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Seahawks vs. 49ers: Full San Francisco Grades & Analysis for Week 17

By Peter Panacy

January 1, 2017; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick (7) runs past Seattle Seahawks middle linebacker Bobby Wagner (54) during the second quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
January 1, 2017; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick (7) runs past Seattle Seahawks middle linebacker Bobby Wagner (54) during the second quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 1, 2017; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Chip Kelly during the second quarter against Seattle Seahawks at Levis Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 1, 2017; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Chip Kelly during the second quarter against Seattle Seahawks at Levis Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-USA TODAY Sports /

Special Teams & Coaching

In what likely was head coach Chip Kelly’s final game with the 49ers, San Francisco fell victim the the seemingly ongoing second-half offensive woes the team had endured all year long.

Regardless of personnel, Kelly’s ability to maintain any sort of rhythm after halftime is yet another indictment on his NFL scheme.

And it wasn’t as if defensive coordinator Jim O’Neil’s likely last efforts with the Niners were any better.

Special Teams

Well, at least the Niners tried some trickery and succeeded.

Returner Jeremy Kerley tossed a lateral to fellow special teamer Raheem Mostert to get the 49ers into Seattle territory. The drive ended in a touchdown, so that’s a positive.

Punter Bradley Pinion was busy though, but this isn’t much of a surprise.

At least San Francisco also managed to block an extra-point attempt.

Grade: A

Coaching

Kudos to Kelly going all out in Week 17. San Francisco was clearly more aggressive this week than it had been almost all season.

The Niners managed to go 2-of-3 on fourth-down attempts but also had a 2-of-11 mark on third downs — not exactly a recipe for success.

Kelly’s offense didn’t find much rhythm after the first quarter either. While an impressive fourth-quarter drive made things interesting, San Francisco’s efforts were, again, too little and too late.

O’Neil’s soft-zone coverage schemes also don’t make much sense either. But at least he’s all but gone after 2016.

Grade: C

More from Niner Noise

So now San Francisco heads towards a very uncertain future, as general manager Trent Baalke has been fired. And Kelly, along with a likely vast majority of the coaching staff, will follow suit.

Next: Seahawks vs. 49ers: Live Week 17 Thread for San Francisco

Changes are on the horizon in Santa Clara. And all we can hope is that they’re for the good.