The Seattle Seahawks handed the 49ers a 34-13 defeat at Candlestick Park on Sunday, the fifth straight loss for San Francisco.
Following the loss, Mike Singletary apologized for the first game under his watch as the newly appointed head coach.
"Today was good for me," said Singletary. "It was good for me because sometimes you take a step back and you think, you know what, I'm here, it's on, we are going to make it work, they are working hard, they are doing this, they are doing that, and it's going to change right now.
"It will change. It will change because they want it to change, not because of me, but because they want to be champions."
The 49ers got off on the wrong foot with two early turnovers leading to a 20-3 halftime deficit.
Singletary opted to yank quarterback JT O'Sullivan, who fumbled twice (the 49ers recovered one) and threw an interception for a touchdown, and go with Shaun Hill for the second half.
Although Hill avoided any turnovers, the offense scored only 10 points as the defense gave up two explosive pass plays for touchdowns to fullback Leonard Weaver.
Here's a scoring summary by quarter...
First Quarter
The 49ers offense opened the game with a three and out, barely escaping a turnover when JT O'Sullivan fumbled the ball. After several players touched the loose ball, center Eric Heitmann recovered at the 5 for a 26 yard loss.
The short field worked to Seattle's advantage as the Seahawks took an initial 3-0 lead after their 9-play, 41-yard opening drive when kicker Olindo Mare drilled a 43-yard field goal to cap off the drive.
With 6:10 to go in the quarter, Mare upped that to a 6-0 Seattle lead with a 42-yard field goal that capitalized on a forced fumble by Julian Peterson. The 49ers were inside the redzone, at the 6-yardline, when Peterson took the ball away from JT O'Sullivan. Patrick Kerney recovered it and returned it 50 yards to the 49ers 27-yardline. The defense didn't give up but three yards, but Seattle was already within field goal range.
Second Quarter
TJ Duckett's 1-yard touchdown run finished off a 14-play, 63-yard scoring drive that ended the first quarter and began the second. The key play on the drive included a 4th and 6 play at the 49ers 35-yardline which quarterback Seneca Wallace converted on with a 6-yard throw to Koren Robinson. The score put Seattle up 13-0 with 12:01 to go in the second quarter.
The 49ers responded with a 10-play, 41-yard drive that was finished off by a 42-yard field goal by kicker Joe Nedney. A key play on the drive included a 19-yard throw to Bryant Johnson to set the 49ers up at the Seattle 34-yardline. Frank Gore broke loose for a 29-yard gain, but was flagged for an offensive face mask. The 49ers then committed a holding penalty and could not overcome the penalized yards, settling instead for the field goal to trim Seattle to a 13-3 lead with 7:05 left in the quarter.
The 49ers had an opportunity to put some points on the board late in the first half, but opted to go for it on a 4th and 4 play from the Seattle 29-yardline. O'Sullivan was picked by Josh Wilson, who returned his interception 75 yards for a touchdown with 44 seconds remaining, allowing Seattle to cushion their lead to 20-3.
Shaun Hill came in after the pick and handed off to Gore for the final snap of the half.
Halftime
Seattle jumped out to a 20-3 halftime advantage.
3rd Quarter
Hill opened up the third quarter with a 14-play, 56-yard drive that ended in a 40-yard field goal by Joe Nedney, trimming Seattle's lead slightly to 20-6.
Seattle answered right back with Wallace hitting a short pass play to Leonard Weaver, which the fullback then took 43 yards to the end zone for a Seattle 27-6 advantage with 1:50 left in the third quarter.
4th Quarter
A 2-yard touchdown pass from S. Hill to Jason Hill finished off a 15-play, 62-yard scoring drive that ended the third quarter and began the fourth. (Tight end Vernon Davis left the field unescorted, just prior to the touchdown. Davis had an exchange along the sidelines with Coach Singletary after being flagged for an unnecessary roughness penalty on the drive.)
Seattle came right back with another explosive pass play from Wallace to Weaver, this time for 62 yards. The 6-play, 80-yard drive increased Seattle to a 34-13 edge with 6:10 left in the game.
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Injury Notes
TE Delanie Walker suffered an elbow injury. T Barry Sims suffered an ankle injury. RS Allen Rossum suffered a hamstring injury. All three missed the entire second half of the game. In the fourth quarter, wide receiver Arnaz Battle left the field and headed to the locker room with a foot injury.
Pregame Notes
*Defensive coordinator Greg Manusky and offensive line coach Chris Foerster moved from the box to the field for the game.
The 49ers started in a 3-4 defense with Isaac Sopoaga, Aubrayo Franklin and Justin Smith starting as the three down linemen. Manny Lawson and Parys Haralson started outside at linebacker, sandwiching Joe Staley and Takeo Spikes.
Josh Morgan started on offense at receiver.
