Seahawks dominate 49ers, but Wilson’s injury casts shadow

Seattle is fortunate to have an early bye in Week 5. We want to win these games but we are 1-1 in the division and we have plenty of football left to play so we aren’t going to dwell on this. But the Seahawks had everything working against the 49ers. In 2015, Kaepernick started the year under center in San Francisco and was eventually benched for Gabbert.

NOTES: RB Thomas Rawls was among Seattle’s inactives. The Seahawks had 415 yards of offense while holding San Francisco (1-2) to 254, most of it coming during the meaningless fourth quarter. Wilson confirmed that he will have an MRI to determine the extent of the injury but said he’ll “be good to go”. The ball-carrier’s first five carries went for 71 yards.

Michael finished with 106 yards and two touchdowns on 20 rushing attempts.

“But he’s been patient and he’s bought in with the fact that we’re more about controlling the game with the ground game and making the best of our opportunities when we get the targets”. Blaine Gabbert’s streak of 12 straight games with a touchdown pass ended as he was 14 of 25 for 119 yards and an interception. Baldwin caught another third-down pass deep down the middle of the field for a 59-yard gain.

Wilson was having a monster game, completing 15 of 23 passes for 243 yards and a touchdown as the Seahawks’ offense exploded in a 37-18 victory.

But the catch everyone was talking about was Graham’s 40-yard jump-ball reception where he wrestled the ball out of Reid’s arms as he came down.

Both Baldwin and Graham topped 100 yards receiving in the first half.

Baldwin had eight catches for a career-high 164 yards and a touchdown against the 49ers. Graham totaled 100 yards on six receptions and one touchdown. The 49ers entered the game converting 38.7 of their third-down opportunities.

San Francisco’s starting running back broke off a 34-yard run in the fourth quarter, but it was already much too late with the 49ers trailing 37-3. He got the Seahawks going with a 41-yard touchdown run for a 7-0 lead, then added a 4-yard scoring run for a 14-0 lead before the end of the first quarter. The 49ers finally converted on third down when Gabbert hit Torrey Smith for an 11-yard pass on a third-and-3 situation in the fourth quarter. The 49ers were awarded possession at the Seattle 30-yard line. He also threw an interception, the Seahawks’ first takeaway of the season.

– Jimmie Ward left the game in the second quarter with a right leg injury.

– Vance McDonald left the game in the first half and was ruled out with a hip injury.

Wilson stayed down on the field for a few moments after the injury before walking off. Wilson missed the first play of his career because of an injury, but returned nearly immediately – and without perhaps the approval of his coaches – to throw one more pass.