Composure, Tempo Help Seahawks Overcome Dreadful Offensive Start to Outlast 49ers

SANTA CLARA, CA - During their first three games of the 2021 season, the Seahawks had been near unstoppable in the first half of games, scoring a league-best 20.7 points per game in the first two quarters of play.

But with much at stake riding a two-game losing streak and facing a talented 49ers squad in their NFC West opener, despite the near-90 degree temperatures at kickoff, Russell Wilson and company came out colder than a mid-winter day in Antarctica. Unable to establish any semblance of a rhythm or flow offensively on their first five drives on Sunday, they failed to move the chains once, netting negative seven yards on 15 plays while going three-and-out each time.

For many teams, such a horrific start would have been too much to recover from. But with Seattle's defense turning in a stellar effort limiting San Francisco to seven points and keeping the team in the game, all it took was one big play - and the unflappable spirit of Wilson - to turn things around in time to snag a 28-21 road victory at Levis Stadium.

With under five minutes left to play in the second quarter, the Seahawks took the field for their sixth possession at the opposing 20-yard line. Up to that point, Wilson had been sacked three times thanks to relentless pressure from the 49ers' defensive line and Chris Carson had been bottled up with five yards on five carries. Nothing they had tried to do offensively was working.

But despite the brutal start, Wilson was unshaken and undeterred. As he had preached all week coming off of two straight losses, Seattle simply needed to "stay the course" and keep plugging away. Exemplifying that belief while maintaining a composed demeanor on the sidelines, teammates such as tackle Duane Brown followed his lead.

"I'm a very passionate person. My emotions can get hot a little bit on the sidelines. Russ is a very even-keel guy," Brown said. "That's very, very important, especially in that position having a cool head no matter what and with a lot of optimism."

Switching up tempos and ditching the huddle at Wilson's urging, the Seahawks dialed up a play action pass on first down to kick off their sixth drive. Slipping out of the backfield after the play fake, running back Alex Collins came wide open without a defender near him and Wilson dumped it off to him, allowing him to race down the sidelines for a 28-yard gain.

After finally moving the chains, Seattle's offense was open for business. Three plays later, again working off a play fake, Wilson connected with DK Metcalf on a corner route for another 28-yard play, pushing the team into the red zone for the first time. Moments later, he hit Metcalf again on a slant and the massive receiver powered his way past the goal line for six points.

Just like that, the Seahawks had somehow knotted the game at seven apiece in a game that looked like it may get out of hand early.

"I think everybody did a great job," Brown remarked. "Early on, communication was off. We had to get that under control. But guys were always in it. We never really got out of the ballgame, so no one ever got too discouraged... Everyone was pretty locked in."

Although the Seahawks weren't able to do anything in their first possession out of halftime and Michael Dickson punted for a sixth time, Wilson put the team on his shoulders and legs in the third quarter. After the 49ers promptly went three-and-out, the star quarterback engineered a seven-play, 66-yard drive, completing all three of his passes for 30 yards and rocketing around the corner before diving for the pylon on a 16-yard touchdown run.

Then, 49ers returner Trenton Cannon fumbled on the ensuing kickoff, coughing the ball up to the Seahawks at the 14-yard line. In his latest Houdini-worthy magic trick, two plays later, Wilson miraculously spun out of cornerback Dontae Johnson's sack attempt on a blitz and rolled out to his right with Nick Bosa on his tail. Keeping his eyes downfield as he scrambled, he threw a dart to Freddie Swain in the front right corner of the end zone to extend Seattle's advantage to 14 points.

As far as where that play ranks among the greatest plays under center in Seattle, Wilson wasn't sure where to rank it, but indicated it was "definitely one of the top 10 in his estimation.

“I don't know, we've had some good plays in my career," Wilson responded. "That was definitely a good one though. We had Dontae [Johnson] rushing off the edge there and whenever you see [Nick] Bosa right there next to you too and both of them are right there, uh oh," Wilson laughed. "So it was one of those moments."

While the 49ers were able to take advantage of a busted coverage for a 76-yard touchdown from rookie quarterback Trey Lance to receiver Deebo Samuel moments later, the Seahawks wasted little time re-capturing momentum with a resounding 10-play scoring drive of their own.

Opening the possession with a bang, Wilson hooked up with Metcalf for a 16-yard completion on a comeback route to quickly pick up a first down. From there, aided by a 23-yard pass interference penalty against Tyler Lockett, Collins went to work, toting the rock five times for 28 yards, including weaving through a helpless 49ers defense and somersaulting into the end zone for a 14-yard touchdown to push the lead back to 15 points.

Providing the spark Seattle badly needed to jumpstart the offense, Collins contributed 44 rushing yards and 34 receiving yards on just 12 touches, continuing his career revival in the Pacific Northwest.

"He's just sweet feet back there, man," Wilson smiled. "He's just able to make people miss and do something special things. He has the right attitude every day and we have a great group of running backs that can make a lot of plays."

The offensive explosion was quite a detour from the first month of the season when Seattle lit up scoreboards early and struggled after halftime, averaging under five points per game in the third and fourth quarter. In last week's loss against the Vikings, they were shutout in the half, failing to come close to putting points on the board. For most of last week, many fans reacted as if the sky was falling given the offensive inconsistency.

But with their backs against the wall, led by outstanding efforts by Wilson, Collins, and Metcalf, and a host of others, the Seahawks were able to right the ship and find their groove against a quality 49ers defense.

"I think you guys jinxed us," Wilson laughed. "I think you guys were saying we could start good early and couldn't finish late, so we flipped it around on you guys."

Making the quick flight north back to the Emerald City on Sunday night, Wilson and his teammates won't have much time to celebrate their latest victory. With another crucial divisional matchup against Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams looming on Thursday night in prime time, Seattle will have to quickly turn the page and ramp up preparation on short rest.

Regardless, coming off two tough outings in which they coughed up double-digit leads, sitting at 2-2 looks a heck of a lot better than 1-3 in the rugged NFC West. After seeing the defense hold their own throughout the game and the offense wake up after halftime, Wilson believes this Seahawks squad is just getting started.

"There was just a lot of guys making a lot of plays and that was a beautiful thing. And we're all in this thing together. Were all fighting for the same thing and that's to win and that's to perform at the highest-level and do it together. And it's such a special team, we have a special, special team, special group of guys, I wouldn't want it to be any other way.”