The 49ers have devolved from opening-game victors to being competitive in last week’s loss to the Panthers to being blown away by the Seahawks Sunday in Seattle, 37-18.
In Game No. 3 of the 2016 season, the 49ers were quickly overwhelmed. San Francisco’s defense gave up 41- and 4-yard touchdown runs by Christine Michael in the first quarter before the Seahawks extended their lead at halftime to 24-3 on an 18-yard touchdown pass from Russell Wilson to Jimmy Graham and a 33-yard field goal by Steven Hauschka.
By the time the 49ers offense came alive in the fourth quarter, scoring on two 8-yard TD runs by Carlos Hyde, they trailed 37-3.
For the 49ers, now 1-2, the defense was woefully outmatched by Seattle’s offense. Wide receiver Doug Baldwin (eight catches, 164 yards) and Graham (six catches, 100 yards) outmatched 49ers pass coverage. On the ground, Michael ran for 106 yards.
Meanwhile, San Francisco’s offense – aside from Hyde’s late production (he rushed for 103 yards) – was hardly scintillating. Quarterback Blaine Gabbert averaged an awful 4.8 yards per pass attempt, and completed just 14-of-25 throws for 119 yards. He was intercepted once and had a quarterback rating for the game of 51.9.
Gabbert came into the game as the NFL’s 25th-ranked quarterback, and he exits it surely destined to fall closer to the bottom of those ratings.
Gabbert certainly isn’t the 49ers’ biggest problem – on Sunday it was a defense unable to stop Seattle, even after Wilson had to leave the game with an injury – but after three games, it seems plausible that head coach Chip Kelly may soon turn to backup Colin Kaepernick to see if he can provide a spark.
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At this point, Kelly certainly has nothing to lose. Gabbert won the job outright last season and this summer, but Kaepernick’s talents – based on past performance – indicate he could have a higher upside.
After Sunday’s game, however, Kelly told Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee that Gabbert “played OK” and did not consider inserting Kaepernick against the Seahawks Sunday.
The 49ers’ next opportunity will be next Sunday, when they host the Dallas Cowboys.
