Seahawks slip to 49ers, 24-14

Not this week. And the way they played last night, maybe not 10 days from now, either.

It was hard to tell what looked worse last night — the weather, the Seahawks' offense, or their fourth-quarter defense.

That offense failed to score a single point for all but nine seconds of the second half on the stubborn San Francisco 49ers, and the Seahawks failed in a second bid in less than a week to clinch the NFC West championship with their maddening 24-14 loss to yet another team not believed to be in their class.

That defense, which shut out the 49ers for all but three seconds of the first half, gave up three touchdowns in the last 11:30 of the game.

The defending NFC champions hardly looked the part in dropping to 8-6. Now they'll have 10 days to stew on their most demoralizing loss of the season before facing the powerful San Diego Chargers on Christmas Eve.

Seattle had chances to score and build on leads of 7-0 and 7-3. The Seahawks squandered those in losing their second straight game. And Frank Gore, who ran all over the Seahawks for 212 yards in November, finished with 144 yards on 29 carries.

It left many scratching their heads and wondering how to regroup.

Any hopes the Seahawks had for a No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs were all but dashed. The Seahawks look bound for a wild-card game at home next month, provided they can win the division.

That part itself is even somewhat in doubt. The 49ers (6-8) are still mathematically alive to win the West, and if both teams finish the year with identical records, the 49ers win the division because of a season sweep in head-to-head meetings.

But all of that is yet to be determined and pure prognostication.

The Seahawks got off to another frustrating start, as they did with two first-quarter turnovers at Arizona last Sunday. Last night, they opened the game with a pair of gaffes that miraculously didn't cost them points, as they did at Arizona.

The Seahawks' Nate Burleson tried to field the game's first punt on a bounce, and the ball skipped off his hands. It was knocked around several times before the Seahawks' Oliver Celestin recovered.

The Seahawks started their first possession by narrowly avoiding an interception of a Matt Hasselbeck pass, as 49ers linebacker Brandon Moore dropped a pass intended for for running back Shaun Alexander.

The Seahawks again had problems hanging on to the ball, even when the pregame monsoon subsided. A pair of dropped passes, one by Deion Branch and one by Jerramy Stevens, ended the first two Seahawks' drives. Stevens' miscue drew boos from the crowd.

Seattle had good field position to start its third possession, and Alexander was headed for the end zone on a run from the 49ers' 24 when cornerback Walt Harris stripped him of the ball at the 6. Burleson, though, atoned for his earlier fumble and pounced on the ball at the 3.

Alexander scored on the next play, his fourth rushing touchdown of the season, to give the Seahawks a 7-0 lead with 2:18 left in the first quarter.

With 4:41 to play in the half, Hasselbeck hit Stevens on third-and-12 for what looked to be a 25-yard gain down to the San Francisco 11. But the 49ers challenged the catch, and replays showed Stevens dropped the ball.

The Seahawks were forced to punt.

The 49ers were about to once again with 1:55 left, but they snapped the ball directly to running back Michael Robinson, who ran up the right side for 33 yards to the Seahawks 24.

But San Francisco's extended drive as far as the Seattle 9 before a 3-yard loss and two penalties sent them back to the 21. Joe Nedney connected on a 39-yard field goal three seconds before halftime.

The Seahawks opened the second half with a drive to the 49ers' 20, but Hasselbeck was intercepted by safety Mark Roman in the end zone.

Still, the Seahawks' defense remained stubborn, until a 54-yard bomb and go-ahead touchdown pass to tight end Vernon Davis made it 10-7 49ers with 11:24 left in the game.

After Burleson's 28-yard kickoff gave them excellent field position, the Seahawks couldn't gain a first down. They went for it on fourth-and-one with 9:49 to play, but Manny Lawson stopped Mack Strong for no gain.

That proved to be the turning point.

The 49ers got the ball back and turned to Gore for big chunks of yards. Just when the Seahawks appeared to have quarterback Alex Smith sacked, Smith got out of cornerback Kelly Herndon's grasp and fired a touchdown toss to Gore for 20 yards. That made it 17-7.

The later 49ers tried a trick play with Smith bootlegging off a fake handoff. He scored from 18 yards, completing a wild run of points against a downtrodden Seattle defense.

Game over, except for a meaningless jump-ball touchdown catch of 22 yards by Stevens with 9 seconds to play that completed the scoring.