San Francisco, CA - Sometimes second chances come at the right time. After a horrible start in the first half, an offense that has dominated in the past fell apart again. But this time they were able to turn things around.
The Forty-Niners 13-6 victory over the Seattle Seahawks put them back in first place of the NFC West. It was a duel between two of the best top defenses. The Seahawks left everything on the table as they shut down the Niners offense in the first half.
"It was a slugfest here today," said coach Pete Carroll. "I'm not surprised it could have gone that way with two good defenses and two teams committed to running the ball."
Forcing them to use all three of their timeouts early in the second quarter. The Niners could only muster one field goal to end the first half. David Akers tied the game 3-3 when he kicked a 38-yard field goal in the second quarter. That drive took 11 plays, 60 yards in 5:03 with 26 seconds remaining in the second quarter.
"This was the most physical 30 minutes of football in the second half that I ever seen from our football team play," coach Jim Harbaugh said. "It's a sweet win. It was real football and our guys won it."
San Francisco turned the game around in the second half. Alex Smith's only touchdown came when he found Delanie Walker in the end zone for a 12-yard pass in the third quarter.
After Walker's touchdown Dashon Goldson intercepted a deep pass by Russell Wilson to stop Seattle's next drive. Smith then got picked off by Brandon Browner in the end zone. Randy Moss was wide open but Alex kept searching for an open receiver.
"It was just one of those plays," said Goldson. "I saw they switched the receiving corp out. They put one of their big guys out there that I never usually see. Our front seven did a good job of rushing the quarterback and the ball was just laying out there for me to grab."
The Seahawks kicked two field goals for 52 and 35 yards for the 6-3 lead at halftime. Running back Marsahwn Lynch, NFC leading rusher finished with 103 yards. This is the first time the Niners allowed back-to-back 100-yard rushers at home. The first was Ahmad Bradshaw last week with 116 yards in the Giants 26-3 win.
But despite Lynch and Wilson's attempt to move the offense down field, San Francisco kept them out of the end zone. The defense added pressure in the second half forcing turnovers and mistakes for Seattle. For the second consecutive week, Alex had another subpar performance, going 14 of 23 for 140 yards.
"I thought the whole game was pretty physical," Defensive End Justin Smith said. "They run what they do really well and they have the right man for the job in 24 [Marshawn Lynch]. We were watching tape all week and just said, 'Man we have to be ready to go.' He got some yards, he got a lot of yards but we came out with the win and that's all that matters.