Halftime Observations: 49ers 23, Seahawks 21

Scoring two touchdowns in the final six minutes of the second quarter, the Seahawks rebounded from a 14-point deficit to go into the break trailing the 49ers 23-21 at Lumen Field.

Leading the way for Seattle, Russell Wilson completed 16 out of 19 passes for 111 yards and threw a touchdown to rookie receiver Dee Eskridge to close out the half. Making his team debut, veteran running back Adrian Peterson scored his 126th career touchdown, tying Jim Brown for the 10th most in league history.

Two quick observations from the first half:

1. Overcoming yet another horrific start, the Seahawks' offense found life late in the half with a pair of scoring drives.

Looking at Seattle's first half performance from a realistic view, Russell Wilson and company served up a poop sandwich in the first 20 minutes, going three-and-out twice, coughing up a fumble, and missing a field goal in its first five offensive drives. The only thing that kept the team in the game early was a bold fake punt call that caught San Francisco on its heels with Travis Homer racing 73 yards for a touchdown on the opening drive. After that, the next four possessions netted -14 yards and featured several blooper reel-worthy blunders, including a strip sack on Wilson that led to a 23-yard loss.

But after the 49ers extended their lead to 17-7, the Seahawks suddenly found their groove on their sixth possession. Led by DK Metcalf, who reeled in a 33-yard vertical from Wilson that pushed his team inside the 49ers five-yard line, they marched 65 yards on nine plays and Peterson bounced outside from a yard out for his first touchdown with the team. Moments later, inside two minutes left to play with no timeouts and trailing by nine, a pair of roughing the passer penalties aided an eight-play, 42-yard drive capped off by Eskridge's first career touchdown reception.

2. The defense took an opposite approach, starting strong before laying an egg in the second quarter.

Unlike the offense, Seattle started off well defending Jimmy Garoppolo and company. While George Kittle did score from 24 yards out immediately after Gerald Everett's fumble gifted San Francisco fantastic field position, Ken Norton's unit forced a punt on the first series and linebacker Bobby Wagner picked off Garoppolo on the third drive, setting up the offense with favorable field position deep in opposing territory that they unfortunately couldn't take advantage of.

But from there, poor tackling plagued the Seahawks as they allowed three straight scoring drives consisting of seven or more plays. Elijah Mitchell created problems out of the backfield, plunging in from two yards out for a score and rushing for 41 yards in the half. Kittle then struck again towards the end of the half, slipping through a pair of arm tackles after catching a short drag route over the middle and showcasing quite a balancing act staying inbounds sprinting down the sidelines for a 48-yard score.