Seahawks Unravel vs. 49ers: 5 Takeaways from Wild Card Loss

Unable to avoid the miscues that derailed them in two regular season meetings, the Seattle Seahawks quickly lost a slim halftime lead and couldn't stay with a far more talented San Francisco 49ers squad, faltering down the stretch in a season-ending wild card defeat.

For 30 minutes, the Seattle Seahawks took every punch the San Francisco 49ers threw at them and fought back to go into halftime of Saturday's Wild Card rematch with a one-point lead. But everything fell apart for the underdogs after the break as the home team rattled off 25 unanswered points in a dominant finish to secure a 41-23 victory.

Finishing his first season as a starter on a decent note, Geno Smith tossed for 253 yards and connected for two touchdowns with star receiver DK Metcalf, who finished with 136 yards on 10 receptions, while Ken Walker III rushed for 63 yards out of the backfield. Defensively, Ryan Neal led the team with 10 tackles while San Francisco rattled off 505 yards of total offense.

Here are five quick takeaways from Seattle's season-ending loss at Levis Stadium:

1. A devastating red zone miscue sullied an outstanding effort by Smith in his postseason debut.

After struggling in two regular season encounters with the 49ers, Smith came out red hot against the No. 1 scoring defense, completing nine of his first 10 passes for 104 yards. While it wasn't the gaudiest stat line he has produced in a half this season and he got stuffed on a designed QB option run on third down in the first quarter, he silenced the home crowd with a perfectly thrown go ball to Metcalf midway through the second quarter, putting the Seahawks out in front 14-13 to erase a 10-0 hole. At the end of the half, the veteran quarterback scrambled and slid with the clock expiring, absorbing a cheap shot from defensive back Jimmie Ward that resulted in a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty and set up a long Jason Myers field goal to give Seattle a one-point lead at the break.

Following a touchdown drive from the 49ers to open the second half, Smith looked poised to push his team back out in front, driving the Seahawks inside opposing 30-yard line. But a short completion was wiped out by a questionable illegal man downfield penalty against guard Damien Lewis and after a misfire to Metcalf in the end zone on 2nd and 14, Charles Omenihu got to him and knocked the ball out of his hands, resulting in a killer fumble that took at least three points off the board. The turnover took the wind out of Seattle's sails and from there, San Francisco rattled off 14 quick points to put the game away. Despite completing over 70 percent of his passes, the fumble coupled with a fourth quarter interception took some shine off an otherwise quality start.

2. "Playoff DK" balls out, keeping the Seahawks in the game with a historic performance.

In the final two weeks of the season, even though the Seahawks closed out with a pair of victories, Metcalf was largely non-existent against the Jets and Rams. But when the bright lights of the postseason come on, he always brings his A-game and didn't disappoint with the season on the line on Saturday. Beating cornerback Charvarius Ward, who got the better of him in two regular season matchups, he took the top off the defense on a vertical route for his third career playoff touchdown reception of 50 or more yards, tying Randy Moss for the second most in NFL history. In the first half alone, he posted four receptions for 73 yards.

While Seattle disintegrated in the final two quarters with self-inflicted wounds on both sides of the ball, Metcalf continued to make impact plays. Moments before Smith's fateful fumble, he caught a 25-yard reception to push the Seahawks past midfield to eclipse 100 receiving yards for the game. By the end of regulation, though he didn't quite break his own personal playoff record from a historic outing against the Eagles in 2019, he tied teammate Tyler Lockett for the fifth-best total in franchise history while tacking on a second touchdown catch from Smith in garbage time.

3. Boatloads of missed tackles and explosives against a well-oiled YAC machine yields expected poor defensive results.

On the scoreboard, the Seahawks did what they needed to do in the first half, holding the 49ers to field goals on two out of three trips into the red zone to help them go into the break with a one-point advantage. But there were signs that the good times wouldn't last on defense, as quarterback Brock Purdy and heavily-favored San Francisco averaged nearly 8.5 yards per play in the first half and thanks to horrific tackling by Seattle at all three levels, they generated six explosive pass and run plays. This included a 68-yard run by Christian McCaffrey, who found a California-sized hole running off left tackle to accelerate through.

The 49ers picked up where they left off to open the third quarter as Purdy hooked up with George Kittle on a 23-yard reception and Deebo Samuel broke through multiple tackles on a 21-yard gain on 3rd and 7 to drive deep into Seahawks territory. The rookie quarterback powered into the end zone on a QB sneak moments later to put the home team back in front and they never looked back, continuing to stack explosive after explosive against a defense providing minimal resistance. This included a 74-yard touchdown catch by Samuel in which multiple defenders, including rookie Tariq Woolen, failed to get off blocks and even lay a finger on him as he sprinted down the sideline for six. At that point, the rout was on and Seattle had no chance to recover in a second half beatdown.

4. The inability to finish on pass rushes allowed an improvising Purdy to put a dagger into the Seahawks late.

For a brief spell, after only sacking 49ers quarterbacks twice in two regular season meetings, the Seahawks seemed to have Purdy a bit rattled in the first half. He uncorked several inaccurate throws, nearly getting picked by linebackers Cody Barton and Tanner Muse on separate occasions with poorly placed passes. He also took a pivotal second down sack from Bruce Irvin in the second quarter that led to a Robbie Gould field goal. At the half, his completion percentage hovered under 50 percent, signifying a win for the defense.

But after that point, Purdy settled down running Kyle Shanahan's offense and when Seattle did have chances to get after him in the pocket, he eluded pressure and created as a scrambler like vintage Russell Wilson against a hapless defense with no answers. Less than a minute into the fourth quarter, he evaded Irvin when the veteran appeared to have him dead to right for a sack in the red zone, bailing back to his right to find a wide open Elijah Mitchell for a seven-yard touchdown to push the lead to 14. Later in the quarter, he nearly pulled off another improbable touchdown, running back and forth behind the line of scrimmage before needling a perfect throw to Brandon Aiyuk in the corner of the end zone, only for the receiver to drop it. Far too comfortable all day, the Seahawks only managed to get three quarterback hits on him and paid dearly for the lack of pass rush.

5. Special teams remains a bright spot in defeat.

Fresh off being named First-Team All-Pro by the NFLPA earlier this week, Myers capped off the best season of his career with a bang, tying a Levis Stadium record by splitting the uprights from 56 yards out to give the Seahawks a halftime lead. Making the kick all the more remarkable, Santa Clara got hammered with rain on Friday night and Saturday morning as well as during the game, making conditions unideal for long kicks. For the year, he connected on 35 out of 38 field goals and went a perfect seven for seven on attempts beyond 50 yards.

In addition, Godwin Igwebuike kept rolling as a kick returner, returning six kicks for 150 yards and nearly taking one back to midfield in the first half. Both the speedy returner and Myers, who will be free agents in March, should be priorities to re-sign for Seattle's obvious area of strength in the third phase of the game.

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