3 Up, 3 Down: Seahawks' Special Teams Shine, Gerald Everett Nearly Gives Away 30-23 Win Over 49ers
As far as weird Seahawks games go—and there have been many—this one was certainly up there. Six combined turnovers, 16 penalties, 692 combined yards and one fake punt later, the Seahawks snapped their three-game losing streak with a wild and dramatic 30-23 win over the 49ers.
With the victory, Seattle secured a season sweep of San Francisco and, despite being 4-8, are back within two games of the NFC's final wild-card spot with five to play. It was, by far, the team's most entertaining game of the season, featuring all the ups and downs of a signature Seahawks win; and for that reason, this may have been the most normal their season has felt all year long.
Let's go over the three biggest winners and losers from this rollercoaster ride of a football game.
3 Up
QB Russell Wilson
He wasn't perfect by any means, but this was the best Wilson has looked since his return from finger surgery in Week 10. His best throw of the day proved to be the game-winner for Seattle, dropping a beautiful floater over the shoulder of Tyler Lockett and into the receiver's bread basket for a 12-yard score in the back right corner of the end zone. In all, he completed 30 of his 37 pass attempts for 231 yards, two touchdowns and an interception that wasn't his fault (we'll get to that later). This was a very encouraging performance from Wilson, who improves to 17-4 against the 49ers in his career.
DE Carlos Dunlap
Though he wasn't necessarily the star of Seattle's solid defensive performance, Dunlap delivered two of the team's biggest plays on Sunday night. Firstly, after bullying 49ers right tackle Tom Compton at the snap, Dunlap brought down quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo for a safety to tie things up at 23 apiece. Then, with the game on the line, the veteran defensive end batted a Garoppolo pass into the air for an incompletion to force a turnover on downs and seal the victory. He's been a ghost for most of the year, but perhaps this was the start of a rebound for Dunlap. If the Seahawks are going to pull off an improbable run to the postseason, they'll certainly need him.
Special Teams
Perhaps the Seahawks' most unheralded strength in 2021, special teams made a huge difference in this game. After the offense went three-and-out on the game's opening drive, Pete Carroll greenlit a fake punt run designed for Travis Homer, who took it the distance for a 73-yard touchdown to put Seattle up 7-0 early on. Homer was also on the recovering end of a fumble forced by Nick Bellore—another star in this game—to kickstart the second half. And of Michael Dickson's four punts, two pinned the 49ers within their own 10-yard line. It was a great day all around for Larry Izzo's crew.
3 Down
TE Gerald Everett
It's hard to have a more unfortunate day than the one Everett had on Sunday. He played a huge role in all three of Seattle's turnovers, starting with a fumble that immediately led to a San Francisco touchdown in the first quarter. But where he really hurt the team was deep in the red zone. On what should have been an easy six points for the Seahawks, a wide-open Everett let a pass from Wilson bounce off his chest, then his foot and into the arms of 49ers cornerback K'Waun Williams. Then, with a chance to put the game away, the fifth-year tight end fumbled a shovel pass at the goal line—eliminating any opportunity for a field goal that would have extended Seattle's lead to 10 points with roughly four minutes to go. Fortunately for him, Garoppolo and company were thwarted in their attempt to tie things up in the final seconds. But in the end, Everett's hiccups still resulted in a 14-point swing in the wrong direction for the Seahawks.
G Kyle Fuller
Making his second start at left guard in place of the injured Damien Lewis (elbow/shoulder), Fuller was a disaster. He completely whiffed on a block in the first quarter that led to a five-yard loss on Adrian Peterson's first rushing attempt in a Seahawks uniform, then continued to struggle as the game went along. Eventually, Jake Curhan relieved Fuller of his duties when the latter exited with an ankle injury, and Seattle began to have better success in pass protection and generated some push in the run game as well. It's unlikely that was a coincidence, because Fuller has simply shown nothing to indicate he's an NFL-caliber offensive lineman. For the sake of Wilson's protection and the viability of the Seahawks' rushing attack, this should be Fuller's last appearance of the year, barring something catastrophic.
NBC and the NFL
Considering what the Seahawks had done up to this point, the NFL's decision to flex this game out of its initial Sunday Night Football slot was understandable. But in retrospect, this wacky intra-divisional affair could have been all the more entertaining under the primetime lights. Instead, one of the year's craziest games will go unnoticed by many who didn't have a rooting interest in either side.
