49ers coach Jim Harbaugh was pleased with how physical his team was on Thursday night against the Seahawks and, according to one of his offensive linemen, that physicality took a toll on the Seahawks defense.
49ers right guard Alex Boone said that he and the rest of the offensive line knew that they had to play “hard running, physical football” and noticed the result of their efforts on the lone touchdown drive of the game. The 49ers went 86 yards in 10 plays, eating up more than six minutes of the clock and Boone thought that drive took something out of the Seahawks’ defense.
“We just kind of felt them start to give up a little bit, and they knew that we were just going to keep running the ball on them,” Boone said, via Jerry Brewer of the Seattle Times. “They’re a tough team, very physical team, one of the best run defenses, so we knew we had to bring it.”
Unlike the last time the 49ers felt that one of their opponents gave up, this game didn’t turn into a rout so it’s a bit harder to see evidence of Seahawk capitulation. That drive proved to be the difference in the game, though, so it was certainly a bad moment for Seattle to let their energy level to lag.