The Seattle Seahawks broke a franchise record in their 26-23 loss to the 49ers on Sunday, although it was a rather dubious one. Their 148 penalty yards broke the previous franchise high of 145, which was set way back on December 8, 1979, when Seattle beat the Broncos 28-23.
“We hurt ourselves so much with this penalty thing,” coach Pete Carroll commented after the game. “It just took our chances away. We ran the football, we converted on third down, we held them on third down, time of possession. But uncharacteristically we had 148 yards in penalties. And 10 in the second half which is just crazy, I don’t know how that could happen.”
Seattle committed 14 penalties on Sunday, including three 15-yard penalties on one drive that allowed San Francisco to gain 45 yards and kick a field goal.
They committed five penalties in the fourth quarter and two more in overtime, a critical holding penalty on third-string guard Ethan Pocic that negated a huge play to J.D. McKissic, and a defensive pass interference call on Shaquill Griffin that moved San Francisco into field goal range, which led to the game-winner.
Seattle has long been one of the most penalized teams in the NFL, but crucial mistakes late in the game were what led to the loss on Sunday.
They’ll need to regroup this week, as they’ll host the 11-3 Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, with another opportunity to clinch a spot in the playoffs should they pull off a victory.
