3 Up, 3 Down: Winners, Losers From Seahawks' 28-21 Win Over 49ers

Reporter Ty Dane Gonzalez breaks down the best and worst performances from the Seahawks' 28-21 win over the 49ers.

Shaking off an abysmal start on offense, the Seahawks eventually found their groove and worked their way to a much-needed 28-21 victory over the 49ers. As a result, Pete Carroll's crew gets back to a .500 winning percentage (2-2) and sits in third place in the NFC West with a Thursday night battle against the Rams coming up in four days. 

Here's who shined in Seattle's return to the win column, along with three players who didn't have as good of a day. 

3 Up

QB Russell Wilson

Following the offense's string of five straight three-and-outs to start the game, Wilson was surgical for most of the afternoon as he clinched the 100th win of his storied career. The numbers won't necessarily "wow" anyone—149 yards passing and two touchdowns on 16 completions; 26 yards and a score on the ground—but he was something of a human highlight reel in Santa Clara. Fans got a glimpse of "Vintage Russ" on his second and final touchdown pass of the day, in which he somehow escaped a dead-to-rights sack and found Freddie Swain in the end zone. The Seahawks needed him to be magic on Sunday and he certainly was. 

Russell Wilson turned this into a TD 🤯 pic.twitter.com/9FWa6XvzLg

— ESPN (@espn) October 3, 2021

S Quandre Diggs

One of the more openly frustrated players during the Seahawks' 30-17 loss to the Vikings last week, Diggs helped his defense turn things around against the 49ers. Making an excellent read on a midfield pass by Jimmy Garoppolo in the first quarter, the veteran safety registered his and the team's first interception of the season to set Seattle up in San Francisco territory. Unfortunately, this was at the height of the offense's woes and Wilson and company went three-and-out. But Diggs continued to leave an impact on the game, making his presence felt all over the field. In all: seven combined tackles, two pass deflections and the pick. 

The Seahawks' pass rush

It'll be interesting to see what the final pressure totals come out to, but Seattle managed to get fairly consistent pressure on both Garoppolo and Trey Lance on Sunday. Jordyn Brooks nabbed his first career sack and Darrell Taylor got one as well, adding to the team's six total quarterback hits on the day. It was a good bounce back for a unit that struggled to make life tough for Kirk Cousins in Minneapolis last week. 

3 Down

RB Chris Carson

Once again, Carson's usage was rather infrequent, putting him at a disadvantage to find a rhythm. Of course, the 49ers were all over the Seahawks' zone runs early in the game and forced them to go back to the drawing board. But Alex Collins was able to find success—and the end zone—with 44 yards on 10 carries, whereas Carson could only muster 33 yards on 13 touches. Statistically, it's been a disappointing start to the season for the fifth-year back. 

WR Tyler Lockett

Dealing with a hip injury all week, there was some question of whether or not Lockett would even play in this game. He did, but he was relatively ineffective—catching four balls for 24 yards. He's cooled down over the last two weeks after a red-hot start to the year. 

CB Sidney Jones

Making his first start in a Seahawks uniform, Jones got better as the day went along but still had some hiccups—the biggest, of course, coming on the 49ers' first score of the game when he failed to win a one-on-one matchup with tight end Ross Dwelley. The other big one may or may not have been his fault, when a Seattle coverage bust in the third quarter led to a 76-yard touchdown for Deebo Samuel. Jamal Adams pointed to Samuel's wheel route, seemingly trying to communicate to Jones to cover the zone. Instead, Jones broke down on the underneath route as Samuel scooted for the easy score. Overall, he wasn't terrible by any means, but he didn't exactly have an outing that should inspire much confidence either.