The Seahawks got off to an ugly start on Sunday and must have had fans thinking it’d be a long, long game. But instead of getting blown out and allowing fans to flip the channel to the exciting Bears-Steelers game, no, Seattle kept the game close—painstakingly close—before succumbing to division rival San Francisco.
Although, it wasn’t looking close as the first half wound down and SF hit a 42-yard field goal. 13-3 SF. (And this after our defense spent more than half the first quarter—8:07 to be exact—on the field giving up yards to SF running back Frank Gore, including a 79-yard touchdown run.)
But then Hasselbeck and the offense got the ball back and quickly went into the 2 minute offense, looking for a score to keep the game close at halftime. And until the end, it was a marvelous drive for the star Seattle QB.
Hasselbeck rushed for a key first down before making a nice touch pass to WR Nate Burleson to put the Hawks on the edge of field goal range with 1:30 to play. On the very next play, Hasselbeck hit Deon Butler on first down to put the Hawks down to the 20, and then called a draw play to Justin Forsett that put the down to the 5 yard line. Timeout Seattle.
Here it is!!!!! 1st and goal from the 5 yard line with :57 left in the second quarter. The Seahawks are going to punch it in to go down 13-10 at halftime. We’ve played like shit the entire first half and we’re going to go into the locker room down only a field goal. Yay!!!!!
But on 2nd and goal following the timeout, Hasselbeck tucked the ball and made a gutsy break for the endzone, taking a huge shot from SF linebacker Patrick Willis. Although the Seattle QB was diving, and it wasn’t a dirty hit, it was a devastating blow to Hasselbeck’s back (a back injury being what caused him to miss 9 games last season, dooming the Seahawks to a 4-12 record.) The pain was immediately apparent—as it literally brought Hasselbeck to his knees as he tried to walk away from the play—forcing the Seahawks to spend their final timeout. After the timeout, Seneca Wallace hit Julius Jones in the flat for a touchdown on 3rd and goal. As hoped, the score was 13-10 at the half, but Hawks fans everywhere were on pins and needles awaiting word about their star QB. (Today, the Seattle Times reports that Hasselbeck fractured his rib.)
Hasselbeck didn’t come out of the locker room in the 2nd half, and just when it looked like the Hawks were getting back in the game, the misery for Hawks fans commenced.
11 seconds into the 2nd half, the score was 19-10 after Frank Gore popped off another huge, 80-yard run on the very first play from scrimmage of the 2nd half—again, right up the middle. Eleven is a significant figure in this case, as it also represents the number of professional football players on the field for Seattle at the time, none of whom so much as laid a hand on Gore on the play. XP good, 20-10 Niners.
The rest of the 2nd half was simply frustrating. Each and every time the Seahawks would make a play and it would seem like they were on the verge of getting back in the game, they’d shoot themselves in the foot. A great run to get across midfield by Forsett was immediately followed up by an 18-yard loss, as the ball was snapped over backup QB Seneca Wallace’s head. Deon Butler made the special teams play of the year, downing a Ryan punt inside the one yard line. But poor tackling by rookie Aaron Curry on 3rd down let the 49ers off the hook, allowing a key first down pickup and breathing room that was followed on the very next play by an 18-yard Shaun Hill rush. Lawrence Jackson—who played a great game on defense—forced a Hill fumble inside 49er territory, only to have the ball batted around by no less than six 300-lb men, when Patrick Kerney simply should have fallen on the ball. Etc. etc. etc. 23-10 SF.
