Seattle – The Seattle Seahawks held a tutorial on the reasons why they should not be overlooked in the race for the NFC Championship game this season last night when they devastated last year’s Super Bowl contender, the San Francisco 49ers – 29-3. San Francisco Coach Jim Harbaugh and his team looked for a birthday reprisal after losing last December on the 23rd (Harbaugh’s 49th) against the Seahawks. Last night was Seattle Head Coach Pete Carroll’s 62nd birthday and unfortunately for the 49ers the results were not reciprocated.

The Seattle defense managed to shut out the 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick and his offense to only one field goal, no touchdowns, and 5 turnovers (including 3 interceptions). After a successful week one against Green Bay, the young QB Kaepernick faced immense pressure from the Seahawk defensive line and had limited receivers due to the overwhelming secondary led by Richard Sherman (aka Optimus Prime – Seattle’s All-Pro Cornerback). The game was delayed for almost an hour due to thunderstorms in the area causing a rather uneventful, scoreless first quarter; with the exception of the first Kaepernick interception by Earl Thomas in an attempt to TE Vernon Davis. That would be the 49ers only attempt at the end zone throughout the rest of the night.

The DEFENSE IS TOO REAL. LOB is the BEST in the league and thats all the guys in that DB ROOM

— walter thurmond III (@WaltThurm3) September 16, 2013

The disappointment of the 49ers nation was capitulated in a comment from Coach Jim Harbaugh stating, “I don’t think any of us are proud of our performance.”

The standout player of the night was none other than Seattle RB Marshawn Lynch, who had 28 carries for 98 yards rushing, 2 rushing touchdowns, and 1 receiving touchdown.

The first points of the night happened early in the 2nd Quarter – the product of an offensive holding penalty on the San Francisco 4 yard line off a 2nd and 12. The penalty was enforced in the end zone resulting in a safety – putting the Seahawks up 2-0. Later in the second defensive free agent Cliff Avril causes Kaepernick to fumble leading to a Seattle recovery. The following Seahawk drive was limited to a 30-yard field goal – Seattle leading 5-0 going into the second half.

At the beginning of the second half, Seattle received and managed a 66 yard drive to the San Francisco 14 yard line. After an incomplete pass on first down, Lynch rushed 14 yards up the middle for his first TD of the night. Extra point by Hauschka is good – Seahawks lead 12-0.

During the next drive Kaepernick was sacked on a 3rd and 3 on the Seattle 3rd yard line by OLB K.J. Wright. The 49ers were forced to kick a 21 yard field goal on 4th down – which was good. Seahawks still up 12-3 at the end of the 3rd Quarter.

Throughout the 4th Quarter the Seahawks sealed the fate of the 49ers, outscoring them 17-0 – starting out with a 7-yard touchdown pass from QB Russell Wilson to, you guessed it – Marshawn Lynch (who walked the last yard to the end zone). Extra point was good putting the Seahawks up 19-3. Later on during a 1st and 10, Kaepernick was yet again intercepted on a deep right throw (intended for Vernon Davis) by Sherman. After the interception, Sherman celebrated aside the Seahawk cheerleaders. The drive created by the interception resulted in a 37-yard field goal by Hauschka – making the score 22-3.

With less than 5 minutes to play, Kaepernick managed to throw his third and last interception, that was picked off by SS Kam Chancellor and brought back to the San Francisco 2-yard line. In the final score of the night Lynch scored his second rushing TD of the night, 2-yards up the middle. After the extra point, the score would remain 29-3 until the Seahawk offense would later run out the clock.

Image: Wikimedia Commons