Seattle, WA

The San Francisco 49ers were so battered in their 29-3 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, four of their starters failed to finish the game due to injuries.

Nose tackle Ian Williams suffered an ankle injury, safety Eric Reid sustained a concussion, tight end Vernon Davis had an injured hamstring and defensive tackle Ray McDonald hurt his knee during the game.

Among the four, Williams' injury is the most serious as he sustained a broken ankle in his first career start.

The 24-year-old Williams hurt his ankle when he was engaged with a blocker and was cut block by Seahawks guard J.R. Sweezy, whose helmet hit the nose tackle around the back his left knee.

Williams was replaced by five-year veteran Glenn Dorsey, who had a first-quarter sack of Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson. Dorsey, who signed with the 49ers in March, has made 65 career starts.

The 49ers have four healthy defensive linemen on their roster: Dorsey, Justin Smith, Tony Jerod-Eddie and Demarcus Dobbs.

Reid left in the third quarter after a big collision with Seahawks wide receiver Sidney Rice while Davis and McDonald left the game in the fourth quarter and the severity of their injuries is unknown.

The Seahawks defense held the 49ers offense to 207 total yards and forced five turnovers as Seattle beat San Francisco by a score of 29-3 on Sunday Night Football at CenturyLink Field in front of a stadium record crowd of 68,338 in a game which saw a one-hour weather delay towards the end of the first quarter as lightning storms moved across the city of Seattle.

Early in the first quarter, Craig Dahl blocked a Jon Ryan punt which Seattle recovered but gave the 49ers first down on Seattle's 33-yard line. Colin Kaepernick led the 49ers offense down to the 5-yard line but Walter Thurmond deflected the third down pass and Earl Thomas came up with the interception. Early in the second quarter, facing second-and-12 from their own 4-yard line, a holding penalty on Bruce Miller in the end zone gave Seattle a safety and the 2-0 lead. After Cliff Avril recorded a sack-fumble recovered by K.J. Wright on San Francisco's 29, Seattle added a Steven Hauschka field goal for a 5-0 lead which held through halftime.

Seattle's first drive of the second half went 80 yards with Marshawn Lynch scoring on a 14-yard run, giving Seattle the 12-0 lead. After the 49ers responded with a field goal drive, Russell Wilson led another 80-yard drive, beating a blitz and passing to an uncovered Lynch for a 7-yard score, bringing Seattle's lead to 19-3. Richard Sherman intercepted Kaepernick on the following drive, setting up Hauschka's second field goal. Two drives later, Kam Chancellor intercepted Kaepernick and returned it to the 49ers 2-yard line, which set up Lynch's third score of the night (second rushing) on the following play, giving Seattle the 29-3 lead. Seattle's kick coverage team forced a fumble on the ensuing kickoff which Byron Maxwell recovered and Seattle's offense ran out the remaining time.

NFL Football News & Analysis

 

NFL Football News & Analysis [...]

 

 

Copyright © All Rights Reserved

Four 49ers Starters Leave Game With Injuries Against Seahawks