Seattle Seahawks Lose To San Francisco 49ers 23-10

Published on September 20, 2009 by Seahawk Fanatic     

Matt Hasselbeck connected on 10-of-18 passes for 97 yards before leaving the contest in the first half with bruised ribs. Seneca Wallace replaced Hasselbeck and completed 15-of-23 passes for 127 yards, a TD and an interception. Justin Forsett had 35 yards rushing and 57 yards receiving for the Seahawks (1-1), who shut out the Rams in their opener.

Seattle head coach Jim Mora said after the game Hasselbeck was taken for X- rays, which came back negative.

“We aren’t about excuses. They beat us today. They were a better football team than us today,” Mora said. “We can’t allow excuses to creep into our environment.”

After the Seahawks went three-and-out on the first possession of the game, the 49ers put together a 13-play, 55-yard drive that lasted over eight minutes in length. Joe Nedney topped the march off with a 37-yard field goal to put San Fran ahead 3-0 with 5:38 left.

The 49ers got the ball back after a Seattle punt, and Gore electrified the crowd. On the first play, Gore brought the crowd to its feet with an exciting 79-yard TD run with 2:36 remaining in the first quarter. San Francisco carried its 10-0 lead into the second stanza.

Frank Gore rushed for 207 yards, including TD runs of 79 and 80 yards, as the San Francisco 49ers handled the Seattle Seahawks, 23-10, in a battle between NFC West rivals at Candlestick Park.

Gore, who carried the ball 16 times, also had five receptions for 39 yards for the 49ers (2-0), who started the season with an impressive win over the defending NFC champion Cardinals. Shaun Hill completed 19-of-26 passes for 144 yards.

The Seahawks put together a 10-play, 52-yard drive during their first possession of the second frame to make it a 10-3 game. T.J. Houshmandzadeh’s 21-yard reception highlighted the drive, which Olindo Mare topped off with a 36-yarder. Nedney’s 42-yard field goal with 2:57 remaining put San Fran ahead by 10 again.

Seattle cut the gap to three with an impressive 11-play, 70-yard drive. Hasselbeck set up the Seahawks with a 2nd-and-goal at the 49ers four-yard line. Hasselbeck scrambled out of the pocket and dove shy of the end zone. San Fran linebacker Patrick Willis hit Hasselbeck in the back with 26 seconds left until half. Hasselbeck remained on the ground for several minutes before heading to the locker room. He didn’t return to the contest.

Wallace took over the QB duties and connected with Julius Jones on a one-yard TD pass on the next play, cutting the 49ers’ lead to 13-10 at the half.

Another dazzling run by Gore in the beginning moments of the third period put San Fran ahead 20-10. On the first play of the stanza, Gore took the handoff from Hill and sprinted 80 yards into the end zone. It was the longest rushing touchdown of his career.

The 49ers defense came up huge late in the third, as Dashon Goldson intercepted a Wallace pass that deflected off the hands of Nate Burleson with 1:20 remaining.

San Francisco’s offense put together a 16-play drive that took 9:27 off the clock. The 49ers converted on three-of-four third downs during the drive, which was topped off by a 39-yard Nedney field goal for a 23-10 margin with 6:53 to play in the fourth.

Seattle put together a late drive, but couldn’t convert on a 4th-and-15 at the 49ers 18.

“We have to do a better job than we did today,” 49ers head coach Mike Singletary said in regards to the rest of the season. “We left too much on the table. We have to finish. We have to do a better job tackling. We have to do a better job on third down on offense. We have to do a better job overall, cleaning it up so that we can compete with anyone. That’s what we’re trying to do.”

Tags: Bruised Ribs, Candlestick Park, coach jim mora, Frank Gore, Head Coach Jim, Interception, Joe Nedney, Justin Forsett, Olindo Mare, San Fran, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Head, SEATTLE SEAHAWKS, Seneca Wallace, Shaun Hill, Stanza, T J Houshmandzadeh, X Rays, Yard Field Goal, Yard Reception