Marshawn Lynch dives in for TD in return to Seahawks
Russell Wilson drove the Seahawks to the 1-yard line, but a delay-of-game penalty pushed them back 5 yards and never gave Lynch a chance for another opportunity to score.
Tight end Jacob Hollister was ruled just inches shy of the end zone on a fourth-down reception, sealing the win — and the NFC West title — for San Francisco.
The Seahawks will enter the playoffs as the NFC’s No. 5 seed, which means a wild-card game against the fourth-seed Eagles in Philadelphia next weekend. The Seahawks would have been NFC West champs and the conference’s No. 3 seed with a win over San Francisco. That would have come with a home playoff game. The Seahawks will instead have to go on the road, where they won a franchise-best seven games this season.
Lynch’s score cut the San Francisco 49ers’ lead to 19-14 with just under 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter. It was his first touchdown with Seattle since Nov. 15, 2015, his last season with the team before the first of his two retirements. He finished with 34 yards on 12 attempts.
The Seahawks brought Lynch and Robert Turbin back this week after Chris Carson and C.J. Prosise suffered season-ending injuries in their last game. That left rookie sixth-round pick Travis Homer as their only healthy tailback.
Homer started Sunday night and gained 62 yards on 10 carries plus another 30 yards on five catches. Turbin didn’t have an offensive touch.