two years. In the receiving end, Doug Baldwin posted 63 yards in four receptions while Paul Richardson added 59 yards in four catches.
Gould standard Gould made good on all three of his field-goal attempts, hitting from 40 and 37 yards in the second quarter before his go-ahead, 40-yarder in the fourth quarter. Seattle DE Michael Bennett had 1.5 sacks in Week 1 and is aiming for his sixth game in a row with a sack.
And the running game was nonexistent through three quarters against a defense that last season ranked last in the National Football League in rushing yards allowed (and that one website, The-cauldron.com, determined was the third-worst run defense in National Football League history). The 49ers don’t present the same kind of problems with their pass rushers, but this is a serious problem area for Seattle, something left over from a year ago when they couldn’t keep Russell Wilson clean.