The 49ers went into Sunday’s game in Seattle knowing they had to win to keep their playoff hopes alive.
A season that began with such high hopes had sputtered and was almost dead, with San Francisco at 7-6 with three must-win games left. It seemed everything that could have gone wrong, had gone wrong in 2014.
“We’ve had ups and downs,” veteran running back Frank Gore said this week. “The games we should have won, we didn’t take control of.”
And on Sunday, the 49ers again couldn’t solve the Seahawks in Seattle, falling 17-7. It marked the fourth straight loss for the 49ers in the Pacific Northwest and it officially put an end to the 49ers’ playoff hopes – and most likely the Jim Harbaugh era. The loss, combined with the Lions’ victory over the Vikings, officially buries San Francisco’s postseason chances.
Now 7-7, the 49ers have just two games remaining, against the Chargers and Cardinals at Levi’s Stadium, and the only thing on the line will be whether they can finish with a fourth straight winning record under Harbaugh.
On Sunday, the 49ers defense again played well enough to win, despite even more injuries (to inside linebackers Michael Wilhoite and Chris Borland).
The offense – as it has been for most of this season -- was the culprit.
San Francisco had some success with its ground game, rushing for 140 yards and a 4.4 average, with Carlos Hyde (six carries for 55) and quarterback Colin Kaepernick (nine for 46) doing some damage. But both Hyde and Gore (11 carries, 29 yards) were knocked from the game, and the San Francisco passing game couldn’t efficiently attack the Seattle defense – just as in a loss to Seattle on Thanksgiving at Levi’s Stadium.
Kaepernick was 11-of-19 for 141 yards and was sacked six times.
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Seattle took a 3-0 lead in the first quarter, but a 10-yard touchdown run by Gore in the second gave San Francisco a halftime lead. The Niners offense stalled often in the third and fourth quarters as Seattle scored twice, on a Marshawn Lynch 4-yard run and a 10-yard pass from Russell Wilson to Paul Richardson.
For the 49ers, winning this season has been difficult. And winning in Seattle has been nearly impossible – just as it has been for the entire NFL.
Over the past three seasons now, the Seahawks are 21-2 at CenturyLink Field.
