49ers report card: Grading San Francisco’s top-seed-clinching win over the Seahawks
It was another unbelievable, last-second finish for the 49ers, who stopped the Seahawks just short of the goal line with 9 seconds remaining to escape Seattle with their first win, 26-21, at CenturyLink Field since 2011.
The 49ers finished the regular season at 13-3 thanks to their 26-21 finish, and earned the No. 1 seed in the NFC, a first-round bye and home field advantage throughout the postseason.
Passing offense: A
Jimmy Garoppolo completed his first 9 passes before a ball hit the ground. He went into halftime with 156 yards on 11 of 15 completions. Five went to George Kittle, who had 74 yards and eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark for the second straight season. Garoppolo completed a 49-yard pass to fullback Kyle Juszczyk, who lined up in the slot, that helped San Francisco respond to Seattle’s touchdown early in the third quarter. It led to a touchdown after having the ball for just 2:21. Garoppolo finished with 285 yards on 18 of 22 completions and a 118.8 rating.
Rushing offense: B+
Rookie receiver Deebo Samuel had a 30-yard rushing touchdown, his third of the season, while the 49ers averaged 6.8 yards on their first 12 carries. Raheem Mostert scored a touchdown for his sixth straight game and finished with two. San Francisco averaged 5.3 tyards on 24 carries, finishing with 128 on the night.
Passing defense: F
Russel Wilson began 1 of 5 while the 49ers pass rush forced him to scramble behind his banged-up offensive line. The Seahawks punted on their first three possessions. But things changed in the second half. Seattle put together an 11-play scoring drive that featured three straight third-down conversions that was capped by Tyler Lockett’s eighth touchdown catch of the season. D.K. Metcalf added a score in the fourth quarter, giving Seattle three straight touchdown drives. Seattle had a chance to win it late, but came up inches short on fourth down when Wilson tried to find Jacob Hollister. Wilson finished with 25 of 40 with 233 yards and a pair of scores. It was good for a 95.1 rating.
Rushing defense: B-
Marshawn Lynch had just 7 yards on his four carries in the first half, which included a no gain on a fourth down stop from Nick Bosa late in the second quarter. But he had a 15-yard run on Seattle’s touchdown drive in the third quarter -- and then made it 19-14 with a 1-yard touchdown run at the 10-minute mark in the fourth. Seattle finished with 123 yards on 30 carries, good for a 4.2-yard average.
Special teams: B
Robbie Gould hit his first two field goals. Return man Richie James Jr. was given all he could handle from Seahawks ace punter Michael Dickson. Mitch Wishnowsky uncharacteristically shanked a kickoff out of bounds midway through the fourth quarter that gave Seattle great field position before scoring a touchdown.
Coaching: B
The 49ers much maligned defense that had struggled in recent weeks showed up in a big way during the first half, which wasn’t surprising given the slew of injuries to Seattle’s offensive line. Bosa was a terror against backup left tackle George Fant. The coaching staff made a big decision to replace Ahkello Witherspoon with Emmanuel Moseley during Seattle’s final drive. Moseley broke up a pass to the end zone. Seattle appeared to figure out the 49ers’ blitzes in the second half, but the defense made the final stop when it had to.
This story was originally published December 29, 2019 at 8:43 PM.
