49ers vs. Seahawks: 4 stats that say everything about Week 4 loss
By Peter Panacy
The 49ers dropped their Week 4 matchup against the Seahawks, and there are some key stats that reveal exactly why this happened.
The San Francisco 49ers have to be looking closely in the mirror after dropping their second consecutive game and falling to a 2-2 record at the first-quarter mark of the 2021 season following their 28-21 Week 4 home loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
Much like their Week 3 home loss to the Green Bay Packers, last Sunday’s contest was a game the Niners were in a position to win. San Francisco dominated the action against Seattle for the first two quarters, the score being the only exception in what was originally a 7-7 tie at halftime.
Yet despite the 49ers defense doing its job in light of the offensive struggles, a stout Seahawks offense could only be contained for so long.
Especially when mixed in with numerous Niners mistakes in the second half.
Nevertheless, football is a game of statistics, and these four stats reveal the specific reasons why San Francisco ultimately came up short in Week 4.
No. 4: 49ers miss one field goal, one extra-point attempt for 4 missed points
Granted, it’s hard to fault the 49ers’ fill-in kicker, punter Mitch Wishnowsky, for missing wide on his lone field-goal try and one of his extra-point attempts on Sunday.
Because, well… he’s a punter.
Kicker Robbie Gould was notably absent during warmups, and news later broke he suffered a groin injury during warmups, putting Wishnowsky into an emergency situation where he had to handle Gould’s duties. And with Wishnowsky making at least two extra-point attempts out of three, perhaps he should be applauded.
But in the grand scheme of things, Gould’s absence put more pressure on a Niners team that is already having difficulty overcoming in-game adversity this season, and one can look at the net misses and subsequent four points that didn’t make it up onto the scoreboard for San Francisco as a major reason why the team lost Week 4.
Especially combined with the next stat from Sunday’s game.