It may have been just one game.
But this was a big one for the Seahawks, both tangibly in trying to get an early head start in the NFC West and on the rival 49ers, and intangibly in showing that the optimism of the preseason wasn’t viewed from the same rose-colored glasses all NFL teams wear this time of year.
“Can’t sugar coat it — it sucks,” safety Julian Love said. “It sucks to lose a division game early on, especially against these guys.’’
Indeed, not only are the Seahawks already looking up at the rest of the NFC West — 0-1 while everyone else is 1-0 — but some of the reasons many national observers were skeptical about them came to the fore quickly.
The offensive running game is still a work in progress, the passing game might be a one-man Jaxon Smith-Njigba show, and the defense, while playing more than well enough to win, proved just vulnerable enough at the most inopportune times.
It adds up to a Seahawks team that is already facing a critical week, needing to fix some things in a hurry before playing Aaron Rodgers, DK Metcalf and an always-tough Steelers team in Pittsburgh.
Onto the grades.
Quarterback
Statistically, Darnold’s game is not close to what the Seahawks will need this season as he was 16 of 23 for 150 yards with no TDs and no interceptions. But fairly assessing his performance may require a closer examination. The fumble doesn’t appear to be his fault as the ball hit off the back of right tackle Abraham Lucas as he was winding up to throw. And the receiving corps may need a lot of room to grow, as many feared. Darnold did not put the ball in harm’s way and used his legs smartly on a few occasions. Rookie Jalen Milroe got one play, taking a direct snap to gain a yard on the first series.
Grade: C.
Running back
Sadly, after all the promise shown in the preseason, the running game looked too much like last year’s, with backs Zach Charbonnet (12 for 47) and Kenneth Walker III (10 for 20) gaining just 67 yards on 22 carries. The stats make it look like there may be a changing of the guard in the backfield. But Charbonnet seemed to get the benefit of some better blocking. Neither had a run of longer than eight, which is not the explosiveness the Seahawks will need.
Grade: C.
Receiver
Smith-Njigba would have got an A, but he lost a fumble in the fourth quarter when the Seahawks had a three-point lead and could have taken control of the game. Instead, the 49ers moved for the tying field goal. That brings his grade down to a B-minus. The rest of the WR corps gets something of a, well, incomplete. Cooper Kupp had just two receptions on three targets for 15 yards, with the incompletion coming on what appeared to be a straight drop on a third-down play. He did draw a defensive pass interference penalty on a fourth down that led to the Seahawks’ first TD. Still, they will need more from Kupp. Rookie Tory Horton and Cody White didn’t even have a pass come their way. Smith-Njigba is a true WR1. But the Seahawks won’t be able to get by with him alone.
Grade: C-minus.
Tight end
For all the optimism of some big contributions from this group, little was seen Sunday. Rookie Elijah Arroyo had one catch for seven yards, while AJ Barner had one catch for zero and that was it. And the run blocking obviously wasn’t where it needs to be.
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Grade: D.
Offensive line
The Seahawks had 31 yards on eight carries in the first quarter, including 28 on six from Charbonnet and Walker. But the rushing attack was largely nonexistent the rest of the game as they finished with 84 yards rushing on 26 carries. That’s 3.2 yards per attempt. That may not be solely on the line. But for this game the outside zone scheme appears to still be under construction. And it’s worth remembering many thought this was a 49ers defense that could be vulnerable to the run. The pass blocking seemed better as Darnold was hit just twice in 23 attempts, including on the final play when Nick Bosa got heavy pressure through right tackle Abraham Lucas, and Darnold got the time needed to hit Smith-Njigba for the 40-yarder on the final series. One caveat was there were a lot of quick-hitting passing plays. The Seahawks averaged 6.1 yards per attempt, but almost half their gross passing yards of 146 came on plays of 40 and 22 to JSN.
Grade: C-minus.
Defensive line
The Seahawks played the run well overall, holding the 49ers to 3.3 per attempt, and came up with some key stops in short-yardage situations. Leonard Williams picked up where he left off last year with seven tackles (and his roughing penalty seemed on the questionable side) and Byron Murphy II had a solid game with six tackles and a QB hit, while Jarran Reed had two QB hits. The Seahawks can win with that performance.
Grade: A.
Edege rushers
DeMarcus Lawrence had a good game with two tackles-for-a-loss. But they could have used a more consistent outside pass rush as the only sack of Brock Purdy came from Love on a blitz. Derick Hall had two QB hits in getting close a couple times. Uchenna Nwosu will be a help when he returns.
Grade: B.
Linebackers
Middle linebacker Ernest Jones IV had one of the bigger plays of the game with his interception of a Purdy pass in the third quarter and he was big against the run. Weakside linebacker Tyrice Knight had seven tackles and was solid against the run.
Grade: A-minus.
Safety
Love had a monster game with a team-high 12 tackles and a sack, as well as a blocked field goal. Coby Bryant seemed solid as well with seven tackles.
But the Seahawks’ game plan took a hit when rookie Nick Emmanwori hurt his ankle on the first series and did not play another defensive snap. They used Ty Okada some in three-safety sets the rest of the first half. Okada was beaten for a George Kittle TD in the first quarter and a key third-down pass in the second and the Seahawks appeared to go away from the three-safety sets in the second half.
Grade: B-plus.
Cornerback
Riq Woolen had another game that made Seahawks fans scratch their collective heads. He showed how good he can be when he ranged over to use all of his 6-foot-4 frame to deflect a potential TD pass away in the third quarter. But he also was called for two penalties — one for illegal hands and the other for illegal contact. He was beaten for a 45-yard Purdy-to-Ricky Pearsall pass that set up the 49ers’ winning TD. He also was the closest defender to SF tight end Jake Tonges on the winning score. Devon Witherspoon played mostly nickel the final three quarters after Emmanwori departed and had eight tackles, while Josh Jobe had one of the game’s key plays with a pick of an ill-advised Purdy pass into traffic in the fourth quarter that looked as if it might decide the game.
Grade: B.
Special teams
The special teams were good with Jason Myers making both of his field goals and punter Michael Dickson averaging 51.8 yards on five attempts. Then there was Love’s block on a day when the 49ers missed two field goals, which looked as if it might decide the game as well.
Grade: A.
Bob Condotta: bcondotta@seattletimes.com. Bob Condotta is a sports reporter at The Seattle Times who primarily covers the Seahawks but also dabbles in other sports. He has worked at The Times since 2002, reporting on University of Washington Husky football and basketball for his first 10 years at the paper before switching to the Seahawks in 2013.