What We Saw: Week 8

49ers @ Seahawks

The Seahawks came into this game with one of the worst defenses in the NFL, but you wouldn’t have known it watching the first three quarters. Seattle shut down the running game of the 49ers and harassed Jimmy Garappolo all game until finally forcing him out of the game with an injury following a sack. Garappolo looked bad even when he wasn’t under pressure, as it appeared his ankle injury still hadn’t fully healed, and the Seahawks aerial attack overwhelmed the 49ers defense for three quarters. To start the fourth the 49ers turned to Nick Mullens, and he was able to lead three scoring drives against a Seahawks defense that looked content to coast through the end of the game. The final score was closer than the game played, as the Seahawks held on to win 37-27 in a game that never felt that close.

San Francisco 49ers

Quarterback

Jimmy Garappolo: 11/16, 84 yards, 1 INT, 3 sacks | 4 carries, 4 yards

Nick Mullens: 18/25, 238 yards, 2 TDs

Tough day for Jimmy Garappolo, who appeared to re-aggravate his ankle injury after struggling to get anything going on offense. He looked like he was having a hard time planting his right foot even before he was injured and as a result, he was struggling to place the ball well. Nick Mullens came in to start the fourth quarter and the offense immediately looked better, albeit against what was mostly prevent style defense from the Seahawks. Mullens was fortunate not to throw any interceptions as he was unafraid to throw the ball into some questionable spots, but there’s no denying that he looked significantly better than Garappolo on Sunday.

Ross Da Boss touchdown!

📺 #SFvsSEA on FOX pic.twitter.com/CFOoMTGooo

— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) November 2, 2020

Mullens led three touchdown drives and, given that the 49ers play again on Thursday, it would be a shock for him not to be the starter heading into their next game.

Running Backs

JaMycal Hasty: 12 carries, 29 yards, 1 TD | 1 target, 1 reception, 2 yards

Tevin Coleman: 3 carries, 20 yards 

Jerrick McKinnon: 3 carries, -1 yard, 1 TD | 4 targets, 4 receptions, 40 yards

Tevin Coleman returned from injury today and looked pretty good on his first few touches before injuring his knee and being ruled out for the remainder of the game. After that, JaMycal Hasty handled the majority of the backfield work. The Seahawks did a good job of closing up the running lanes, especially once they stopped respecting Jimmy Garrapolo’s arm, and Hasty had a hard time finding any room to work. He did punch in a short touchdown to salvage his day, but he ceded most of the receiving work out of the backfield to Jerrick McKinnon and fullback Kyle Juscyzk. McKinnon also punched in a short touchdown and looked good as a receiver, but it seems like he might be on a snap count as the 49ers seemed hesitant to use him despite having success.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

Brandon Aiyuk: 11 targets, 8 reception, 91 yards, 1 TD 

Kendrick Bourne: 10 targets, 8 receptions, 81 yards

George Kittle: 4 targets, 2 receptions, 29 yards

Trent Taylor: 4 targets, 3 receptions, 32 yards

Ross Dwelley: 4 targets, 1 reception, 16 yards, 1 TD

The big news here was George Kittle injuring his ankle on his second reception when he was upended. The injury knocked him out of the game, and it’s unclear how much more time he’ll miss going forward. Brandon Aiyuk made some nice contested catches and had a cool play where McKinnon mishandled a pitch and Aiyuk came around behind as part of misdirection and happened to be in a position to pick up the loose ball, which he picked up and turned into a positive play. Kendrick Bourne got going once Mullens came in and finished with a solid stat line after a quiet first half. Ross Dwelley looked to be the replacement for Kittle and caught a touchdown on his lone reception.

Seattle Seahawks

Quarterback

Russell Wilson: 27/37, 261 yards, 4 TDs, 2 sacks | 6 carries, 23 yards 

Russell Wilson continued his dominant start to the season. His best throw of the game was a deep ball down the sideline that he dropped in perfectly to DK Metcalf, but it was far from his only good throw. Wilson, as usual, did a good job of extending plays when he needed to and placing the ball perfectly to let his receivers make plays for him.

Made 👏 It 👏 Happen@DangeRussWilson throws to @DMoeSwagg23 for the TD!

📺: #SFvsSEA on FOX https://t.co/DKSkzFBfZX

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) November 1, 2020

I was expecting Russ to run a little more today given their lack of options at running back, but even when he had rushing lanes he opted to keep his eyes downfield and continue to look for receivers. He ran when he needed to but it doesn’t seem like he feels the need to do any damage with his legs to make up for their lack of a running game. If Wilson continues to cook like this he probably has an MVP trophy in his near future.

Running Backs

DeeJay Dallas: 18 carries, 41 yards, 1 TD | 5 targets, 5 receptions, 17 yards, 1 TD

Travis Homer: 1 carry, 4 yards

With Chris Carson and Carlos Hyde out with injuries, it was rookie DeeJay Dallas who dominated the backfield touches. Dallas was not that great but if he’s going to see this much volume he’s got fantasy value. He had one play near the goal line where it looked like he was supposed to take a handoff but didn’t know it and went to block instead, and generally he struggled to break tackles or look elusive. He did score two touchdowns, punching in a short run when the Seahawks were looking to ice the game and catching a short pass after the defender covering him left to contain Wilson after the quarterback had escaped the pocket. Dallas doesn’t seem to be a threat to run away with this job, and while he had a nice day statistically I came away extremely unimpressed with him.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

DK Metcalf: 15 targets, 12 receptions, 161 yards, 2 TDs

Tyler Lockett: 5 targets, 4 receptions, 33 yards

David Moore: 3 targets, 3 receptions, 18 yards, 1 TD | 2 carries, 28 yards

Will Dissly: 1 target, 1 reception, 17 yards

Greg Olsen: 4 targets

DK Metcalf is a special player, and it must be terrifying to try and defend him.

Go ahead and GO, @dkm14! 💨💨💨

📺: #SFvsSEA on FOX https://t.co/8gJMJqLBOc

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) November 1, 2020

He’s just bigger, stronger, and faster than everyone trying to cover him. The highlights will be the big plays, but Metcalf also did a good job using the threat of his speed to set up defenders for slant routes that let him use his big frame to create a window for Wilson to put the ball. Metcalf’s other touchdown catch came on one of those slants and the defender was all over him and was flagged for holding, but Metcalf was just too big and strong for the defensive back to take the ball away from. Tyler Lockett came back to earth after last week’s explosion. He was close to scoring two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, one on a deep ball that he laid out for but was just slightly overthrown and another on a flat route that he was unable to outrun the defense to the endzone on after he picked up the first down. David Moore caught a touchdown and got a few rushing attempts, but aside from that the passing offense began and ended with Metcalf.

— Dan Adams (@dadams0323 on Twitter)