Closing Thoughts: Vintage Bobby Wagner Leads Aggressive Seahawks Defense to Win Over 49ers

Rebounding from their first loss of the season in Arizona, the Seahawks held the 49ers to seven points through threee quarters and held on late for a 37-27 victory to improve to 6-1 on the season.

Continuing to post ridiculous numbers, quarterback Russell Wilson threw four touchdown passes to increase his season total to 26, only one less than Tom Brady threw during his historic 2007 season. Catching two of those touchdowns, DK Metcalf set new career-highs in receptions (12) and receiving yards (161) while dominating San Francisco's secondary all afternoon.

Defensively, Bobby Wagner led the charge with 11 tackles as the Seahawks played their best game of the season, limiting the 49ers to 117 total yards through the first three quarters. Despite giving up 20 points in the final quarter, it was the type of performance coach Pete Carroll's squad should be able to build off of with several key players set to return from injury next week.

After re-watching the game, here are some closing thoughts on Seattle's latest victory at CenturyLink Field.

As has become the norm each and every week, Wilson made several beautiful downfield throws during this game, including a 35-yard strike to Metcalf after he beat cornerback Emmanuel Moseley on a vertical route down the left sideline in the second quarter. But his two best passes against the 49ers came in the red zone during a pivotal third quarter run, as he once again demonstrated his penchant for extending plays and evading sacks. Leading 13-7 and facing 3rd and goal from the 49ers two-yard line, Wilson faked a handoff and then used a pump fake to get Arik Armstead to leave his feet. Still bailing to his right, he found DeeJay Dallas open in the flats and connected with him for the touchdown. Moments later after a fumble recovery on the ensuing kickoff, Wilson again showed off his wizardry in the pocket on another 3rd and goal situation. Defensive tackle D.J. Jones beat guard Damien Lewis inside and had the quarterback dead to right, but Wilson eluded him and stepped up, firing a touchdown to David Moore to extend the lead to 27-7. Already dangerous enough with a clean pocket, his ability to create off schedule remains unmatched.

Props to Dallas for shaking off a few critical mistakes in last week's loss to find the end zone twice for the Seahawks on Sunday. The fourth-round pick out of Miami still has plenty of room for improvement, as he missed a check on a goal line play at one point and may have left some yardage on the field as a runner. But this was his first extensive NFL action and while he needs to run with a bit more conviction and decisiveness moving forward, he made several nice blocks in pass protecting picking up blitzers and also reeled in five receptions out of the backfield, including his first NFL touchdown. This should be a stepping stone for the rookie running back as he tries to carve out a role for the rest of the season in a crowded backfield.
Many fans often wonder why Nick Bellore remains on Seattle's 53-man roster when he barely plays on offense. But the versatile veteran showed exactly why the organization values him on Sunday. Forced into more action due to all of the injuries in the backfield, his nine-yard reception on 3rd and 8 deep in Seattle territory on the team's third offensive drive moved the chains and kick-started a struggling offense. Then in the midst of a third quarter scoring flurry, Bellore recovered a Dante Pettis fumble after a big hit by linebacker Cody Barton on special teams, setting the Seahawks up with outstanding field position and allowing Wilson to find Moore in the end zone shortly after.
Speaking of Moore, he deserves far more credit for his emergence this season than he's received due to Metcalf and Tyler Lockett putting up monster numbers. After battling inconsistency the past two seasons, he's surfaced as a legitimate No. 3 receiver for Wilson, catching 16 of his 20 targets for 245 yards and three touchdowns. He's currently on pace for 37 receptions, 560 receiving yards, and seven touchdowns, which would be fantastic numbers considering the number of targets going in the direction of Lockett and Metcalf. He also continues to be a threat as a runner as well, rushing two times for 28 yards on a pair of jet sweeps against the 49ers.
If there's one thing to be concerned about on offense after Sunday's game, it has to be the apparent lack of chemistry between Wilson and tight end Greg Olsen. Wilson targeted the three-time Pro Bowler four times on Sunday, including once in the end zone, but none of the throws were on target and the connection between the two players has seemed out of sync for the past few weeks. Through seven games, Olsen has only caught 17 passes for 158 yards and a touchdown and he's been even less productive over the past three games, catching just three passes for 38 yards on eight targets in that span. There's still plenty of time for Olsen to become a bigger contributor in the passing game, but it may be telling that Will Dissly received more snaps against the 49ers.
Statistically, the Seahawks only generated four quarterback hits from their defensive line on Sunday. But without starter Benson Mayowa or recently acquired Carlos Dunlap, the group played quite well as a whole, consistently pressuring Jimmy Garoppolo during the first three quarters. Even when Nick Mullens was carving up the secondary in the final quarter, he was doing so while taking several big hits. Mixing in more blitzes certainly sped up the clock for the both quarterbacks and created more opportunities for the front four to get home. With Mayowa and Dunlap set to play next week against the Bills, this unit might finally be able to get untracked a bit heading into the season half of the season.
Building a 23-point lead midway through the third quarter forced the 49ers to abandon their ground game for most of the second half. But even when they tried to run the ball in the first half, they found minimal success, rushing 18 times for just 48 yards and less than three yards per carry. The front line did an excellent job maintaining run fits against an offense that uses motion to try to create additional gaps. This was particularly true at the defensive end spots, as San Francisco struggled to get to the edge all afternoon and linebackers were free to clean up.
For those who were wondering if Wagner's play had started to drop off, the five-time First-Team All-Pro silenced his critics and then some on Sunday. The star linebacker has been outspoken about his frustrations with Seattle's defensive struggles and he took the onus on himself to ensure that didn't continue on Sunday. Whether he was bowling through offensive linemen to sack Garoppolo, knifing through the A-gap to get to the ball carrier, or immediately sitting down a receiver after the catch, he was all over the field making impact plays and the rest of the defense fed off of his energy. Taking advantage of his additional chances to blitz given an aggressive defensive game plan, he stuffed the stat sheet with a game-high 11 tackles, three tackles for loss, four quarterback hits, and 2.0 sacks, exhibiting why he's still one of the NFL's elite middle linebackers in season No. 9.

Bobby Wagner trucked two dudes and still got the sack 💪 @Bwagz @Seahawks

📺 #SFvsSEA on FOX pic.twitter.com/FTEEmwGt5w
— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) November 2, 2020

Making his much-anticipated debut after being activated from the Non-Football Injury list, D.J. Reed brought Seattle's secondary a much-needed spark in coverage and as a blitzer. On San Francisco's second possession, just one play after safety Ryan Neal was unable to corral a fumble by JaMycal Hasty before rolling out of bounds, the third-year defender undercut a pass from Garoppolo to George Kittle and picked off his former teammate. Later in the game, two separate well-executed slot corner blitzes by Reed set up sacks for Wagner and rookie defensive end Alton Robinson, forcing two punts by the 49ers. While he gave up a few big completions in coverage, including a 33-yard connection from Mullens to Brandon Aiyuk, he wrapped up his first game with six tackles, two passes defensed, and an interception. As Carroll noted after the game, when Ugo Amadi returns from a hamstring injury, the competition at the slot will now be a fierce one.

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