The Seattle Seahawks didn’t just lose a slugfest to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. They walked away with a few alarms flashing, and the biggest ones have nothing to do with one receiver missing on a late play or a turnover here and there.
Yes, the easy story is that San Francisco’s future Hall of Fame receiver Mike Evans came through in the biggest moments while Seattle’s dominant receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba did not. But that misses the point. Seattle’s problems in this one were bigger, older, and a lot more stubborn than a single failed sequence at the end.
The Seahawks are still a good team, still very much in the mix for a title by season’s end. But they are running into issues that keep showing up in different forms, and those are the kind of flaws Mike Macdonald can fix - and probably will. Even so, they’re also the kind that make staying on top in the NFL so difficult.
The three biggest concerns coming out of Week 5 are hard to ignore.
For one, Seattle simply cannot run the ball consistently enough. Emanuel Wilson and George Holani combined for 24 carries and only 68 yards, which comes out to under three yards per attempt.
That is not the kind of production that wins championships. The fumbles may have swung this particular game, but the larger issue is that this backfield is not generating the sort of chunk gains that change how a defense plays.
The contrast with Christian McCaffrey was obvious throughout the game. Seattle’s backs are not regularly turning modest gains into better ones, and they are not threatening defenses with the occasional explosive run either.
Zach Charbonnet can do the first part. Kenneth Walker could do the second.
Without them, the Seahawks do not have the kind of rushing attack that makes a strong defense like San Francisco uncomfortable.
The second issue is right in the trenches, where Seattle was out-physicalled. That has not been the norm for this team in the past, but it has become a pattern this season. Without the power-blocking Anthony Bradford, the Seahawks offensive line can get pushed around inside, and that showed again here.
Grey Zabel, Jalen Sundell, and either Christian Haynes or Beau Stephens are good players, but not dominant ones. That much was on display as San Francisco’s front dictated too much of the action.
Seattle averaged 4.2 yards per play, and one big run by JSN lifted the rushing average to 3.4. Sam Darnold was sacked five times and under pressure all night.
And it wasn’t just Seattle’s offense getting forced backward. Late in the game, San Francisco’s offensive line began pushing Seattle’s normally sturdy defense around too. The Seahawks defense was solid for long stretches, but when the game was there to be seized, they let a depleted 49ers offense run the ball effectively and dictate the finish.
That feeds into the most troubling pattern of all: Seattle is not closing games the way it used to.
Over the last three weeks, the Seahawks have lost the fourth quarter 30-17 while dropping two of three. That late fade looks nothing like last season’s version of this team.
Seattle has given up 88 points in those three games, and while the defense does not own all of that, the split against San Francisco matters. Twenty-one of those points were directly tied to offensive failures, but the defense still surrendered 30 fourth-quarter points across the last three weeks.
That is 34 percent of the total points allowed in that span, and it points to a unit that is not finishing the way it did late last year.
Some of the issues around this team are familiar ones: too many field goals, too much reliance on JSN, penalties, turnovers. Those are real concerns, but they do not carry the same long-term weight.
The running game, the physical edge, and the inability to finish strong are different. Those are deeper problems.
One of them was easy to see coming. The other two were not. And because they are tied to attitude and edge, the question is whether Seattle can get that bite back or whether it has already started to slip away to teams like San Francisco in 2026.
In Other News...
Seahawks Suddenly Have Two Roster Battles Fans Can't Ignore
A sloppy loss to the 49ers put two parts of the roster back under the microscope for Seattle, and not just because of the final score. Five turnovers made the night ugly, but the bigger takeaway for the Seahawks may be how clearly some fringe battles are starting to take shape as the team evaluates who can help once the games start counting for real.
Nehemiah Pritchett and Byron Murphy II were among the players who stood out in a positive way, while the running back group did not make the same case for itself. George Holani and Emanuel Wilson had tougher outings, which only sharpens the focus on a position where Seattle may be looking for more reliability, along with added depth at cornerback. [Read more 🡒]
Jaxon Smith-Njigba Took The Seahawks Loss Hard For One Reason
Jaxon Smith-Njigba had the kind of fourth-quarter moment that lingers, the sort a young receiver remembers long after the game ends. Late against the 49ers, he dropped a crucial third-down pass, and Seattles chance to extend the drive slipped away in a loss that became the Seahawks second of the season while San Francisco stayed undefeated.
Smith-Njigba did not hide from it afterward, acknowledging the drop and taking responsibility for how the game ended. For a Seahawks team that has been building through the early part of the schedule, the next challenge comes quickly with Denver on deck for Thursday Night Football, which leaves little time to dwell and even less time to let one play carry over. [Read more 🡒]
Seahawks Just Made A Special Teams Move That Could Matter Fast
The Seahawks made a quick special teams adjustment this week by activating wide receiver Irv Charles off injured reserve, putting him in line to be available for the upcoming game against the Broncos. Charles arrived in Seattle from the Jets in a trade and is expected to help mostly in the third phase, giving the team another option on a unit that often turns on depth and reliability.
To make room, Seattle released running back and kick returner Velus Jones Jr., a move that underscores how tightly the roster is being managed heading into the next matchup. Charles now gets a chance to factor in right away, and the timing suggests the Seahawks want a fresh look on special teams as soon as possible. [Read more 🡒]