The Seattle Seahawks hosted the San Francisco 49ers in Week 16 in a game that the Seahawks needed to win in order to keep their postseason hopes afloat. They dominated the first half of play and took the game right down to the wire, including holding a 17-16 lead with 6:41 left in the game. In the end, it was not enough, as the 49ers were able to rely on defense and their record-setting kicker to walk away with a 19-17 win.
Seattle was up early in the game on a first-quarter Doug Baldwin touchdown pass from Tarvaris Jackson. A Steven Hauschka kick in the second quarter would send the Seahawks into the half up by a score of 10-3.
The San Francisco offense finally woke up in the third quarter, as the Niners took a 13-10 lead on a short Frank Gore touchdown run and another David Akers field goal, which set a new NFL mark for field goals in a single season. The 49ers would extend their lead to 16-10 early in the fourth quarter on another Akers field goal, but the Seahawks would answer back in a big way with a 4-yard Marshawn Lynch touchdown run.
The touchdown was the first rushing TD allowed by the 49ers all season and gave the Seahawks a 17-16 lead. On the next Seattle possession, Lynch would snuff out another San Francisco streak, as he became the first player to achieve 100 rushing yards in a game against the 49ers in 2011. The Seattle squad would be halted on that set of downs, however, after which the 49ers would take a 19-17 lead on yet another successful Akers kick.
The Seahawks appeared to be putting together another scoring drive to reclaim the lead when they suffered a devastatingly unlucky break. Tarvaris Jackson had the ball stripped while he was scrambling, resulting in a fumble that was recovered by the 49ers. The Niners would go three and out, however, allowing the Seahawks to get the ball back with less than a minute remaining in the game. Seattle would face a fourth-down situation with 0:18 left on the clock, down by a score of 19-17. Under pressure, Tarvaris Jackson was forced to throw the ball away, leading to the 49ers taking over and kneeling to run out the clock.
A rough loss for the Seahawks, but plenty of fight in the team to be proud of.
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