This became a thrilling finish towards the start of the season for the San Francisco 49ers. Candlestick Park introduced NFC West rival Seattle Seahawks to town, and the home crowd had been looking forward to the debut of the Jim Harbaugh led Niners. The fans would need to hold back until the 2nd quarter to see some excitement; however it was well worth the wait. Following a scoreless first quarter of play, the 49ers came out inside second quarter with three straight drives capped off by David Akers field goals. The defense forced Seattle into five punts along with a fumble, as the 49ers capped from the first half with a 1 yard Touchdown run.
The second half would see the momentum shift, however, as the 49ers had to punt from deep in their own territory with their first possession of the third quarter. The Niners would punt three times after gaining a combined 10 yards on three possessions in the third quarter. Meanwhile, the Tavaris Jackson led Seahawks finally got on track with a touchdown to Golden Tate that capped off a 56 yard drive. The 49ers would add a field goal with their first possession of the fourth quarter, but their lead was no longer safe from a resurgent Seattle offense that brought the score to 17-19. After their second touchdown, the Seahawks kicked off to Ted Ginn, and that's when the home crowd jumped to their feet. Ginn returned the kick-off 102 yards for a touchdown, electrifying the crowd.
Along with the score now 17-26, the Seahawks had been in a need to score situation with just 3:40 remaining in the game. Seattle had taken possession at their 20 yard line, but after Justin Smith sacked Tavaris Jackson for any loss upon 3rd down, the Seahawks had been instructed to punt using their own 13 yard line. A 55 yard punt, it only took a second to the crowd to leap on their feet again as Ted Ginn returned the punt to get a touchdown, putting the score out of reach to the Seahawks.
The final possession for the Seattle Seahawks ended after Parys Haralson sacked Tavaris Jackson and forced a fumble that Patrick Willis recovered. Alex Smith ran out the clock and the 49ers won their season opener.
It was an exciting finish to what was otherwise a very conservative offensive approach for the 49ers. Defense and special teams were the strength of the 49ers performance. The offense will be looking for much improvement, as Frank Gore was held to 59 yards on 22 carries, and Alex Smith only threw for 124 passing yards. After a dreadful preseason, where the offensive line performed poorly and could not protect Alex Smith, they gave up zero sacks in the match up with the Seahawks. While the 49ers took the term "conservative" to an extreme, they were able to protect the ball, not turning it over once. It would seem the 49ers will need more from their offense going forward, but this exciting game capped off by Ginn's back to back touchdown returns, gives the San Francisco 49ers an important division wins at home. I say better get your 49ers tickets now before they ran out, get your 49ers tickets on your nearest ticket outlet.
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