Following a pair of encouraging outings over the last two weeks, the San Francisco 49ers were unable to solve the riddle that was the Seattle Seahawks defense on Thursday.
In the 20-3 loss, the offense amassed just 142 total yards and eight first downs. The team punted nine times.
Postgame, Colin Kaepernick told reporters that the 49ers didn't match Seattle's intensity.
"They played better than us tonight. That's the bottom line," Kaepernick said. "We just didn't play well. We didn't execute the way that we need to."
Thursday night's substandard showing on offense was especially hard to swallow because San Francisco had scored a combined 52 points in its previous two games.
The Seahawks sacked Kaepernick six times and held the quarterback to 124 yards passing on 13 completions.
"They're a very talented defense," Kaepernick said. "They have great players over there. They've lost a few games late, that's why they were 2-4."
Kaepernick finished the game with a bandage wrapped around his right thumb. He said he experienced swelling, but no bone break.
The signal-caller is now 1-6 in his career against the Seahawks.
"We didn't play well enough to win tonight," he said.
San Francisco's marquee free-agent addition, Torrey Smith, finished the game with no catches on one target. Kaepernick thought that Seattle schemed to take the speedy wide receiver away by covering him in zone with Richard Sherman over the top.
The 49ers instead hoped to attack the opposite field cornerback, Cary Williams.
"We thought we'd have some opportunities over there," Kaepernick said. "We didn't take advantage of them. We didn't have the right situations to get the ball over there."
A key moment in the evening occurred just a few moments after the opening kickoff. On the third play from scrimmage, Kaepernick had Reggie Bush open in the flat for an easy first down, but the running back couldn't handle the pass. The 49ers were forced to punt and the Seahawks answered by scoring a touchdown.
"I wouldn't say it was a momentum-changer, but those are plays we have to be able to make and convert those third downs when we have the opportunity," Kaepernick said. "But it wasn't that first drive that lost us this game."
