National Football League

Lowering the Boom: Seahawks hammer 49ers, send NFL message

Published Nov. 27, 2014 11:52 p.m. ET

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Ross Jones

The fourth Thursday in November marks the beginning of our favorite time or year. No, not holiday season — the home stretch of the NFL regular season.

And with playoff races in full swing, it was the defending champs announcing themselves a real contender that served as both dessert and highlight of this Thanksgiving's action.

Four days after knocking off the first-place Arizona Cardinals, the Seattle Seahawks took the ground and air out of the San Francisco 49ers’ offense in a 19-3 win on Thursday which gave Seattle the inside track to second place in the NFC West — and a possible wild-card berth.

Every hole the 49ers had on offense was exposed against a Seattle defense that has been re-energized since linebacker Bobby Wagner and safety Kam Chancellor returned to the lineup earlier this month.

The Seahawks defense hasn’t allowed an opponent in the end zone over the last two games and credit for that goes a disruptive defensive line, athletic linebackers and rangy cornerback play. 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick's line was ugly (16 of 29, 121 yards, zero TDs, 2 interceptions) — Richard Sherman hauling in both of those interceptions.

Before a 12-play, 59-yard drive late in the third quarter — which resulted in the 49ers’ lone points of the game — Kaepernick had not piloted a drive that entered Seattle territory.

On the other side of the coin, Seattle scored on five of 10 offensive possessions. If not for penalties (14 for 105 yards), the Seahawks would likely have blown this game open. Russell Wilson extended drives as he so often does — with his legs — and running back Marshawn Lynch pounded the opposition as he so often does — with his legs; grinding out 104 yards on 20 carries. It was Robert Turbin, though, finding the end zone in the first quarter for the game's first and only touchdown.

As promising of a win as it was for the Seahawks, it was equally as damaging for the 49ers. Even team CEO Jed York tweeted his fanbase an apology minutes after the game concluded.

As quickly as the momentum shifts from week to week, the Seahawks appear ready for football in January. A stiff test against the Eagles, though, awaits them in Week 14 before three consecutive NFC West games finish off the regular season. If the Cardinals fall in Atlanta on Sunday, the Seahawks will find themselves just a game back in the division.

This NFC West race — seemingly out of hand less than two weeks ago — isn’t over yet.

COWBOYS FACING UPHILL BATTLE?

Chip Kelly-coached teams aren't often referred to as being the most physical in a contest. But that's exactly how the Philadelphia Eagles disabled the Dallas Cowboys 33-10 on Thursday to move atop the NFC East alone.

Led by a bruising ground game and a stalwart defense, the Eagles (9-3) flew out to an early lead by way of their up-tempo offense.

Running back LeSean McCoy had his second straight 100-yard game and showed off some burst and acceleration in a 38-yard sprint to the end zone in the third quarter. McCoy finished with 25 carries for a season-high 159 yards, putting him at 1,018 yards for the season — making him the first player in Eagles history to run for 1,000 yards in four different seasons. With the Eagles offensive line offering up a good push, McCoy appeared to be the same explosive runner who led the league in rushing a season ago.

It was quarterback Mark Sanchez, though, who piloted Kelly's offense with efficiency. Completing 17 of 24 throws for 202 yards and a touchdown in the first half, Sanchez had Philly out front 14-0 after one quarter and the Eagles never looked back. Sanchez still has his miscues, but he looks much more decisive in his reads than in his final days in New York. His 3-1 record since taking over as the starter certainly has some in Philly believing. Jeremy Maclin and Jordan Matthews had a combined 12 receptions for 159 yards a touchdown — Matthews will have trouble even making the All-Rookie team in a loaded receiver class, but Maclin's career-high 71 receptions and first 1,000-yard season (1,088 after Thursday), has him among the leading candidates for Comeback Player of the Year.

Leaning on the legs of running back DeMarco Murray for much of the season, the Cowboys (8-4) couldn't find much room to move the ball on the ground Thursday. Most of that disruption was caused by the Eagles' interior line duo of Bennie Logan and Fletcher Cox. Cox, who has three sacks in the last four games, was a one-man wrecking crew at the point of attack, giving rookie offensive guard Zack Martin one of his first rough outings.

Murray was held to 73 yards — his lowest total of the season — on 20 attempts. After carrying the ball at least 22 times in each of the first seven games of the season, Murray has more than 20 carries only once in his last five. Tony Romo was under duress for much of the game, getting sacked four times and getting hit another five. While Romo completed four passes to Dez Bryant for 73 yards, he was off the mark for most the night and finished with less than 200 yards for the first time since Week 2.

It's certainly not an ideal scenario for Dallas, which now has back-to-back road games at Chicago (next Thursday) and Philadelphia. With three of the season's remaining four games being played away from Dallas, a sputtering offense and leaky defense needs to be fine-tuned over the next week. But here is some good news: The Cowboys are 5-0 on the road this season.

For the Eagles, they are in the driver's seat in the NFC East and actually sit No. 2 (which means first-round bye) in the NFC playoff picture right now.

LIONS' OFFENSE PURRING AGAIN

Detroit (8-4) kept pace in the NFC playoff race in snapping a two-game losing streak as the offense found the end zone for the first time since Nov. 9 while the defense continued to dominate in making the Bears (5-7) one-dimensional.

Offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi's offense was on full display in Chicago's 34-17 win over Chicago.

Taking advantage of soft coverage, quarterback Matthew Stafford completed 84 percent of his passes in the first half. After going 25 straight drives without scoring a touchdown — spanning three games in 12 days — the Lions strung together three consecutive touchdown drives in the first half to capture the lead and momentum. They never looked back.

Bears rookie cornerback Kyle Fuller had no chance against wide receiver Calvin Johnson. Playing in his fourth game since returning from a high ankle sprain, Johnson beat Fuller from the very beginning, pulling down 11 balls for 146 yards and a pair of scores on 16 targets, becoming the fastest player to surpass the 10,000-yard receiving mark in the process. Johnson's work was complemented by the efforts of Golden Tate. Tate, the league leader in yards after the catch, flashed reliable hands and ankle-breaking moves on defenders in the open field. He finished with eight receptions for 89 yards.

As for that one-dimensionality, Chicago head coach Marc Trestman dialed up seven running plays the entire game. While the Bears used screen passes to keep the Lions honest, they continued to harm themselves with self-inflicted drive-killers on offense. Roberto Garza holding penalties on two different series created third-and-long situations. The Bears faced uphill battles with Trestman's dink-and-dunk approach. The penalties were indicative of Garza's struggles with Ndamukong Suh. Later in the game, quarterback Jay Cutler was sacked by defensive end Jason Jones, which forced a third-and-18.

Defensively, the Bears were just as undisciplined. Late in the third quarter, defensive end Willie Young launched himself and brought Stafford down by his helmet. It was a big swing in momentum. The sack was instead ruled a roughing-the-passer penalty and extended the Lions' drive, which was capped by a Joique Bell score. That didn't stop Young from celebrating, though.

The Bears' loss severely gashed their postseason hopes. With four games remaining in the season, they'll likely need to win out to even contend for a spot in the wild-card round.

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