SEATTLE – Three instant thoughts after the Seahawks opened the season with a 17-13 loss to San Francisco on Sunday:
Forgettable final series for Riq Woolen
The Seahawks had the lead. The 49ers needed to go the length of the field. All they needed to do was avoid giving up a big chunk play.
And then Riq Woolen hesitated and got burned.
And after he got burned, he got beat.
On an afternoon where there was plenty of blame and missed opportunities to go around, Woolen is going to end up taking the brunt of the ire after two mistakes on San Francisco’s game-winning drive.
The first came when Woolen inexplicably hesitated while in coverage on Ricky Pearsall and allowed the wide receiver to get behind him for a 45-yard gain that instantly put the 49ers in field-goal range. Woolen defended the double move but seemed to lose track of the ball and allowed Pearsall to get open.
That was the precursor.
Woolen then seemed unaware of where Jake Tonges was in the end zone and watched the San Francisco tight end simply want the ball more to snatch the 4-yard touchdown for the winning points when it appeared Woolen was in perfect position to make a play.
For all the talent Woolen has shown at times in his career, there’s a lot of frustration that comes with it.
Darnold’s missed chance
Sam Darnold had the opportunity to make a memorable first impression as the new Seahawks quarterback.
Instead, he dropped the ball. Literally. At the San Francisco 16 with less than a minute to play, Darnold simply lost the ball after being slightly bumped and fumbled with the 49ers recovering to clinch the victory.
Darnold’s debut was mostly mundane. He didn’t make any flashy plays, outside of a nifty quarterback sweep in the first half. He also didn’t make any spectacular plays for an offense that until the final drive of the game had less than 200 total yards.
Darnold was very good on the final drive, including the 40-yard strike to Jaxon Smith-Njigba that gave the Seahawks a chance at a winning touchdown. But the fumble will be the lasting image of his debut.
You gave Brock Purdy how much money?
At times, Brock Purdy ran the 49ers offense with the efficiency that you expect from a franchise quarterback who got paid an extension worth up to $265 million last offseason.
And on at least a couple of throws, he looked like the quarterback who was taken with the last pick of his draft class.
Give Purdy credit for making the plays on the final drive to lead San Francisco to the victory, even if the two interceptions he threw earlier in the second half were rather baffling.
Ernest Jones IV made a great athletic play to pick off Purdy in the third quarter. Purdy made an ill-advised throw and was intercepted by Josh Jobe in the fourth quarter.
But on the final drive, Purdy was 5 for 5 including the winning TD pass. It’s the first time San Francisco has won a game where Purdy has thrown two interceptions. They were 0-6 previously.
While last year was an aberration with the 49ers finishing at the bottom of the NFC West, it seems the 49ers are worthy of their place as division favorites entering this season.