Seahawks need quick start against 49ers
Bottling up RB Carlos Hyde and eliminating unnecessary penalties are other keys to a victory for Seattle
SEATTLE — They’re battling injuries to star players and facing other distractions, but the Seahawks have no time to feel sorry for themselves with a huge road game against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday afternoon.
Here are three keys to the game at Levi’s Stadium and what the 6-4 Seattle squad needs to do to post a W:
1. DON’T LET CARLOS RUN AND HYDE
One of the biggest reasons the 49ers kept the first game between the two teams close — a 12-9 Seattle victory on Sept. 17 in which the Seahawks scored the winning touchdown with just 7:06 left — was the running of Carlos Hyde, who had 124 yards on 15 carries.
That’s the most against the Seahawks this season. Hyde got most of that on two runs — of 61 and 27 yards — each of which set up field goals.
Those runs were emblematic of Seattle’s early-season struggles to stop the run. That hasn’t been an issue lately, though, as Seattle has allowed just 2.46 yards per carry the last five weeks, best in the NFL.
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Seattle Seahawks vs. San Francisco 49ers 1 p.m., Levi’s Stadium, FOX, TSN 1410AM
Defensive end Frank Clark said this week the Seahawks are eager to show the 49ers and Hyde they have shored up their run defence.
“He had a huge run on a play where we really looked like not the Seahawks’ defence that we’re accustomed to, where we missed a lot of tackles,’’ Clark said. “We pride ourselves on having a great run defence, and this time around, we get a second opportunity to put that on display, and that’s what we are going to do.’’
2. KEEP A LID ON THE PENALTY FLAGS
While the Atlanta Falcons made a number of big plays in last Monday’s 34-31 win at CenturyLink Field, the Seahawks could also point to any number of plays they didn’t make — or mistakes they did — as being just as costly.
And in what’s becoming a tiresome broken record (though admittedly there may not be any other kind), penalties were again a big deal as Seattle committed nine infractions for 106 yards and now have 103 for the campaign, remaining on pace to set a dubious NFL single-season record.
The two big ones against Atlanta were pass interference calls on Jeremy Lane (25 yards) and Byron Maxwell (16) that each led to Falcons’ scores. Lane and Maxwell will again be Seattle’s starting corners with Richard Sherman and Shaquill Griffin out.
3. SIMPLY PUT, START MORE QUICKLY
As frustrated fans have noted often, the Seahawks have a tendency to take a while to get going, and that’s the case again, as Seattle has scored just 39 points in the first quarter this year, which ranks 17th in the NFL.
That’s nothing new. In fact, Seattle hasn’t ranked higher than 15th in first-quarter scoring since Russell Wilson became the quarterback — they were 21st in the Super Bowl season of 2013.
The Seahawks have always compensated by being fast finishers, which is the case this year — their 94 fourth-quarter points ranks second in the NFL.
But following the Atlanta game, when Seattle trailed 24-17 at halftime, the Seahawks have now been outscored 106-94 in the first half this season.
Counting on coming back worked when Seattle had a dominant defence and a consistent running game. But the running game can no longer be depended on to wear teams out late and the defence, without Sherman and Kam Chancellor, may not be able to always finish out games the way it did in the past.
And in a game against a nothingto-lose team like the 49ers, the worst thing Seattle can do is let them hang around, especially on the road.