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By David Fucillo
October 18, 2012
Well, that game was something else. The 49ers 13-6 win over the Seattle Seahawks was truly a tale of two halves as San Francisco made some sizable adjustments in multiple phases of the game to secure a hard-fought, much needed divisional victory. The 49ers improve to 5-2, while the Seahawks drop to 4-3. More importantly for Seattle, they are 0-3 in divisional games, and even with three divisional home games left, they can do no better than .500 in the division.
The 49ers could not have looked much worse in the first half, as they could get nothing going on offense, and the defense was getting gashed by Marshawn Lynch.
Fortunately, the team figured some things out in the locker room and controlled much of the second half. Alex Smith threw an awful interception in the fourth quarter, but thankfully the 49ers defense stepped up big to prevent Seattle from doing anything with it.
The two big stars of this game have to be Frank Gore and Ted Ginn Jr. Frank Gore thoroughly dominated the Seahawks on the ground, rushing 16 times for 131 yards. He got banged up late, but Kendall Hunter provided solid enough relief work. It was incredibly frustrating seeing the 49ers go away from the run for much of the second quarter, but thankfully they realized the error of their ways in the second half.
Ginn deserves kudos, even though the 49ers only managed three points off his big punt returns. He returned three punts for 70 yards, doing a great job for a special teams unit that was looking for plays.
It wasn't a pretty win by any stretch, but the 49ers gutted it out and got a crucial home divisional win. Now they have some extra rest time to get ready for an even bigger divisional road game. The 49ers travel to Glendale to face the Arizona Cardinals in Week 8. Given how this division is shaping up, the first team to win a road division game might end up as the team to beat in the NFC West.
49ers notebook: Special teams get five stars
By Cam Inman
October 18, 2012
SAN FRANCISCO -- Special teams coordinator Brad Seely walked out of the 49ers' locker room "really proud" of his units' efforts in Thursday night's 13-6 win over the Seattle Seahawks.
That included Ted Ginn Jr.'s familiar prowess on returns, David Akers' 2-for-2 showing on field goal attempts and, most impressive, the 49ers' suffocating coverage of Andy Lee's punts.
"They stepped up and knew they needed to improve," Seely said. "Their mindset was to get the job done."
Lee's final punt soared 66 yards before Tramaine Brock tackled Leon Washington after a 5-yard return at the Seahawks' 11-yard line with 1:36 left. Lee's first punt was downed at the Seattle 4-yard line by Dashon Goldson.
"It was lights out on the coverage teams," coach Jim Harbaugh said. "And Ted Ginn had a great game."
Ginn averaged 23.3 yards on three punt returns and 20.5 yards on two kickoff returns, stirring memories of last season's opener in which he scored fourth-quarter touchdowns on kickoff and punt returns against the Seahawks.
"It was fun to see Ted get in the flow of things, and he really helped the field position," Seely said.
