Seahawks’ offense laments turnovers, says defense ‘deserved to win’

SEATTLE – For most of Sunday’s NFC West showdown, the Seattle Seahawks’ “Dark Side” defense bottled up Brock Purdy and the San Francisco 49ers’ high-scoring attack.

But it was all undone by another sloppy, turnover-filled day from Seattle’s offense.

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The Seahawks committed four turnovers – including three that directly led to 21 points – in a 32-29 loss to the unbeaten 49ers.

“The defense – best in the world,” Seattle star wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba said. “They deserved to win the game today. … We let them down.”

The parade of costly giveaways began on the Seahawks’ opening series, when Sam Darnold threw an interception that San Francisco followed with a short 18-yard touchdown drive.

It continued in the second quarter, when running back Emanuel Wilson lost a fumble that set up an 11-yard TD run by 49ers star Christian McCaffrey on the very next play.

And the most disastrous moment came in the closing seconds of the first half, when running back George Holani coughed up a fumble that San Francisco recovered in the end zone for a touchdown.

The series of blunders spoiled the fact that Seattle’s defense held the 49ers’ red-hot offense to season lows of 269 total yards and 4.8 yards per play.

“We have to stay out of our own way at the end of the day,” Smith-Njigba said. “I mean, we spotted them 21 points. The defense played incredible. It’s on us to protect the ball and move the ball forward.”

It was strikingly reminiscent of two weeks prior, when the Seahawks committed three turnovers that led to 20 points in a 33-31 loss to the Washington Commanders. Of the 105 points opponents have scored against Seattle this season, 44 have come off turnovers.

The Seahawks have allowed an NFL-low 4.15 yards per game, which is tied for the fifth-best mark by any defense through the first five games of a season since 2010.

And yet, the reigning Super Bowl champions sit at 3-2 – largely because they have turned the ball over nine times, which is tied for fifth-most in the league.

Despite that, veteran wide receiver Cooper Kupp said Seattle’s defense never shows any signs of frustration toward the offense.

“That’s not how we operate,” Kupp said. “That’s never been the belief. That’s never been the culture. That’s anti-who we are. The way we operate on a day-to-day basis is a belief in one another to go out there and do your job to the best of your ability and know that the other side is doing everything they can to figure out their stuff.

“We’re a very tough, connected team,” he added. “And because of that, we have all the belief in the world that we’re gonna find a way to get things going in the right direction.”

Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV stressed that his unit could have played better in the red zone. The 49ers converted all three of their red-zone trips into touchdowns on Sunday. For the season, Seattle’s ranks 27th in red-zone touchdown rate, having allowed nine TDs on 12 trips.

“We could have executed better in the red zone,” Jones said. “We’ve been saying that, but we’ve gotta get stops. You turn those turndowns to three points, you may be looking at a different game.”

For the Seahawks, the encouraging part is they’ve been through this before.

Seattle committed 28 turnovers last season, which was second-most in the league. But the Seahawks cleaned things up at the perfect time, closing with four straight turnover-free games from Week 18 through the Super Bowl.

And when the turnover problem was at its worst last November, Jones famously delivered an impassioned defense of Darnold following the quarterback’s four-interception performance in Seattle’s 21-19 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. The Seahawks didn’t lose again on their way to the Lombardi Trophy.

“At the end of the day, they always have our backs and they let that be known,” Smith-Njigba said of Seattle’s defense. “And time after time again, they come through.

“We’re a band of brothers and we love each other and we’re going to get better. I know that they trust us to figure it out, and we will.”

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