Pete Carroll uncharacteristically calls out Seahawks players for not executing as coached

Deebo Samuel schemed onto Jamal Adams in the open field.

George Kittle for another touchdown past Julian Love on a play-action pass on second down.

An unexpected switch because of an injury from man-to-man to cloud, zone coverage on DK Metcalf, to which Seattle had no answer.

In those ways and more, the Seahawks’ latest loss to San Francisco Sunday appeared to be the latest examples of 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan and his staff out-coaching Pete Carroll and his. Sean McVay and the Rams have done the same thing twice this season. That’s 1-4 for Seattle inside the NFC West, which goes a long way to explaining the Seahawks being 6-7.

Yet Carroll was clear after this 28-16 loss to the 49ers in which San Francisco again rolled to more than 500 yards of offense where he sees the problem in Seattle’s fourth consecutive defeat.

It’s the first four-game losing streak of Carroll’s 14 seasons leading the Seahawks. It’s his most defeats in a row as a head coach since 1994 when he lost the last five games of his only season leading the New York Jets before they fired him.

That’s led to Carroll uncharacteristically calling out his players.

While the 72-year-old coach again took accountability by saying he has to be better, he also deviated from his No. 1 rule: Protect the team.

“We came in here buckled up, ready to go play these guys. And we just got out-played by their guys on offense too many times to win the game today,” Carroll said on his team’s way home Sunday evening.

“We gave it to them.”

Carroll said the coaches prepared the players to stop:

• Samuel on a deep crossing pattern past Adams for a 49ers touchdown on a third and 11

• Christian McCaffrey on a stretch run off tackle that was a 72-yard run on the game’s first play. Four Seahawks overran that run that set up San Francisco’s first touchdown

• Kittle’s run past safety Love for a touchdown catch that sealed the game in the fourth quarter. Love bit hard on a fake handoff Carroll said the players knew the Niners would run in that situation because they “never” run on second and 9.

“Gifts,” Carroll said.

“They had some tougher sweepers that went for 70 yards. That’s their favorite play. We’ve been practicing against it the whole time.

“There was nothing special about them running Deebo on a deep crosser. He’s been doing that his whole career and we saw it and we didn’t play it right.

“We gave it to them. Kittle in short yardage, in a play-action pass. Their heavy personnel. He’s been doing that for his whole career,” Carroll said. “There was nothing new about those things.

“We didn’t execute well enough to stop those opportunities. That’s the stuff we practiced and we needed to come through and make those plays. We didn’t do it.”

Monday morning on his weekly day-after radio show on Seattle’s KIRO-AM, after watching the game film, the coach doubled down on saying players didn’t play as they were coached. He mentioned Adams by name and Love by situation on their errors that became San Francisco touchdowns in a game the Seahawks lost by 12 points.

“I don’t mind mentioning these guys,” Carroll said Monday morning.

“They know.”

Bobby Wagner knows, too. The team captain agreed with his coach that it’s on the players to fix this over the final four games of the season – beginning next Monday night when the Philadelphia Eagles (10-3) come to Lumen Field.

“We just have to execute,” Wagner said in another quiet Seahawks locker room immediately after another loss. “You know, coaches can only do so much.

“There comes a point in time where players have to make plays, and that’s just what it is.”

What it also is: To have a realistic chance at the playoffs Seattle likely needs to win out against Philadelphia, at Tennessee (4-8) Christmas Eve, against Pittsburgh (7-6) New Year’s Eve and at Arizona (3-10) to end the regular season.

And even 10 wins might not be enough.

“I think, naturally, everybody’s frustrated,” Wagner said. “This is not the position that we want to be in. We definitely feel like we have the talent to be in a better situation.

“You’ve got to feel this one. Then you move on.”