Kaepernick Continues to Sink 49ers Offense with Brutal Showing vs. Seahawks

There was a moment Thursday night when it became obvious San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick is deeply flawed and is a problem far more often than a solution.

Several of them, actually, so go ahead and take your pick while sifting through the rubble of a 19-3 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. A loss that’s likely ripped the life-support cord from the wall on the 49ers’ season.

Maybe you were particularly disgusted by Kaepernick’s first interception on a ball placed so perfectly into Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman’s hands that it seemed like he was the intended receiver. Kaepernick’s throw sailed, and the first-quarter turnover would be a dagger during a field-position fight. A short time later Seahawks running back Robert Turbin ran 13 yards for the game’s only touchdown.

It was one play, one throw, and an early interception that didn’t have to be crushing.

But that one play and throw was a vivid illustration of what’s wrong with Kaepernick. His results can often be excruciating to watch, but the process—his process—is so much worse.

For example, if you chose that first Sherman interception as the Kaepernick lowlight, this was an immediate question: Why are you targeting Sherman deep on an out route? ESPN's Jim Trotter's tweet says it all:

That decision often ends poorly against Sherman. Kaepernick could have drawn on both previous experience or any amount of basic tape study to see that Sherman has the unique ability to track the quarterback’s eyes and his receiver. He’s able to face the quarterback and then break quickly.

Or maybe instead the moment when you realized Kaepernick was overwhelmed came later, with Sherman involved again. During this particular moment of bewilderment, the 49ers had fleeting hope. They were down by 13 points but had advanced to the Seahawks’ 46-yard line with just over seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.

That’s when Kaepernick was flushed from the pocket, rolling to his right while under duress. No worries, right? Kaepernick loves that sort of messy chaos and seems to hate the pocket as much as most normal people hate cranberry sauce. Of his six interceptions prior to Week 12, only two had come when Kaepernick had faced pressure, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required).

But even on the run when his instincts take over and thinking is minimized, Kaepernick is prone to locking in on one receiver. When throwing to that one receiver means lofting a lazy ball toward Sherman off your back foot while being chased, maybe just don’t throw it?

This is a look of failure on a ball headed for Sherman.

Credit: NFL.com

"I was laughing," Sherman said during his post game press conference, via ESPN's Terry Blount. "I told [the 49ers] on the sidelines not to throw at me or I would end the game.”

As John Boyle of the Everett Herald observed, if we include the tip to linebacker Malcolm Smith during the 2013 NFC Championship Game, Sherman is now responsible for 20 percent of Kaepernick’s career interceptions (playoffs included). Kaepernick knows Sherman well, yet the fundamental errors in judgement keep coming.

Or maybe you didn’t need a moment at all to see Kaepernick’s struggles. I didn’t, because the juxtaposition between Kaepernick and his counterpart on the other side was jarring, and at times comical.

Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson faced similarly daunting circumstances. He was often under siege in the pocket and forced to scramble while evading a relentless pass rush. There were few options open deep downfield for him and even less time to find them.

Wilson was clawing for every yard against one of the NFL’s best defenses (the second-best, actually). The result? A lot of small somethings that led to points, instead of the many nothings Kaepernick provided.

When the 49ers continually sent pressure off the edge, Wilson made blitzers whiff. Once that pressure missed, there was an opening somewhere downfield, and it was a matter of scanning quickly to find that free target.

That’s what Wilson did on his 63-yard connection with tight end Tony Moeaki to set up a field goal. As blitzes kept failing Wilson continued to locate pass-catchers open near the sideline, where the pressure originated from.

When the ball landed at its desired destination after Wilson was done with his spinning and whirling, the likes of Moeaki or running back Robert Turbin (who had a 34-yard catch that set up another field goal) saw plenty of green grass ahead.

So Wilson was content to take what the defense gave him, and the Seahawks gladly turned short completions into long gallops. That’s why running backs were on the receiving end for 40 percent of Wilson’s first-half passing yardage.

Kaepernick? He threw wide repeatedly, or low, or simply didn’t see receivers open underneath for those same short completions. This led to an utterly rudderless offense. Midway through the third quarter ESPN Stats & Info noted a rather startling Kaepernick trend:

By the end of the game his accuracy on balls traveling over five yards became worse, as he completed only 4 of his 15 attempts at that distance for 37 yards with the two interceptions.

The four 49ers wide receivers who caught at least one pass combined for 62 receiving yards. Their leading receiver was Carlos Hyde with 38 yards. He plays running back.

In the first half Kaepernick averaged 3.5 yards per pass attempt, which improved to still-putrid 4.2 by the end of the game. That led to a passer rating of 36.7 another average from a real professional football team: 3.2 yards per play.

There was joy and hope prior to Thursday for the 49ers. They had won three straight games and were suddenly banging on the playoff door again. They even entertained wild division-title dreams after the Arizona Cardinals fell to 9-2. They sat two games back of the ultimate season revival.

But their offensive spiral into a blazing inferno was often lost amid that winning. Though the Seahawks gave Kaepernick his toughest challenge, his poor decisions and inconsistent crosshairs aren’t new. Over San Francisco’s past four games, he’s averaged 195 passing yards, while completing 54.6 percent of his throws. During that stretch Kaepernick has also thrown only three touchdown passes with three interceptions.

This sinking 49ers season will likely hit a rocky bottom. When it does, a team that’s preserved through potentially crippling injuries can look back on this Thanksgiving game as the night when crawling along on defensive muscle and nearly zero offense ended.

Kaepernick was exposed as a quarterback who can’t handle the highest competition. And the 49ers offense was exposed as a unit that can’t support its defense.