San Francisco 49ers: 49ers Lose Championship Game In Heartbreaking Fashion

Jan 19, 2014; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson (3) greets San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick (7) after the 2013 NFC Championship football game at CenturyLink Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

Well, I guess that’s that. The San Francisco 49ers’ season comes to an end on a last-minute interception in the end zone. After all the grief the 49ers were getting during the week, the team played hard and almost came away with a win. Unfortunately they just couldn’t pull it out at the end as they lost to the Seattle Seahawks 23-17. For the team and the fans, this is going to be a tough pill to swallow.

Many people, including himself, are going to put this loss on Colin Kaepernick’s shoulders. While he did make some mistakes, the entire reason the 49ers were in that game was because of Kaepernick. Kaepernick had 153 yards through the air and 130 yards on the ground. After being doubted because of his earlier games in Seattle, Kaepernick played hard and showed the NFL that he can play well in that stadium. Kaepernick threw two interceptions to one touchdown, and lost one fumble. The fumble wasn’t too costly because the 49ers got the ball right back, but the two interceptions were back-breakers. No matter what, Kaepernick showed his potential once again, and the 49ers have a lot to look forward to.

Frank Gore and the rest of the running backs just simply did not show up. The four backs only tallied 31 yards on 16 carries. That is just not acceptable when you have a young quarterback who has struggled in that venue in the past. A good sign for the 49ers is that Kaepernick was able to take the game into his own hands and be the entire offense. That was the question that everyone was asking. Could he carry the offense by himself? He proved that he could today against the number one rated defense.

The first half of this game was the defensive battle that everyone expected it to be. The second half? Not so much. The 49ers defense made some crucial mistakes in that game. Whether it be going offsides on a fourth down play or just taking bad angles and missing tackles, they didn’t look like their former selves. The defense played hard even with their backs against the wall and almost all hope lost. They allowed their first 100 yard rusher in Marshawn Lynch and gave up 215 yards of passing to Russell Wilson.

The biggest tragedy of this game was the loss of NaVorro Bowman and Mike Iupati. Both are exceptional players that went down with injuries during the game. The 49ers and the rest of the country is hoping for a speedy recovery for both players.

The 49ers start a long offseason Monday, but they should be excited for the future.