49ers lose all momentum vs Seahawks after DK Metcalf long touchdown
By Mike Luciano
The San Francisco 49ers appeared to be in cruise control early in their matchup against the rival Seattle Seahawks. DeMeco Ryans’ vaunted defense forced two three-and-outs, and a Brock Purdy touchdown pass to a wide-open Christian McCaffrey had the 49ers up 10-0 early.
While Geno Smith came into this game as a huge underdog that wasn’t given much of a shot, he didn’t throw for nearly 4,300 yards and 30 touchdowns by accident. He helped orchestrate two scoring drives, one of which sucked all of the air out of Levi’s Stadium and put the 49ers on legitimate upset alert status.
After Kenneth Walker III helped get Seattle back within striking distance, taking advantage of some unusually poor defensive play from linebacker Dre Greenlaw on the edge, Smith took his first vertical shot down the field. Naturally, it resulted in six points for a confident Seattle offense and heartbreak for San Francisco.
Smith hooked up with DK Metcalf down the left sideline on a perfectly thrown ball. A Jason Myers extra point put Seattle, who came into the game as 9.5 point underdogs, in front 14-13 against a 49ers defense that has very rarely been punched in the mouth like this in a meaningful game. Kyle Shanahan has some work to do in the second half.
https://twitter.com/CBSSportsHQ/status/1614391679275991040
The Seahawks stunned the San Francisco 49ers with a DK Metcalf touchdown.
This was a rare misstep from defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans, who is getting some head coaching interest for his performance with the league’s top-ranked defense. Trusting your corner is one thing, but you can’t leave a player like Metcalf in single coverage with no safety help over the top.
The Seahawks went 9-6 against all non-49ers competition this season, but they lost both regular season meetups and were limited to just 13 points. Offensive coordinator Shane Waldron clearly spent a ton of time preparing his group for what Ryans had to offer.
If this is going to be a shootout, leaning on a rookie like Purdy in his first playoff game could be a bit worrisome for San Francisco. While he’s created some nice plays on the move, he’s had his fair share of wide-open misses, showing that he may not be totally in sync with the rest of his teammates.
In 20 drives over the two regular-season games between these teams, the Seahawks managed just one touchdown against the #49ers. Today, Seattle has two touchdowns in four drives, including two in a row.
— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoNBCS) January 14, 2023
The 49ers have proven that they have more than enough skill to compete with anyone, but their winning streak has largely been the result of flattening overmatched teams. Seattle is a worthy opponent, and it remains to be seen if the 49ers have the ability to withstand this broadside.
