Halftime Observations: 49ers 7, Seahawks 7

With how the first half unfolded, the Seahawks might as well have had Michael Dickson punt on first down and kept their defense on the field for the entire first 30 minutes. Luckily, the opposition hasn't been able to capitalize and kept the visitors in the game.

Despite playing one of the ugliest first halves in franchise history from an offensive standpoint, the Seahawks managed to put together a late scoring drive to go into halftime tied 7-7 with the 49ers.

After an atrocious start, Russell Wilson wrapped up the first half completing seven out of 10 passes for 76 yards and a touchdown. Pacing the defense, safety Quandre Diggs picked off Jimmy Garoppolo and Sidney Jones and Bobby Wagner tied for the team lead with six tackles.

Three quick observations from the first half at Levis Stadium:

1. The Seahawks left their offense on the tarmac in Seattle and it arrived late in the first half.

Calling Seattle's offensive "attack" inept in the first two quarters would be an understatement. In the team's first five offensive drives, they failed to get a single first down, went three-and-out all five times, and managed to go backwards with negative seven net yards. Wilson had been sacked three times, including twice by Dee Ford, and was under constant duress. Chris Carson had 12 yards on seven carries and the run game was ineffective. But then, with under five minutes to play, the group finally found life, starting with a dump off to backup running back Alex Collins on a play action pass for a 28-yard gain. Three plays later, Wilson connected with DK Metcalf on a corner route off a play action bootleg for 28 yards, moving them into the red zone for the first time. After the two-minute warning, Wilson found his All-Pro receiver again on a slant, with Metcalf stretching the ball past the goal line to tie the game, capping off a six-play, 80-yard scoring drive. With the offense finally showing up, they'll be hoping to carry that momentum into the second half.

2. Despite ongoing coverage issues, the defense has been surprisingly effective.

Out of the gate, the Seahawks allowed Garoppolo to pick them apart, as the 49ers marched down the field with ease on an eight-play, 81-yard touchdown drive. Garoppolo completed all six of his pass attempts for 70 yards and hit tight end Ross Dwelley for a 21-yard touchdown against cornerback Sidney Jones. But despite the rough start, Seattle's defense came up with several big stops in the rest of the half. Safety Quandre Diggs jumped a route for his first interception of the season, picking off Garoppolo after he unwisely tried to thread a pass into double coverage. On the next drive, a Jordyn Brooks sack on a blitz up the middle led to a field goal attempt by punter Mitch Wishnowsky, who missed wide left from 41 yards out. Each of the next three drives ended in a punt with the Seahawks surrendering 52 total yards.

3. The 49ers blew multiple chances to blow this game opening, allowing the visitors to hang around.

Given Seattle's horrific first half offensive display up until the tail end of the second quarter, San Francisco had opportunities to extend its lead and wasn't able to do so. But the Seahawks should be thanking their lucky stars that their rivals weren't able to capitalize on any of those opportunities. On the 49ers third offensive drive, Garoppolo completed three straight first down passes, including a 26-yard strike to a wide open Deebo Samuel with Jones in coverage to get deep into Seattle territory. But Brooks came untouched up the middle two plays later to bring the quarterback down, setting up a 3rd and 15. With Robbie Gould nursing a groin injury, Wishnowsky wasn't able to connect on the field goal two plays later. Then on the 49ers next drive, coach Kyle Shanahan tried to dial up some trickery, only for the throw back across the field to Garoppolo to be high. Messing up the timing, he wasn't able to hit George Kittle while he was open and Jamal Adams had time to recover for the pass breakup.