Command performance
SEATTLE – One might have had an indication how this was going to go when former Seahawks quarterback Dave Krieg, back for his induction to the team’s Ring of Honor, was seen wildly pumping his fists to exhort a sellout crowd after the ceremonial raising of the 12th-man flag.
Juxtapose that image with San Francisco, which minutes earlier gathered at the 40-yard line to get fired up in a ceremonial mosh pit (players randomly bumping and bouncing off each other). Alas, one 49er lost his balance and took a tumble.
Soon thereafter, Seattle made short work of the 49ers and their NFL-record scoring streak of 420 consecutive games. Along the way, Seattle rediscovered its offense and took command of the NFC West with a dominating 34-0 victory viewed by 66,709 Sunday at Qwest Field.
“Somebody told one of the players (in the second half) that it had been 1977 (since San Francisco had been shutout),” Seahawks cornerback Ken Lucas said. “What’s that – 27 years. I wasn’t even born yet. We just made history.”
The Seahawks sprinted in front 17-0 after one quarter and eased to a 3-0 start for the second consecutive season. Seattle has won 10 straight on its home turf. San Francisco dropped to 0-3.
“My mom and sisters were here,” said 49ers coach Dennis Erickson, Everett native and former Seahawks coach. “I’m sure I had some other friends. They probably left in the third quarter.”
It might not be too early to start talking about magic numbers. OK, wrong sport, but the point is Seattle already holds a two-game lead over St. Louis and is three games clear of winless/hapless Arizona and San Francisco. Seattle has a bye before St. Louis visits Oct. 10.
Seattle, which scored just 31 points in its first two games, got busy early on both sides of the ball. Second-year 49ers quarterback Ken Dorsey’s pass was behind Rashaun Woods, who reached back and promptly deflected the ball to Lucas, who returned the interception to San Francisco’s 26.
Seattle settled for Josh Brown’s 35-yard field goal before its offense tuned up for the rest of the day. On Seattle’s next series, Matt Hasselbeck zipped a perfect strike to Bobby Engram for a 60-yard gain. Three plays later, Shaun Alexander, who was otherwise ineffective in the first half, scored the first of his three touchdowns.
Dorsey was decent at times operating coach Erickson’s offense, but when he made mistakes they were game-changers. Subjected to a variety of well-crafted Seahawks blitzes throughout, Dorsey was hit by tackle Cedric Woodard just as he was starting his throwing motion. Woodard alertly let Dorsey loose to pounce on the ball just before hustling teammate Grant Wistrom arrived at the scene.
In Woodard’s 48th NFL career game, the tackle known for his run-stopping ability had his first sack.
“You take a little bonus every now and then,” Woodard said with a laugh.
The turnover set Seattle up at the 49ers’ 15. Four plays later, Alexander hauled in a 3-yard touchdown pass and Seattle’s lead was 17-0 with 2:28 left in the first quarter.
San Francisco mounted one first-half scoring threat, but Todd Peterson hit the crossbar on a 47-yard attempt. That was as close as San Francisco would come to scoring.
Seattle tacked on another touchdown late in the half with a disjointed 51-yard drive. The Seahawks overcame their first penalty and two runs that lost three yards when cornerback Jimmy Williams was hit with a questionable pass interference penalty in the end zone. Alexander, who had just four yards on nine first-half attempts, barely cracked the goal line from 1-yard out and Seattle’s lead was a commanding 24-0.
Seattle kept the throttle down, marching 68 yards for a touchdown on its first possession of the third quarter. The only remaining issue was keeping San Francisco off the scoreboard.
San Francisco made two more unrewarded drives in the fourth quarter. On the first, the 49ers made their first third-down conversion of the game and a fourth-down completion to move inside Seattle’s 30. But Dorsey threw into double coverage and safety Ken Hamlin came down with an interception.
Just inside the five-minute mark, Seattle’s Chike Okeafor sacked Dorsey, forcing a fumble that was recovered by Rashad Moore at the Seahawks’ 37. Thanks to some time-consuming drives by the offense and San Francisco constantly facing third-and-long, Moore was feeling quite fresh late in the game.
“I don’t get many snaps when we’re in nickel (defense),” he smiled. “When we go nickel, I’m on the sideline resting.”
San Francisco finished with just nine first downs. Only twice has Seattle held an opponent to fewer first downs. Dorsey’s passer rating for the game was a paltry 45.4 and Kevan Barlow, who came in averaging 95 yards rushing per game, gained just 22.
Meanwhile, Hasselbeck passed for 254 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
“I was unaware of the (scoring) record,” Holmgren said. “What I was aware of was that our defense worked so hard to get a shutout that I was going to try not to do anything silly to give up something easy.”