Seahawks Shushing Doubters, Lead 49ers at Halftime in Wild Card

The Seattle Seahawks had themselves a classic "Tale of Two Quarters" performance in the first half of Saturday's NFC Wild Card matchup against the San Francisco 49ers.

The Seattle Seahawks head into halftime of Saturday's NFC Wild Card matchup with a somewhat surprising 17-16 lead over the San Francisco 49ers, who entered the game on a 10-game winning streak.

Seattle fell behind 10-0 in the first quarter after it looked like the Niners would be able to cruise to victory on the shoulders of star running back Christian McCaffrey, who finished the half with five carries for 72 yards and a touchdown reception.

But the Seahawks responded after McCaffrey's score and didn't look back for the remainder of the half. Rookie running back Kenneth Walker III put Seattle on the board early in the second quarter with a seven-yard touchdown run that capped a 14-play, 78-yard drive.

The Niners responded with a field goal to make it a 13-7 game, but the out-of-nowhere offensive fireworks suddenly started for Seattle.

Quarterback Geno Smith found receiver DK Metcalf for what was essentially a picture-perfect pass down the left sideline, as the star pass-catcher snagged the ball in stride and cruised in for a 50-yard touchdown to give Seattle the lead.

San Francisco answered with the third field goal of the first half from kicker Robbie Gould, as the Niners now held a 16-14 lead with just seconds remaining.

But a costly 15-yard penalty on Niners defensive back Jimmie Ward gave Seattle hope for points at a long field goal before the halftime buzzer, as he hit a sliding Smith late to draw the flag.

And with a golden opportunity to take the unexpected lead, Seahawks kicker Jason Myers nailed a 56-yard field goal to give Seattle the 17-16 lead headed into halftime.

The Niners will receive the second-half kickoff.

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You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7

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