SEATTLE – The Seattle Seahawks opened their season with a brutal 17-13 loss to the NFC West rival San Francisco 49ers.

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What stood out from the defeat? Here are some observations.

Ugly debut for new-look offense

Simply put, it was not a good start for Seattle’s revamped offense under new coordinator Klint Kubiak.

After showing promise in the preseason, the Seahawks’ ground attack sputtered much like it did for most of last year. Seattle rushed for just 84 yards on 26 carries – with running backs Zach Charbonnet and Kenneth Walker III combining for just 67 yards on 22 carries.

The passing game was similarly unspectacular, and extremely one-dimensional. Sam Darnold threw for just 150 yards in his Seahawks debut, with Jaxon Smith-Njigba accounting for nearly all of that production with nine catches for 124 yards. The rest of Seattle’s pass catchers mustered just seven receptions for 26 yards.

‘Not the start that we wanted’ for Seahawks’ offense

The play-calling also was curious at times, as many staples of Kubiak’s Shanahan-style scheme – wide-zone blocking, under-center passing, play-action bootlegs – were seemingly underutilized. It felt like the game plan strayed a bit too far from this offense’s core identity, which perhaps was intended as a curveball due to the strong schematic and coaching ties between Kubiak and 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan.

Either way, the end result was not good: 13 points and 230 total yards. And it certainly won’t do anything to quiet the naysayers who doubted and questioned Seattle’s offseason overhaul on this side of the ball.

Late turnovers prove costly

For most of the afternoon, Seattle’s offense avoided the big mistake. But over the final 15 minutes, the Seahawks committed a pair of costly turnovers that ultimately did them in.

On the opening snap of the fourth quarter, Seattle had the ball in San Francisco territory when Smith-Njigba lost a fumble on a short completion, squashing an opportunity for the Seahawks to extend a three-point lead.

And in the game’s closing moments, with Seattle inside the San Francisco 10-yard line and Darnold seemingly on the precipice of channeling more of his 2024 late-game magic, disaster struck. Edge rusher Nick Bosa overpowered right tackle Abraham Lucas and pushed him into Darnold’s arm, causing a strip-sack fumble that Bosa fell on to seal the game.

Overall, the Seahawks’ offensive line actually held up quite well in pass protection. But in the game’s most crucial moment, one of the league’s premier game-wreckers had his way.

NICK BOSA CALLS GAME

SFvsSEA on FOXhttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/7cck4psHjo

— NFL (@NFL) September 7, 2025

More up-and-down play from Woolen

The first few seasons of cornerback Riq Woolen’s NFL career have been marked by maddening inconsistencies, with flashes of tantalizing potential overshadowed at times by head-scratching mistakes. That was once again the case on Sunday.

With just under 10 minutes to play, Woolen showed the best of his unique skill set, using his blazing speed and lengthy 6-foot-4 frame to make an impressive pass breakup at the pylon that helped limit the 49ers to a field goal.

But in the game’s final minutes, Woolen misplayed a pair of passes on San Francisco’s deciding touchdown drive.

The first came on a deep sideline pass where Woolen seemed to be in prime position for a pass breakup, but then appeared to misjudge the ball and slow down, which allowed wide receiver Ricky Pearsall to get behind him for a key 45-yard completion.

And then shortly after that, with the 49ers facing a third-and-3 from the 4-yard line, Woolen again appeared to be in good position to make a play. But instead, third-string tight end Jake Tonges beat Woolen to the spot and hauled in an end-zone jump ball for what proved to be the winning score.

Woolen’s two late gaffes overshadowed a gutsy performance from Seattle’s defense, which had allowed just 10 points on four red-zone trips prior to that final touchdown drive.

Jake Tonges had never caught a pass in the NFL before today.

He has three today. Including this one 🙌 pic.twitter.com/g1xMS2UXub

— NFL (@NFL) September 7, 2025

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