Halftime Observations: Seahawks Stay in Striking Distance, Trail 7-6 to 49ers

Though the Seahawks never reached the red zone, Jason Myers nailed two field goals to keep the visitors within a score heading into the break.

Nov 17, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (23) is tackled by Seattle Seahawks linebacker Tyrice Knight (48) in the first quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Gonzales-Imagn Images / David Gonzales-Imagn Images

Engaged in a defensive slugfest early on the road, the Seattle Seahawks used a pair of 50-plus yard field goals by Jason Myers and strong run defense to hang tight with the San Francisco 49ers and went into the break trailing 7-6 at Levis Stadium.

Coming off of their bye week, after yielding 228 rushing yards to the 49ers in their first matchup in Week 6, the Seahawks held star running back Christian McCaffrey to just 37 yards on nine carries, limiting him to under 4.2 yards per carry with a late draw play inflating that number. Anchoring the much-improved run defense, linebackers Ernest Jones and Tyrice Knight combined for 10 tackles, swarming running backs around the line of scrimmage throughout the first half.

With San Francisco's run game mostly held in check - Brock Purdy did take off for 32 yards on three carries, including a 10-yard touchdown run - Seattle generated a bit more pressure on the quarterback and produced three pass breakups. Most notably, cornerback Devon Witherspoon popped a pass intended for McCaffrey up in the air early in the second quarter and defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins reeled in his first career interception off the carom.

Offensively, the Seahawks found moderate success throwing the ball in the first half with Geno Smith completing 11 out of 14 passes for 91 yards, including a third down completion to Jaxon Smith-Njigba over the middle for a 20-yard pickup. Smith-Njigba and Metcalf tied for the team lead with three receptions apiece, while running back Ken Walker III tallied 27 rushing yards on five carries largely by creating his own yardage after contact.

Unfortunately, Seattle couldn't keep Smith clean, sticking with an ugly season-long trend with porous pass protection. After the quarterback marched the offense inside San Francisco's 30-yard line, right tackle Abraham Lucas got beat by Nick Bosa, who teamed up with Leonard Floyd for a sack and a seven-yard loss. Myers managed to salvage the drive with a 52-yard boot to give the Seahawks a 3-0 lead.

After Purdy used his legs to scamper for a 10-yard touchdown as an answer to cap off a 12-play drive, the Seahawks again advanced past midfield, only for center Olu Oluwatimi to misfire a rocketed snap too high for Smith to corral, leading to a 17-yard loss. A promising drive was thwarted by that massive gaffe, forcing Michael Dickson to punt two plays later.

Failing to fully capitalize on Hankins' monumental pick in 49ers territory, the Seahawks actually lost 10 yards on three plays after the turnover, finished off with left tackle Charles Cross getting steamrolled by pass rusher Yetur Gross-Matos, who devoured Smith instantly off the snap for a sack. Once again, Myers saved the day, barely eking a 57-yard field goal over the uprights to cut the deficit to one point.

Trailing by just one point, Seattle will look to get its offense untracked receiving first to open the second half with a prime opportunity in front of them to snap a six-game losing streak to San Francisco and crawl back to the .500 mark.

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