The Seattle Seahawks put on a defensive masterclass in the 13-3 win over the San Francisco 49ers on Jan. 3 at Levi’s Stadium. When the Seahawks needed this type of performance to secure the NFC West division and No. 1 seed in the conference, the united stepped up.
Seattle limited Brock Purdy to 127 passing yards and the Niners to 53 yards rushing. Moreover, the Seahawks’ defense sacked Purdy three times and picked him off once.
After the win, CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones didn’t hold back on his praise of the Seahawks’ defense for putting together a performance that allowed for the road to the Super Bowl to run through Seattle.
“This was a fantastic performance by a defense that I know we talk a lot about, the Houston Texans,” Jones said on the Jan. 3 edition of “CBS Sports HQ.” “We have talked a lot about the Denver Broncos. But what this defense did [on Jan. 3] is what they have been doing.
“We’re all waiting on the clock to strike midnight, and us not believing we’re going to get to Sam Darnold, and us not believing in the Seattle Seahawks, because it’s not the Legion of Boom, and we don’t have some nickname for this defense. I’m telling you what, they are arguably one of the best defenses in the NFL.”
Seahawks Are Backing Sam Darnold After Beating 49ers
While Sam Darnold didn’t have a fantastic game for Seattle, the Seahawks didn’t need him to be spectacular. All the veteran QB needed to do was make timely throws, take care of the football, and hand it off as the running game was effective. Regardless of what the outside says of Darnold, Seahawks’ Zach Charbonnet and the rest of the team are backing him.
“We don’t look at any narrative based on anyone on this team,” Charbonnet said on the Jan. 3 edition of “SportsCenter.” “We love Sam. He’s doing a great job for us. He’s going to continue to lead us, and we’re going to continue to follow his lead.”
Seahawks’ Ernest Jones Doesn’t Hold Back
Moreover, Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones also didn’t hold back after Seattle defeated the Niners. Jones also sent a direct message to the analyst and other media members who didn’t believe this team could finish atop the NFC.
“Yeah, they be calling us pretenders all year,” Jones told NFL Network’s Steve Wyche after the win over the 49ers. “We’re going to show you. Every week, we showing out, man. That’s all it is. They don’t think we really win in these games. They think it’s fluke. When we come out here, we win games no matter what…
“It’s just a complete game. We tell those guys, man, you all hold on to the ball, man, get points, but ultimately let us get our rest, and we’re going to go out there and fight, man. So that’s what we’re able to do today. They were able to control the tempo on offense, and we were just able to go get stops.”
Seahawks Defense Gets Strong Words After Beating 49ers