Instant Reaction: 49ers blow Seahawks out on Thanksgiving

The much anticipated Seattle Seahawks showdown with the San Francisco 49ers on Thanksgiving night wasn’t what Hawks fans were hoping for.

San Francisco 49ers 31, Seattle Seahawks 13: What They Said | Recap | Box score

Seattle fell 31-13 to the NFC West leaders at Lumen Field, as the Seahawks only showed a glimmer of hope in the third quarter. The loss sends the Hawks (6-5) to two games back of the Niners (8-3) in the division, and it doesn’t get any easier for Seattle with trips to Dallas and San Francisco (yes, they have to play the 49ers again in two weeks) coming up before the NFC-best Eagles come to town.

As we do after every Seahawks game, we have collected the instant reactions from the voices of Seattle Sports. Read what they say below, and listen to the station Friday including The Pete Carroll Show at 9:30 a.m. with the head coach.

• Dave Wyman – Wyman and Bob (2-7 p.m.) & Seahawks Radio Network

• Stacy Rost – Bump and Stacy (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.)

Pick your poison after this one, a 31-13 Seattle Seahawks loss to the San Francisco 49ers. Who do you wanna blame?

An offensive line that couldn’t hold up against Nick Bosa and the 49ers’ defensive front? Geno Smith? Shane Waldron’s play calling? A defense that brought this team its sole touchdown but also allowed the 49ers to move down the field at will, particularly in the first half?

Whatever your answer, you’re right. Thursday night’s Thanksgiving loss was a team effort, an ugly one at that.

Getting blown out on the road by the Baltimore Ravens stung in Week 9, but felt more like a one-off, which was also probably because it was one of the worst losses of the Pete Carroll era. Plus, it was to an AFC team with the best record in the conference. This one, though? It stings more. This is a team that was favored to win the division over Seattle, and they looked like that easy favorite.

Earlier this week, Carroll told reporters he liked where his club is compared to last year (and it’s easy to see the improvements personnel-wise between the last meeting between these two teams and Thursday night, with nine different starters on defense). Even then, one thing is clear: there’s a gap to be closed, and it’s not going to happen in the next two weeks.

What’s sticking with me: It feels almost tired to lament the Seahawks’ offensive line at times, given that it has been one of the weakest parts of this team for years, but that doesn’t mean it’s not true. Abe Lucas can’t come back soon enough.

A question I’m left with: Why go shotgun on 4^th and inches? The game was all but over at that point but I’m still puzzled.

A gripe I’ll still cling to: Jaxon Smith-Njigba was so clearly being held in the end zone, and who knows what another set of downs might’ve done for this offense. It might not have been enough, but it should’ve been called.

• Mike Salk – Brock and Salk (6-10 a.m.)

For the second time in a month, the Seahawks have been humiliated in front of a national audience. At least this time they were able to salvage some self-respect in the second half.

There was almost nothing positive to be gained from this one, especially on the offensive side of the ball.  San Francisco was much faster, significantly more physical, and better prepared to play this game. That speaks to a gap in talent, coaching and execution.

This game doesn’t end the Seahawks’ season, but it does put even more pressure on the next three games – all against top-tier opponents. And it raises some serious questions. Is this still a team with a young roster that is on the rise, or is there still a gap in raw talent? Do they have the right quarterback to trigger this offense? Is the offensive coordinator able to scheme/play call well enough to get the best out of what they have?

These questions haven’t been answered yet, but if the next three games look too much like this one, these queries are going to lead some very tough decisions.

• Justin Barnes – Brock and Salk

Well that was humiliating.

After squandering an opportunity in SoFi Stadium on Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams, the Seahawks’ offense is once again searching for answers.

How about a couple sad-but-true stats:

1. The Seahawks’ offense hasn’t scored a touchdown since the first quarter against the Rams on Sunday.

2. Over the last four games, the Seahawks have rushed for 100 yards once.

I don’t think its a stretch to say the Seahawks still have a long way to go before closing the talent gap against a superior 49ers team, but having nearly zero consistency through 12 weeks certainly has me questioning what I believed was a playoff team before this season began.

It was certainly a lot more fun to watch the Seahawks chow down on turkey legs in that 20-3 win over SF on Thanksgiving way back in 2015, but those days are long gone and I’m just thankful this one is over.

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