What a mess of a performance from the San Francisco 49ers.
They fell to the Seattle Seahawks 13-3 in a must-win game at home to clinch the No. 1 seed in the NFC.
The road team pretty thoroughly dominated as the 49ers never got their footing on either side of the football. Now the 49ers will face one of four teams on the road on wild card weekend.
Niners Wire brought you live updates, scores and highlights from the game. Check it out.
How to watch 49ers vs. Seahawks
49ers vs. Seahawks final score: Seattle 13, 49ers 3
Seattle was the better team entering Saturday night. San Francisco needed everything to go their way and it didn’t happen. Potential takeaways weren’t converted. Their offense failed to push the ball down the field save for one drive in the fourth quarter, and on that drive they turned it over on a tipped ball that bounced out of Christian McCaffrey’s hands to a linebacker. The 49ers needed to be mistake-free, and they were not that on their way to getting beat at home with the top seed in the NFC on the line.
49ers have life after Seattle misses another field goal
It looked like the Seahawks were going to make it a two-touchdown game when Jason Myers rolled out for a 26-yard field goal. He banged it off the upright and the 49ers have the ball with 2:20 to go. They have no timeouts and need to score quick to try and stay alive.
Christian McCaffrey drop leads to awful Brock Purdy interception
San Francisco was in a goal-to-go situation. They got Christian McCaffrey one-on-one with a linebacker, but Brock Purdy’s throw was tipped and didn’t allow McCaffrey to make a clean grab. It bounced off his hands and into the arms of a Seattle linebacker. That kind of night for San Francisco.
Seahawks score short field goal, regain two-score lead over 49ers
Credit to the 49ers defense for only allowing 13 points with 14:15 to go in the game. Upton Stout came up with a tremendous tackle on a third-and-7 where Robert Saleh dialed up a blitz and got pressure on Sam Darnold. Jason Myers hit a 31-yard try to push Seattle’s advantage to 13-3. Those 13 points might be enough.
49ers vs. Seahawks score: Seattle up 10-3 after third quarter
San Francisco had two opportunities late in the third quarter to swing Saturday’s game. Sam Darnold fumbled on a first down handoff and Yetur Gross-Matos had the ball bounce off his chest and out of his arms when he dove for it. The recovery would’ve put the 49ers near the red zone. On third-and-17 on that same drive, Seattle ran a toss play that went for 19 yards in a spot where they were content to concede the drive. Those two plays felt like San Francisco’s opportunity to sneak into the game and they failed.
Seattle RB Kenneth Walker III runs for first down on third-and-17
That might be ball game with 3:10 left in the third quarter.
49ers highlights: Deommodore Lenoir comes up with huge TFL
San Francisco’s defense was bending again. Seattle was in a third-and-2 at San Francisco’s 40 and ran it with Zach Charbonnet. He bounced his run outside and Lenoir tripped him up in the backfield for a loss of five that forced a Seattle punt in a spot where they likely would’ve gone for it on fourth-and-short. That’s a massive play for the 49ers defense.
49ers offense continues to sputter in third quarter
Eight plays. 27 yards. Punt. The 49ers just don’t have the wide receivers to win against Seattle’s coverage and it’s forcing them to play in a small box where Seattle can tee off. It’s going to take a miracle for San Francisco to find the end zone.
49ers vs. Seahawks score: San Francisco trails 10-3
Yuck. That was not a good first half of football for the 49ers. Their defense hung in to keep them in striking distance, but offensively it was a disaster against a very good Seattle defense. The 49ers managed only 69 yards on 20 plays in the first two quarters. Meanwhile, Seattle hung up 196 yards on 34 plays. A missed field goal and a failed fourth-and-goal helped keep this one close. San Francisco’s defense did a nice job holding up on the final drive of the half thanks in part to Sam Okuayinonu getting his first sack of the night to open the series.
49ers score on Eddy Pineiro field goal late in first half
San Francisco finally scored. They elected to skip a fourth-and-3 and brought on Pineiro for a 48-yard field goal. He drilled it and got the 49ers on the board. They went just 30 yards on 9 plays, but managed to get into field goal range and get on the board with 1:08 left in the first half.
Seahawks score field goal, take 10-0 lead over 49ers
San Francisco’s defense is doing a good job of bending without breaking. Sort of. Seattle is still averaging 6.0 yards per play and Sam Darnold has not been pressured very often. Alas, they’re holding the Seahawks to field goal attempts. Myers made his second try of the night and made it a two score game with 5:19 to go.
49ers offense continues to sputter, fail to convert fourth-and-1
This is a tough look for the 49ers leading into a postseason where they’ll be facing more teams of Seattle’s caliber. With 9:35 to go in the second quarter they have 39 yards on 12 plays, only one first down, they’re 0-for-3 on third down and they failed to convert a fourth-and-1 after going with a long-developing play action look against a heavy Seattle blitz. San Francisco is getting outcoached and outplayed.
Seahawks fail to score vs. 49ers after missed field goal
The 49ers defense somehow held again. Seattle was approaching the red zone and San Francisco got a negative play on second down to put the Seahawks into a third-and-14 where Upton Stout came up with a terrific tackle on a screen pass to limit Seattle’s chances for a shorter field goal. Their kicker, Jason Myers, pushed the field goal wide right. The 49ers have life.
49ers vs. Seahawks score: Seattle leads 7-0 after first quarter
It was an uncompetitive first 15 minutes for San Francisco. They went three-and-out twice, and a Seattle failed fourth-and-goal where Sam Darnold just missed a throw is the only thing between the 49ers and a two-touchdown deficit. It couldn’t have been a much worse start.
49ers make baffling decision to punt on fourth-and-1
We may have just seen Kyle Shanahan concede Saturday’s game in the first quarter. The 49ers were in a fourth-and-1 at their own 44 and elected to punt. Shanahan’s determination that the 49ers can’t get one yard against the Seahawks defense doesn’t bode well for the rest of this one.
Zach Charbonnet scores long TD for Seahawks to open scoring vs. 49ers
It was easy again for the Seahawks offense. They went 35 yards on just three plays with Charbonnet ripping off a 27-yard run for a touchdown on a third-and-short. Not much has happened in the first 10:31 to make it feel like San Francisco has a chance to win this one.
49ers offense goes three-and-out on first series
Yikes! San Francisco’s offense has carried the club through it’s six-game win streak, but it fell off the rails early with a short run, short completion, and a miscommunication between Brock Purdy and Jauan Jennings that led to an incompletion and a punt. To make matters worse, Garrett Wallow (who is on the 49ers, FYI) committed a facemask penalty on the punt and pushed Seattle all the way up to the 49ers 35 to start their second series. Little mistakes like a miscommunication on a route and a special teams penalty are how San Francisco can quickly lose this game.
49ers defense holds Seahawks without score on opening drive
San Francisco’s defense struggled to open Saturday’s game. Seattle had a first-and-goal at the 1 after going 69 yards on eight plays. Then Tatum Bethune came up with a sack, the 49ers stuffed a couple of run plays, and then Sam Darnold threw wide of Cooper Kupp on fourth-and-goal to give San Francisco an early stop. That’s huge for the 49ers defense.
George Kittle Week 18 injury update
Kittle was listed as questionable with an ankle injury leading up to Saturday’s game. He wasn’t among the team’s group of inactives, though, meaning he’ll be in uniform for the massive game.
49ers inactives for Week 18 vs. Seahawks
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This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: 49ers vs. Seahawks highlights: 49ers fall flat in huge game
Reporting by Kyle Madson, Niners Wire / Niners Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
