Lowly San Francisco 49ers help sputtering Seahawks regain a few traction

He set the Seahawks rookie rushing record with 209 yards against the 49ers.

Specifically, let’s talk about what needs to happen in the NFC for Seattle to get to the playoffs after its 29-13 victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday kept everybody’s hopes alive.

“We prepared for 24”, Bowman said, referring to Lynch’s jersey number. Look for San Francisco to upgrade this unit in the offseason in the draft and in free agency in order to protect the 49ers linebackers in the run game. “When you hear that Marshawn is down, the immediate thought is, ‘We have the advantage here, ‘ so in my own mind I’m thinking we make them one-dimensional”.

Tomsula did find one positive amid Sunday’s carnage: Gabbert, the entrenched starter now that Kaepernick is on injured reserve with a shoulder injury that will require surgery this week.

Lockett caught touchdowns of 24 and 11 yards in the first half as Seattle built a 20-0 lead and stymied San Francisco for the first 28 minutes before the 49ers started to challenge. Tight end Vance McDonald scored the team’s only TD on a pass from Gabbert right before halftime. Rawls caught the rollout throw from Wilson, stiff-armed Michael Wilhoite and raced for the first receiving touchdown of his career. Before this season, the last time he missed a game due to injury was in 2011.

Rawls completed the job of dissecting the 49ers defense.

It was a reminder that the Seahawks’ second-best rushing performance in 2015 also came from Rawls – 169 yards in a loss at Cincinnati.

Tomsula reiterated Monday that San Francisco’s best chance at a comeback hinged on getting defensive stops and profiting from better field position.

“You just feed off runners like that”, safety Kam Chancellor said, who called Rawls “little baby Marshawn”. He doesn’t have a lot left to prove in the game. He’s really fast. On the first touchdown, Lockett beat man coverage by blowing past a defender and catching the ball in stride at the goal line.

Rawls became just the third different running back in Seahawks history to top 200 yards in a game and trailed only Shaun Alexander’s 266-yard game in 2001 in franchise history. He also had 46 yards on three receptions and another score.

Gabbert’s poise showed in the third quarter, when he went 7 of 10 for 110 yards, cutting the deficit to 10, before the Seahawks ultimately pulled away on a Thomas Rawls touchdown run late in the third quarter. His other score came on a 31-yard catch-and-run from quarterback Russell Wilson. “We weren’t, ‘Go get ’em'”. “We rested him all week, and we rehabbed him all week long, and really the first time we took a real look at it was out here in pregame, and he just couldn’t get going”.

“We were able to stop them when they got to the red zone and that’s all you need to do”, Seattle cornerback Richard Sherman said.

There was no update on veteran defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey, who sustained a right knee injury on Sunday’s first snap.