By Mazvita Maraire Posted on

An electric start , a dominant defense and consistent run game has Seahawks hosting NFC Championship Game

SEAHAWKS OVERWHELM NINERS IN 41-6 WIN

Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold stepped into the field and took his pregame snaps to a near standing ovation.  Darnold did not participate in the early warm-ups due an oblique injury. The Niners won the coin toss and deferred, hoping to test Darnold’s fitness and ability to take a hit

DREAM START


Rashid Shaheed ruined the Niners’ plans when he returned the opening kickoff 95 yards and gave the Seahawks a 7-0 lead in just three seconds. A forced fumble by the Seahawks’ defense gave the ball back to the offense. The Niners’ Kyle Juszcyk started running towards the right side of the scrimmage and was tackled by DeMarcus Lawrence. The Seahawks’ first offensive possession was not as fruitful as Shaheed’s electrifying touchdown, but they did extend the lead to 10-0 after a 31-yard field goal by Jason Myers.

SEHAWKS DEFENSE  MAKES ANOTHER BIG PLAY

With the crowd breaking decibel records, the Seahawks appeased their fans by setting an early tone of dominance and invincibility. The Niners were looking to answer the Seahawks’ two scores. A Christian McCaffrey run on first down gained three yards. On second down, Ernest Jones and Devon Witherspoon smothered Jake Tonge after his reception, and the tight end coughed the ball up, which was recovered by Julian Love.

“That’s big. That’s the style we want to play, that complementary football. Getting turnovers on defense, that’s something we strive to do, and the offense being able to capitalize and get touchdowns out of that,’ said Jones after the game .”

It builds our confidence. We just want to go get the ball more now and give them more opportunities to go get as many points as we can.”

The Seahawks offense quickly scored on the ensuing possession when Darnold hit Jaxson Smith-Njigba for his first touchdown against the Niners. The play gave the Seahawks a commanding 17-0 lead. The Niners answered the score with a 40-yard field goal by  Eddy  Pineiro to narrow the gap to 17-3.

SEAHAWKS RUN GAME

A three-and-out by the offense gave the ball back to the Niners, who looked like they were up for a fight when Pineiro doubled the Niners’ point total with a 56-yard field goal. Offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak decided to keep things simple on the Seahawks’ next offensive drive. He went to the run game, which saw the Seahawks stretch the lead to 24-6 on Ken Walker’s seven-yard run.  Six of the plays on the ten-play drive were runs. The one blemish was Zach Charbonnet‘s knee injury during the drive. Charbonnet never returned.

DEFENSE CONTINUES TO DOMINATE

The Niners received the second-half kickoff and were intent on scoring to get a foothold in the game. Head Coach Kyle Shanahan’s aggressive play-calling put his team in an insurmountable deficit. The Niners went for it on fourth and two from the Seahawks ‘ 44-yard line. A determined and unblockable Leonard Williams bolted into the Niner backfield and sacked  Purdy for a 14-yard loss. Jason Myers ‘ 24-yard field goal stretched the Seahawks’ lead to  27-6. The Niners’ offense was clearly dejected and running out of answers to combat the Seahawks’ dominant defense. Things went from bad to worse for the Niners on their next offensive possession.

NINERS OFFENSE BRUTALIZED AND BATTERED

A ten-yard pass from Purdy to Kyle Juszczyk gave the Niners an immediate first down.  Purdy’s next pass landed in the hands of Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones. Walker scored his second touchdown of the game four plays after Jones’ interception, and the rout was on as the Seahawks took a  34-6 lead.

“First and foremost, it means a lot. We worked at it all season. I just got to give the credit to the O line. They had the holes there, and all I had to do was hit it,” said Walker after the game.

 The Seahawks’ defense stopped the Niners on fourth and three on the 38-yard line. With a short field and a hot-running back, Kubiak called four consecutive run plays by Walker. The fourth play saw Walker score his third touchdown of the game from six yards out to give the Seahawks a 41-6 lead.

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