The Seahawks have some fundamental problems at the moment, the kind of flaws that can’t be fixed during the course of a season.
But they also have Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner, and that was enough to beat the 49ers.
The Seahawks escaped with a 24-13 win at San Francisco, which was easy enough because of the competition, but not enough to mask some real deficiencies.
With injuries taking defensive stars Richard Sherman, Cliff Avril, and (for the moment) Kam Chancellor out of the mix, the Seahawks (7-4) are kind of ordinary on that side of the ball. Wagner’s interception set up their first touchdown, and he’s still good enough to elevate the parts around him to a solid level. But solid’s not the level they’re used to.
But the offensive problems are still vexing, and if not for Wilson’s ability to improvise, they’d be a mess. They can’t keep running backs healthy, but not many of the backs they’ve put on the field were that good to begin with. Coupled with a patchwork offensive line (the result of injuries and institutional neglect), and it’s basically on Wilson to pull rabbits out of hats on a weekly basis.
Sunday, Wilson threw for 228 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 25 yards and another touchdown, and that represented nearly 80 percent percent of their 318 total yards and 100 percent of their trips to the end zone.
The 49ers fell to 1-10, and had to put Jimmy Garoppolo in for the final minute, because starter C.J. Beathard was injured late. They’ve shown little indication they were ready to throw him out there, and he threw a touchdown on the final play of the game which will give everyone something to talk about.