Instant Reaction: 710 ESPN Seattle on Seahawks’ 12-9 win over 49ers

As we do after every Seahawks game, we have solicited the opinions of 710 ESPN Seattle voices on the Seahawks’ 12-9 victory over the 49ers. Here’s what they have to say:

Bob Stelton of Bob, Groz and Tom

This game was about as ugly as it gets. The Seahawks struggling to do anything against a bad 49ers team – at home – brings little to no comfort. The O-line was marginally better than last week, and that may be a bit generous. C.J. Prosise and Tanner McEvoy dropped passes when Russell Wilson actually had some rare moments of accuracy on an ugly day of throwing the ball for him. The brights spots would be the play of Chris Carson, who despite playing behind a very porous O-line was still able to have a very productive day. He proved that he is the team’s best running back right now, without question. Even though he had a poor day of passing, Russell Wilson came up with some very key runs when they needed him most. He also did a fantastic job of keeping the play alive on his TD pass to Paul Richardson. It wasn’t pretty at all and proved very little as to how good this team really is, but it’s a win.

Gee Scott

The offensive struggle was there, but in the end it’s about what the scoreboard says. From what I’m told, there are no easy wins in the NFL. Even though the Niners don’t look good on paper, paper has yet to play a game. The Seahawks’ defense was incredible as it did its job for the second week in a row. The offense had a slow start, but this is something that has happened the last few years and it will get better as the season goes. The Seahawks won their home opener, we can all enjoy the rest of our Sunday.

Dave Grosby of Bob, Groz and Tom

This game was the dictionary description of winning ugly, with a lot more to dislike then to like. There was sloppy stuff like jumping offside, dropped passes, and bad passes that are not normally a Seahawks issue. Shockingly the running game is now Chris Carson. Very nice job on the last drive, and kudos to the offensive line on that series even though the problems still exist. I am not sure why Russell Wilson is struggling but he is. He put together a key drive late, but still – and it’s not just on the O-line. You’re never unsatisfied winning a game in the NFL but if the Seahawks’ offense doesn’t figure out what’s wrong, they’re going to have trouble with good teams (perhaps starting this week with Tennessee), no matter how good the defense is.

Mike Salk of Brock and Salk

Laugh all you want, but that was Seahawks football. It isn’t always pretty. It doesn’t look like every other team in the league. But it is tough, physical and requires making the bigger plays late in the game. The Seahawks beat the Niners because their defense smothered San Francisco’s (admittedly punchless) offense. They were the stars while the offense got booed by the third quarter. But Pete Carroll and Russell Wilson’s history reminds us that winning ugly used to be the norm around here. And while the offense was hard to watch for 45 minutes, the final two drives showed off its two most impactful features. Russell was his vintage running and playmaking self on the scoring drive and then Chris Carson and the much-maligned offensive line sealed it. We can all laugh, but this win isn’t unfamiliar at all.

Tom Wassell of Bob, Groz and Tom

I thought the Seahawks would start slow. They did. Russell Wilson had a brutal day passing the ball. Sure, he was hurried most of the time, but there were plenty of guys who were open that he simply overthrew. The reason why they won the game, aside from another great defensive performance, is because Russell went into desperation mode and made plays with his legs on that fourth quarter scoring drive. That will not be their game plan going forward. So what did we learn? Chris Carson is probably their lead back. Good for him, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. A few nice runs against a bad defense late in the game isn’t enough to say he’s proven anything. I’m really happy with the defense once again – especially KJ Wright, who had eight tackles (five of his own) and the menacing combination of Michael Bennett and Frank Clark.

Jim Moore of Danny, Dave and Moore

For everyone who complained about the franchise quarterback not doing enough last week, can you give him a pass this week? I’m guessing not. I’m guessing you’ll say he was high and off-target on several throws and got lucky that the 49ers dropped two passes that could have been interceptions. But on the last game-winning drive, Wilson scrambled and scrambled and scrambled some more, collecting first downs on the way to setting up the go-ahead touchdown pass to Paul Richardson that would have been a sack were he almost any other quarterback in the league. How did he get away from all of those white jerseys and find the time to throw to Richardson while being dragged down? I don’t know. I don’t think anyone does. If it weren’t for that 82-yard drive, Seattle’s first of the season that ended with a touchdown, the Seahawks would have been 0-2 after a loss as 14-point favorites. Instead, everyone breathes a sigh of relief after another game indicating that the offensive problems aren’t going to disappear anytime soon. We do have a possible running-back controversy coming up this week, and it’s really not a controversy at all – Chris Carson is this team’s best running back and should be the starter at Tennessee next week. Eddie Lacy, in a surprise pre-game move, was on the inactive list, and Thomas Rawls returned from a high-ankle sprain only to look as bad as Lacy did last week at Green Bay. All in all, it was a strange afternoon at CenturyLink Field. It’s not like the defense was all that great either, playing against a 49ers’ offense led by a player who would be a backup quarterback for other teams. And the run defense against Carlos Hyde was lacking too. Yet I suppose this amounts to quibbling since the 49ers scored only nine points. Nonetheless, that was the most un-Seahawk performance I’ve seen in a long time. They looked more like a team that won’t make the playoffs than one that hopes to return to the Super Bowl.