Seahawks' TNF Win over Lackluster 49ers Nothing More Than Small Step Forward

For the 12th Man, Thursday night's emphatic 20-3 win by the Seattle Seahawks over the rival San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium was a welcome respite from consecutive crushing losses to undefeated teams. The Seahawks dominated from start to finish, staying in the NFC playoff hunt in the process.

But the shine from the victory is false. The win is fool's gold. Yes, the Seahawks won the game, but in doing so, they put the problems that have dogged them in recent weeks on display.

And once again the team hammered home a message, even in victory.

The Seahawks' run of dominance in the NFC is in serious trouble.

Right now, said 12th Man (and woman) is headed to the comments section to light me up—to point out the positives from the game.

And there were some, outside the obvious fact that the Seahawks ended the night with more points than the 49ers.

For the first time in 2015, tailback Marshawn Lynch eclipsed the 100-yard mark, picking up 122 yards on 27 carries and finding the end zone for the second time this year.

As Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle pointed out, hitting that benchmark against the NFC West rivals is becoming old hat for Beast Mode:

And Seattle's defense was absolutely dominant in limiting the 49ers to a pathetic 142 yards of total offense. The Legion of Boom forced 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick to spend most of the night either flat on his back or running for his life.

As Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk tweeted, defensive end Michael Bennett had himself quite a game:

Actually, make that 6.5 for the season and a career-best 3.5 on the night.

Quarterback Russell Wilson also provided fans with a highlight-reel play, finding wide receiver Tyler Lockett for the rookie's first career receiving score on this 43-yard connection:

So what's the problem?

Well, why don't you ask Wilson after he gets done soaking in the cold tub. Because he got pounded. Again.

As Jeff Dooley wrote for the Washington Post before the game, the Seahawks offensive line has been, well, what comes after abysmal in the metaphorical Rolodex?

"

Right now, the Seahawks own the worst offensive line in the league. They are PFF’s third-worst run-blocking unit, and rank dead last in pass-protection. None of their five starters has earned a positive grade this season in either facet of the game, and Wilson has been under pressure more than any quarterback in the league. (To his credit, he’s our sixth-ranked quarterback despite getting little help up front.)

"

As John Boyle of the team's website reported, just over a week ago head coach Pete Carroll was lauding the progress the offensive line was making, even as the Seahawks were losing games:

"

I really like the way we came off the football. I really felt like our style was where it’s supposed to be. You saw us attacking the line of scrimmage, and the stuff that we live by showed up and was successful, so we want to keep going, keep doing that so it’s important that we stay with it and keep growing.

"

The only movement the Seattle line managed against San Francisco was backward movement. The 49ers sacked Wilson five more times on the night. That makes 31 times this season Wilson has been taken down, the most in the National Football League (his 26 sacks taken were tops in the league before Thursday as well). He's on pace to be sacked a staggering 71 times in 2015.

And Wilson incurred that damage from a 49ers team that entered the night 24th in the NFL in sacks.

Let's put it this way:

It's that bad. And whether Wilson and the Seahawks want to admit it or not, the hits are getting to the young quarterback.

Whether the 26-year-old Wilson is actually under duress (which is just about always) or just hearing footsteps, he's bailing sooner and sooner. Taking risks with the football. Forcing throws, including a pair of drive-killing interceptions against San Francisco:

Against the woeful 49ers, it didn't cost them. Against the likes of the Green Bay Packers, Carolina Panthers or Cincinnati Bengals, it's going to get them beat.

Oh, wait. It already has.

Yes, there were positives Thursday night, chief among them the straw that stirs the Frappuccino that is the Seahawks offense:

Gotta love Marshawn Lynch. He's having fun being him.

But the notion that this is some sort of springboard win, that this Seahawks team is set to go on a tear that will launch them into the playoffs and possibly to a third straight Super Bowl appearance, is at best wishful thinking and at worst nonsense.

According to Curtis Crabtree of KJR, that's essentially the spin Carroll tried to put on the victory after the game:

With an offensive line whose favorite blocking technique is the matador (OLE!)?

Not a chance.

Gary Davenport is an NFL analyst at Bleacher Report and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association and the Pro Football Writers of America. You can follow Gary on Twitter @IDPSharks.