SEATTLE (AP) — Richard Sherman celebrated by dancing withcheerleaders, Marshawn Lynch cut, plowed
and strolled his way to threetouchdowns, and Pete Carroll got one rousing birthday gift.The awaited NFC West
showdown between the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers was a one-sided rout.Lynchscored on touchdown
runs of 14 and two yards, and added a seven-yard TDreception in the second half, Seattle flustered Colin
Kaepernick intohis worst passing game as a starter, and the Seahawks dominated in a29-3 win Sunday
night."Every game we feel like we should dominate, and we did," Seattle safety Earl Thomas
said.Thegame was delayed 60 minutes late in the first quarter whenthunderstorms blew through the area. The
highly anticipated matchup wassloppy as opposed to sensational, but Lynch more than did his
part.Lynchfinished with 135 total yards, including 98 yards rushing, to make upfor quarterback Russell
Wilson hitting on just two of his first 10throws and Seattle’s receivers struggling to get open. His TD run
on thefirst drive of the second half gave the Seahawks a 12-0 lead. His TDcatch pushed the advantage to 19-3
early in the fourth quarter."Weare dedicated to running the ball and we are going to keep workinguntil
we really own it, and we don’t own the running right now like wecan. We’ll get better at it," Carroll
said.This won’t be a gamenoted for efficiency or execution by either side. There were carelessturnovers and
untimely penalties. But that was expected between thesenasty rivals and the favorites not just in their
division but aspotential NFC representatives in the Super Bowl.And it was the Seahawks getting an early,
important advantage over the 49ers."Wedid what we expected to. I think you guys expected something
different.I think you guys expected something a little more Kaepernick-y,"Sherman said. "We didn’t
expect any of that. We expect guys to playdiscipline ball."Kaepernick failed to get anything going in
thepassing game, unable to break down Seattle’s stellar secondary. He wasintercepted in the end zone in the
first quarter when Earl Thomas hauledin a deflected pass intended for Vernon Davis. That was the only
timethe 49ers threatened to score a touchdown. Kam Chancellor interceptedKaepernick midway through the
fourth quarter, returning the pick to theSan Francisco 2 and leading to Lynch’s third TD.Then there
wasSherman, Seattle’s ultra-confident All-Pro, who intercepted Kaepernick’sdeep sideline pass for Davis with
about 13 minutes remaining. Hecelebrated his first interception of the season by dancing with theSeahawks
cheer squad. Steven Hauschka kicked a 37-yard field goal, andthe Seahawks’ lead was 22-3 with 11:31
left."He should probably stay at cornerback," Seattle wide receiver Golden Tate joked about
Sherman. "I don’t see a future in that."Andjust because Carroll can’t stop competing, he
challenged and won theSeahawks another turnover following a kickoff fumble with 4:15 left andthe Seahawks
leading by 26.Wilson finished 8 of 19 passing for142 yards, one of the worst games in his young career.
Kaepernick was 13of 28 for 127 yards passing, and he ran for another 87 yards. His threeinterceptions
matched his entire season total from 2012. Frank Gore washeld to just 16 yards on nine carries, and Anquan
Boldin, who torturedGreen Bay last week for 13 catches and 208 yards, was targeted just oncein the first
three quarters. His only catch came with 9:40 remaining.Boldinwas shadowed most of the night by Sherman. It
was a request Shermanmade following Boldin’s big day a week ago and with the Seahawks minustheir other
starting cornerback Brandon Browner."I asked Coach for the challenge," Sherman said. "I
wanted to follow him. There were a lot of things said this week."The 49ers finished with five turnovers
and no TDs in a game for the third time since the start of 1979 season."I don’t think any of us are
proud of our performance," San Francisco coach Jim Harbaugh said.Leading5-0 at halftime after a wacky
first half of delays and points comingvia safety and a field goal, Seattle started the second half going
toLynch. He carried on the first four plays, and when Seattle facedthird-and-12, Wilson scrambled and bought
time for Doug Baldwin to getopen downfield for a 51-yard reception to the 20. After a penalty backedup the
Seahawks to the 14, Lynch took an inside handoff and dartednearly untouched for his first touchdown of the
season.Seattleextended the lead later in the half thanks to a careless personal foulpenalty from Aldon
Smith, slapping the helmet of Seattle’s BrenoGiacomini behind the play after Zach Miller and the Seahawks
werestopped short on third-and-28. Given another chance, Wilson stayed inthe pocket against blitzing safety
Craig Dahl on third-and-4 to findLynch wide open in the left flat. Lynch took a few steps toward the
endzone, stopped and waited, and finally crossed the goal line, pushing thelead to 22-3."He was saying
he just took a couple of seconds off the clock," Wilson said.Notes:Seattle played the final three
quarters without starting left tackleRussell Okung, who was out with a toe injury. Carroll said he
didn’tknow the severity. … San Francisco lost nose tackle Ian Williams(ankle) and safety Eric Reid (head)
to injuries. Davis also injured ahamstring. … Seattle held San Francisco’s three running backs whocarried
the ball to 13 total yards on 11 attempts. … The crowd of68,338 was the largest for a Seahawks game at
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