By Jawann Bennett
The Seattle Medium
On a beautiful September Sunday afternoon in the Emerald City where all mountains were in view, the question remained…has anyone seen the Seattle Seahawks offense this season?
Maybe it took Summer to change to Autumn, but an offense that scored only 15 points in 8 quarters this season got rolling in a big way against the San Francisco 49ers.
The Seahawks needed only 3 plays to find the end zone, as running back Christine Michael broke loose on a 41-yard touchdown. It was the first of the two touchdowns in the quarter for Michael, who made the most of his opportunity starting in place of the injured Thomas Rawls who was inactive for the game.
Michael, who rushed for 71 yards in the quarter, wasn’t alone as quarterback Russell Wilson found his rhythm with receiver Doug Baldwin and tight end Jimmy Graham as his main targets in the passing game to help Seattle to build a 14-0 lead in the first quarter.
The Seahawks’ offensive assault continued in the second quarter as Wilson found Baldwin for a 59-yard pass to put the Seahawks into scoring position. On the next play, Wilson connected with Graham on an 18-yard touchdown pass to increase the Seahawks lead to 21-3.
“Obviously with the struggles we’ve had the past three games against the defenses we wanted to come out here and be successful especially on third downs,” said Baldwin after the game.
Graham and Baldwin both finished the first half with 100 and 105 yards receiving respectively, as the Seahawks finished the half with 311 total yards of offense.
It was Graham’s best game back since suffering a torn patella tendon against the Pittsburgh Steelers last November.
“He [Graham] was on it this week and had a great week of practice,” said Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll. “He looked great, and its good to have him back.”
Aided by another strong defensive performance, the Seahawks extended their lead in the second half to 24-3, as their defense controlled the game with more punishing hits and sure tackling.
The scare came in the 3rd quarter when 49ers linebacker Eli Harold was penalized for a horse-collar tackle on a Wilson scramble, rolling on Wilson’s left knee. Rookie quarterback Trevone Boykin entered the game for a play only to see Wilson return to a standing ovation of the 69,010 in attendance at Century Link Field. A resilient, yet gimpy Wilson finished the series and led the Seahawks to a field goal.
After further examination and discussion, Wilson, who was diagnosed with a slight knee sprain, was benched for the remainder of the game in favor of Boykin.
On the next 49er possession, Seahawks Linebacker Bobby Wagner intercepted a pass by San Francisco quarterback Blaine Gabbert to set up a touchdown pass from Boykin to Baldwin that put the Seahawks up 37-3 and the route was on. The pass by Boykin was the first touchdown pass of his career.
Baldwin finished the game with 8 receptions for 164 yards and a touchdown as Seattle finished off the 49ers 37-18 improving to 2-1 on the season and first place in the NFC West. The Seahawks now focus their attention on a Week 4 date in New York to take on the Jets.
Pictorial Highlights of the Seahawks vs 49ers
