49ers Gore Hawks

SAN FRANCISCO – The hare stumbled, the tortoise made its move, and the NFC West race got a whole lot more interesting on Sunday afternoon.

In what was being billed as the San Francisco 49ers’ biggest game in more than three years, the home team got back into the hunt for a division title by shocking the Seattle Seahawks with a dominant first half and holding on in the end. The Seahawks’ 20-14 loss cut their division lead over the 49ers to just one game.

“Maybe this is what we needed,” Seahawks cornerback Kelly Herndon said afterward. “We need to understand that it’s a full season, and it’s not over until it’s over. We didn’t play like we wanted to play, so we have to learn from this.

“… Every game is a playoff from here on out, and we have to come together.”

San Francisco (5-5) rode the emotion of an eager home crowd to take a 20-0 halftime lead, then held on to win its third game in a row. The Seahawks (6-4) saw their two-game winning streak end.

“I thought we played a very, very, very poor first half to the game,” Seattle coach Mike Holmgren said. “The second half we played better, but we couldn’t make up enough ground. It’s disappointing.

“… I was not pleased with how we played (Sunday).”

While the Seahawks’ Shaun Alexander mostly struggled in his first game since late September, San Francisco running back Frank Gore looked more like the guy who won the NFL’s most valuable player award last year by rushing for a 49ers record 212 yards. Gore took advantage of missed tackles – 15, by unofficial count – to run all over a Seattle defense that has been plagued by inconsistency this year.

“We just didn’t seem to have it,” Herndon said. “Everything was going their way. We weren’t doing what we normally do, and that was kind of stunning. It’s just one of those things.”

With Alexander struggling in his first game since Sept. 24, quarterback Seneca Wallace misfiring in what might be his final start, and the defense tackling as if Gore had been dipped in baby oil, the Seahawks fell behind 20-0 at halftime.

Wallace rebounded from his slow start to complete nine of his first 12 passes in the second half, including two long touchdown throws to close the gap to 20-14 with 6:40 remaining in the game.

But things fell apart for the Seattle offense after that, despite a pair of opportunities that were handed to the Seahawks on a silver platter.

One drive stalled when Alexander failed to convert a fourth-and-1 at the Seattle 27-yard line. Seahawks defensive end Grant Wistrom forced a Gore fumble to give Seattle another chance, but Wallace threw his third interception on the second play of that drive.

After San Francisco kicker Joe Nedney missed a gimme field goal from 27 yards out, the Seahawks had one last chance but needed to drive 80 yards in 34 seconds. Wallace misfired on his first two throws, then hit Deion Branch for a short 2-yard gain to set up fourth-and-7.

With the clock ticking off the final seconds, Wallace threw one more pass underneath, but fullback Mack Strong gained only 16 yards before lateralling the ball to no one in particular. San Francisco fell on the football to secure its first win over the Seahawks in the past seven meetings. It also marked the first time Seattle has lost to an NFC West opponent in the last 12 division games.

49ers 20, Seahawks 14

SF—FG Nedney 39

SF—Battle 9 pass from A.Smith (Nedney kick)

SF—A.Smith 1 run (Nedney kick)

SF—FG Nedney 18

Sea—Branch 38 pass from Walace (J.Brown kick)

Sea—D.Jackson 41 pass from Wallace (J.Brown kick)

A—68,367.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING—Seattle, Alexander 17-37, S.Wallace 2-21, Morris 2-12. San Francisco, Gore 24-212, Hicks 5-17, Battle 1-12, Gilmore 1-10, Robinson 2-10, A.Smith 1-1.

PASSING—Seattle, S.Wallace 19-31-3-252. San Francisco, A.Smith 19-25-0-163.

RECEIVING—Seattle, Branch 7-113, D.Jackson 4-77, Strong 2-25, Hackett 2-19, Stevens 1-18, Burleson 1-5, Alexander 1-2, Morris 1-(minus 7). San Francisco, Battle 5-47, E.Johnson 4-48, Gore 4-26, Hicks 3-19, Bryant 2-21, Norris 1-2.

MISSED FIELD GOAL—San Francisco, Nedney 30.