Blaine Gabbert finished the game 14-of-25 passing with 119 yards with one interception and a quarterback rating of 51.9.
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The Seahawks took a step Saturday to backfill the nearly assured absence of lead running back Thomas Rawls on Sunday against San Francisco, and perhaps that of third-down back C.J. Prosise, too. But it’s the second significant injury Wilson has suffered in the first three weeks of the season and after a dynamic first half where the Seahawks flashed the punch that was expected from one of the favorites in the NFC. He missed one play, returned to finish off Seattle’s scoring drive and then was a spectator the rest of the night. Seattle is fortunate to have an early bye in Week 5.
The Seahawks list Rawls as doubtful to play with what coach Pete Carroll said Friday is a strained muscle high in the shin.
“He tried to get out and he got tangled up and he was just fortunate”, Carroll said. “He was just fortunate”. He threw for 243 yards on 15-of-23 passing before exiting and was replaced by Trevone Boykin.
On top of discussion about the national anthem protests, players on the 49ers spoke about Sunday’s 37-18 loss to the Seahawks. San Francisco scored a combined 16 points in dropping both meetings last season and while Kelly’s system is new to the 49ers, the Seahawks have seen it before and allowed only 14 points in a victory in Philadelphia in 2014.
That’s not to take anything away from the young and talented 49ers’ defense, who will be looking for a rebound effort after surrendering 46 points to Carolina last week. Instead, we’ll see a pair of young players still trying to find their place in the NFL’s upper echelon of talent with either Thomas Rawls or Christine Michael going for Seattle, and Carlos Hyde running for the 49ers.
“We didn’t do a good enough of job of getting them off the field when they got to third-down situations”, the coach said. In the first half while three of the 49ers’ six possessions ended in three-and-outs, the Seahawks merely toyed with the San Francisco defense.
“There is no challenge. The challenge is him reading the defenses and staying in the pocket”, Seattle defensive end Michael Bennett said.
“They are going to give you the underneath throw”, Kelly said. “I don’t think that defines us as a team”.
THE AWAKENING: Christine Michael looked just fine knowing that nearly the entire running load for Seattle would fall on his shoulders.
There was Christine Michael, who got the start in place of an injured Thomas Rawls and responded with his best National Football League game, carrying the ball 20 times for 106 yards and two touchdowns. He had just two touchdowns in 11 games last season and was struggling to surpass even 60 yards regularly.
And Doug Baldwin put together a career game, with 8 catches for 164 yards and a touchdown, including an utterly spectacular 12-yard diving grab that will go down as one of the season’s highlights.
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Seattle’s offensive issues are arguably far more concerning. Kelly’s University of OR football team beat Carroll once when he was coaching at USC, and Carroll and the Seahawks beat Kelly’s Philadelphia Eagles 24-14 in 2014. The 49ers managed 254 yards on Sunday.
