Coming into Seattle with a three-game winning streak, the 49ers had a chance to bury Russell Wilson, Pete Carroll and the Seahawks with a win in the Pacific Northwest, moving their rival's record to 3-9 on the year.
Instead, the 49ers were shut out in the second half and stopped at the goal line Sunday in a 30-23 loss. There were a lot of reasons for the final score, but the Seahawks are convinced a lot of it had to do with the words of one of their longest-tenured players.
Veteran receiver Tyler Lockett addressed his teammates the night before playing the 49ers, and his words clearly resonated.
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“He [Lockett] just basically made it open floor for everybody to communicate their why,” Carlos Dunlap said to reporters. “Why we sacrifice what we do for this game. Why we continue to work and fight for this game, when the season’s going the way it is. Why we’re here.
"How did we get here? Where we came from? Who are we doing it for? And a lot of the messages were very impactful.”
Lockett led the Seahawks with seven receptions for 68 yards and one touchdown.
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San Francisco 49ers
The Seahawks now have four wins this season, two of which have been against the 49ers.
“Last night, Tyler did a really nice job in the meeting with us,” Carroll said. “He had a chance to bring up something that he wanted to talk about. We gave him the opportunity. He did a great job with our guys, about hanging together, and about why we are connected, and why we are what we are.
"Really cool. I think it had something to do with today.”
Even with the loss, the 49ers still find themselves in the NFC playoff picture. But next week's game against a tough Cincinnati Bengals team just became that much more important, and the Seahawks still are alive. Whether it was a speech or not, the 49ers and Seahawks went in two opposite directions following Sunday's showdown.