Seahawks Halftime Observations: Drew Lock Standing Tall as 'Hawks Trail 49ers 14-10
Staying with their NFC West rivals as heavy underdogs through two quarters, Drew Lock threw a touchdown pass and Julian Love recorded an interception as the Seattle Seahawks went into halftime trailing the San Francisco 49ers 14-10 on the road.
Here are three quick observations from Levis Stadium:
1. Getting off to a quick start, Lock and the Seahawks have found moderate offensive success.
Receiving his first start as a Seahawk with Geno Smith sidelined by a groin injury, Lock came out slinging the pigskin, making the wise decision to aggressively target Metcalf early. On his second completion, he connected with the star receiver on a quick curl and Metcalf turned outside, speeding down the sideline for a 21-yard gain. Following a third down conversion to Tyler Lockett, he snuck a back shoulder throw by cornerback Ambry Thomas, slipping the ball to Metcalf for a 31-yard touchdown to knot the game up at seven apiece.
Away from Lock, the Seahawks found a bit of a groove on the ground thanks to hard running by Charbonnet to set up their second scoring drive. Showcasing his contact balance, elusiveness, and power, he made linebacker Dre Greenlaw miss in space on a midzone run, rocketing back to his left for a 23-yard run. On the very next snap, with receiver Dareke Young and tackle Charles Cross delivering quality blocks on a toss sweep to the left, Charbonnet found plenty of room to operate along the sideline for another 23-yard run deep into 49ers territory. Though the drive ended up stalling in the red zone, Jason Myers booted a 40-yard field goal between the uprights to give the Seahawks a 10-7 advantage late in the first quarter.
2. Surrendering explosive plays continues to be a thorn in the side for Seattle's defense.
While Lock got off to a quick start, the same couldn't be said for Seattle's defense, which allowed a touchdown drive to San Francisco before anyone could blink. MVP front runner Christian McCaffrey took a toss to the left on the game's opening snap and with Jamal Adams and a host of Seahawk defenders overpursuing towards the sideline, the speedy back cut back to find a massive seam and raced 72 yards before finally being tripped up by Boye Mafe. On the next play, backup running back Jordan Mason punched it in from three yards out to put the 49ers out in front.
Along with giving up a long reception to Brandon Aiyuk and a big run on a jet sweep to Deebo Samuel, the Seahawks got roasted midway through the second quarter for a long touchdown courtesy of Samuel. With Adams biting on a curl route by the outside receiver from his deep safety position, Samuel ran right past him on a skinny corner route, allowing Brock Purdy to loft a perfect deep ball to him for a 52-yard score to retake the lead. That reception and McCaffrey's long run accounted for 124 of San Francisco's 250 yards and for Seattle to have any shot, the defense has to eliminate those chunk plays in the final two quarters.
3. Unlike Week 13, the defense has manufactured several quick stops to keep the game close on the scoreboard.
Between McCaffrey's long scamper and Samuel's wide open touchdown, the Seahawks did show some toughness and resolve. After allowing an immediate touchdown less than a minute into action, coordinator Clint Hurtt's unit bounced back nicely, forcing a three-and-out and a punt on each of the next two possessions, giving up 10 net yards on those drives with Dre'Mont Jones registering a sack and Devon Witherspoon recording a pass breakup.
On the ensuing drive early in the second quarter, the 49ers used an explosive pass play to Aiyuk to advance into opposing territory. But with Purdy and his receiver not quite on the same page, the quarterback's first down throw deflected off of Aiyuk's hands and safety Julian Love corralled the deflection for his first interception of the season. Overall, the Seahawks generated three punts and an interception on their final five defensive possessions, with Samuel's touchdown being the only blemish after a horrendous start to the game.
