5 Takeaways from the 49ers' Week 13 Loss Against the Seahawks

The San Francisco 49ers' playoff hopes hang by a thread following a dismal 19-3 loss to the fierce NFC West rival, Seattle Seahawks, on Thanksgiving night.

San Francisco's latest setback leaves Jim Harbaugh's club at 7-5 heading into the final four games of the regular season, one game out of a potential wild-card berth in the NFC.

In order to reach the postseason for a fourth straight year, the Niners will most likely need to win out. That prospect appears particularly improbable given San Francisco's performance at Levi's Stadium on Thursday and their tough schedule down the stretch.

Few Niners fans will want to relive the defeat to Seattle, but what did we learn about this inconsistent team from their performance versus the Seahawks. Here are my five takeaways from a disappointing evening for San Francisco.

Chris Borland maintains his brilliance

Despite the lopsided scoreline, San Francisco fans do not have to search too far to find positives from Week 13, as their defense produced yet another respectable outing.

The main disappointment from a defensive standpoint came as the 49ers allowed a 100-yard rusher for the third time in four games, with Vic Fangio's tiring and overworked unit being worn down by Marshawn Lynch in the second half.

It is perhaps not surprising that the Niners have struggled to defend the ground game in recent weeks when you consider that they have played the last three games without an experienced nose tackle due to Ian Williams' season-ending injury in Week 10.

Second-year player Quinton Dial is filling in at that spot while Glenn Dorsey tries to make his way back to full health following a torn biceps injury suffered in the offseason, and he has a run defense grade of -3.7 from Pro Football Focus (subscription required)

Yet, although the defense was unable to fully make up for the dreadful production of the offense, inside linebacker Chris Borland delivered another reminder of his quality in a performance that should count in his favour when the Defensive Rookie of The Year award is handed out at the end of the season. 

Borland racked up 16 tackles, including one for a loss, to take his tally for the season to 87. The former Wisconsin Badger brought down Lynch on more than one occasion, further silencing those who suggested that he could not play in the NFL due to his lack of size.

With injuries on the defensive front and in the secondary and the absences of All-Pro linebackers Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman, the San Francisco defense has been severely tested this season.

But the continued strong form of Borland indicates that when Willis and Bowman return next season, the 49ers front seven should be even more fearsome than in recent years.

The 49ers pass rush is back 

A lot of the immediate talk following Seattle's win has been about whether the Seahawks are back to their championship-winning best. After a victory over a tough division opponent on the road, that is fair discussion to open.

But something that has understandably slipped under the radar is the play of the 49ers pass rush, which displayed further signs of improvement by sacking Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson four times.

Wilson, with his outstanding ability to buy time in the pocket and execute improvised plays, was largely unaffected by the pressure as he picked apart the Niner defense by continually using his legs to keep plays alive and find the open man in the flat.

The efforts of the San Francisco pass rush may have been in vain this time around, however, the performance of that group since the return of outside linebacker Aldon Smith should be pleasing to defensive coordinator Fangio.

Opponent	QB Hurries	QB Hits	Sacks
NYG	22	4	2
WAS	6	4	5
SEA	20	2	4

Of the 26 sacks recorded by San Francisco in 2014, 11 have come since Smith came back to action following his nine-game suspension, with the 2012 All-Pro's presence on the field clearly raising the level of play of his team-mates.

With Smith and rookie Aaron Lynch—who has five sacks on the year—forming a dangerous tandem of edge-rushers, the San Francisco pass rush looks set to be a potent one for a long time to come. And after putting up decent numbers against Seattle, it will likely be pivotal to the Niners' hopes of bouncing back with a victory over the Oakland Raiders in Week 14.

Frank Gore's decline is quickening

San Francisco's failure to commit fully to the run game has been startling, especially when you consider that the 49ers backfield contains all-time leading rusher Frank Gore and exciting rookie Carlos Hyde.

Gore was handed the ball just 10 times on Thursday and totaled a mere 28 yards on the ground as he was completely stifled by a stout Seahawks defensive front. Falling behind in the first quarter did not aid the Niners ground game, however, their unwillingness to stick with the run provided further evidence that San Francisco has not settled on its offensive identity.

The Niners' offensive game plan has been confusing due to the apparent quality of their tailbacks and an offensive line that excels in run blocking, yet it is somewhat understandable given Gore's below-par form in 2014.

Five-time Pro Bowler Gore has just two 100-yard performances to his name this season and is averaging only 59.3 yards per game in his 10th season with the 49ers. As a patient runner with average speed, the 31-year-old Gore is unlikely to break off big runs on a consistent basis.

That lack of explosion was obvious against the Seahawks, who never once looked fearful of Gore and had little difficulty in rendering the rushing attack a complete irrelevance.

Indeed, when the Niners did get something going on the ground, it came through Hyde. The former Ohio State Buckeye averaged a yard per carry more than Gore by gaining 19 yards on his five attempts and generally looked like the more dangerous running back.

Gore is certainly not to blame for the 49ers' offensive struggles this term, and perhaps with a consistently increased workload, he would be able to make more of an impact. Still, there can be no doubt that the former Miami Hurricane does not carry the same threat he once did.

And, in a contract year, the signs are beginning to point to changing of the guard in the 49ers backfield.

Colin Kaepernick is not developing

Regardless of the struggles of the 49ers' passing offense, many have been of the opinion that Colin Kaepernick is showing signs of development as a pocket passer. 

That illusion was shattered by the Seahawks and, more specifically, cornerback Richard Sherman.

In picking off Kaepernick twice, the brash, outspoken and polarizing figure that is Sherman brutally exposed the deficiencies of the 49ers signal-caller, capitalizing on two costly errors from the 2011 second-round pick.

First Sherman jumped on an inaccurate throw to Brandon Lloyd in the opening quarter in a turnover that set up the only touchdown of the contest, and then he effectively clinched the game for the Seahawks by plucking another pass out of the air in the fourth quarter as Kaepernick attempted to force the ball to Stevie Johnson. 

Those two plays typified a dreadful night for Kaepernick that saw him fail to spot open receivers, continually miss on throws and find no success in throwing on a cornerback who has taken great pleasure in consistently shutting him down.

When the 49ers handed Kaepernick a six-year extension, the hope was that he could grow into a pocket passer with a talent for using his legs. What became clear versus Seattle is that has not happened and shows no signs of doing so any time soon.

In each of the last two seasons, Kaepernick has taken the Niners deep into the playoffs by using his superb running ability and penchant for brilliant improvisation. However, this year the focus has shifted well away from using Kaepernick as a runner, and simply put, that has been to the detriment of this offense.

It may be too late for the Niners to make a change to their philosophy that will drastically impact the fortunes of the offense in 2014, but long term, this unit may be best served by simplifying things for Kaepernick and allowing one of the better dual-threat quarterbacks in the league more freedom to do damage as a rusher.

Something has to change

Rumours of discontent in the 49ers locker room and front office have marred a campaign that promised so much following San Francisco's widely praised efforts in the draft.

Those in charge of the franchise have continually denied the reports of unrest, yet the performance produced against Seattle seems to have left the powers that be extremely frustrated, with CEO Jed York issuing an apology to fans on Twitter for an unacceptable showing:

If speculation is to be believed, then head coach Harbaugh's days in the Bay Area have long been numbered.

Ridding the franchise of a coach who has led the 49ers to three straight NFC Championship games after close to a decade of mediocrity would be a short-sighted and unpopular move among a fanbase that has predominantly directed its anger at offensive coordinator Greg Roman. 

Still, without reading too much into York's comments, it would appear his fuse is shortening.

This is a team with the talent to be a perennial contender. Perhaps it would be wrong to hit the panic button after a campaign that the 49ers should end with a winning record, but both fans and ownership look to be in agreement that something has to change for San Francisco to remain successful.

All team statistics courtesy of NFL.com and all individual statistics courtesy of Pro Football Reference unless otherwise stated.

Nicholas McGee is a San Francisco 49ers Featured Columnist based in Leeds, England. Follow him on Twitter @nicholasmcgee24.