Some progress, no touchdowns for S.F. in loss
SEATTLE — Last year, the 49ers were an all-around terrible team.
This year: Could they be halfway good?
With their defense looking dominant and their offense remaining dormant, the rebuilding 49ers did something Sunday they’ve rarely done in recent years: They scared the Seahawks in Seattle before falling 12-9 at CenturyLink Field.
“They know they snuck out of here with one,” inside linebacker NaVorro Bowman said.
Indeed, the Seahawks needed a 9-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Russell Wilson to wideout Paul Richardson with seven minutes left to win their seventh straight game at home against the 49ers and eighth overall in the series.
This was different, though. The Seahawks, who were 14point favorites, managed
just six points in the first 52 minutes. Perspective: They had hammered the 49ers by an average of 17.7 points in their previous six meetings in Seattle.
During the second half, the home fans, a rabid group dubbed the “12th Man,” directed their ferocity at the home team. They occasionally booed the Seahawks’ offense, which had six punts, seven first downs and zero points in a 34-minute stretch after taking a 6-0 first-quarter lead.
“It shows that we’re working toward building this culture right,” Bowman said. “We’ve had some rough times up here in the past couple of years. But today we were able to get the 12th Man out of here.”
The defense hardly resembled the same unit that established franchise records for points and yards allowed in last year’s 2-14 season. And it was the continuation of a theme: The 49ers have opened by allowing just 3.3 yards per carry and have held opponents to fewer than 315 yards in consecutive games for the first time since 2014.
The 49ers (0-2) remain winless because the offense looked even worse than last season’s 31st-ranked unit. The 49ers had 11 first downs, 248 yards and converted 2 of 12 third downs. And that was also a continuation of a theme.
The 49ers haven’t scored a touchdown this season, quarterback Brian Hoyer has a 60.7 passer rating and they’ve converted 5 of 27 third- and fourth-down attempts.
“We’ve got to execute,” Hoyer said. “I’ve got to execute, really, when it comes down to it. I have to play a whole lot better. I’m disappointed with myself.”
On Sunday, Hoyer (15for-27, 99 yards, one interception) averaged 3.7 yards per attempt and threw an ugly first-quarter interception directly to inside linebacker Bobby Wagner that led to a 27-yard field-goal drive. The tone was set when Hoyer overthrew wide receiver Marquise Goodwin on the 49ers’ second play.
How did Hoyer look? Head coach Kyle Shanahan acknowledged the obvious.
“I think it looked out there like he struggled,” Shanahan said. “I think the whole passing game did. … Obviously, we didn’t do a good job in the pass game.”
Despite Hoyer’s issues, the 49ers had a 9-6 lead after Robbie Gould’s 34-yard field goal with 11:36 left, thanks to heavy lifting from running back Carlos Hyde, who accounted for 143 of their 248 yards.
At that point, the 49ers had limited Seattle to 50 rushing yards and 2.2 yards per attempt, succeeding in their goal to make the Seahawks one-dimensional.
Said safety Jimmie Ward: “We wanted to force Russell to be a quarterback.”
Unfortunately for the 49ers, Wilson was up to the challenge. In fact, on the gamewinning, 10-play, 82-yard touchdown drive, he was at his dual-threat best.
On the drive, Wilson completed 3 of 5 passes for 23 yards and had four carries for 27 yards. He capped the march with a signature scoring toss. On 3rd-and-7, Wilson darted left to avoid pressure from defensive end Arik Armstead and fired a 9-yard touchdown pass to Richardson as tackle DeForest Buckner clung to his feet.
“That’s who he is,” safety Eric Reid said. “You can play the play perfectly. And then it turns into a second play when he breaks the pocket.”
In response to the game’s only touchdown, the 49ers couldn’t make a play. They punted after gaining 7 yards on three snaps.
“We got to that position in the fourth quarter,” Shanahan said. “We had a chance to win it on offense, and we gave it back to them.”
And the 49ers did not get it back. Against a defense that played 79 snaps and was on the field for nearly 37 minutes, the Seahawks reeled off three first downs to finish the game.
“Today was a day that the defense had to play (79) plays,” Bowman said. “That’s just what we had to do. When we get to the point of not caring what the task is and going out there executing, and playing a full 60-minute game, we’ll be where we want to be.”
The obvious question after two games: Will the 49ers’ offense be there with them? Eric Branch is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: ebranch@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Eric_Branch