Seahawks continue to dominate division rival 49ers; win, 20-3

SANTA CLARA, Calif. —  Russell Wilson and the Seahawks ruled their one-sided rivalry against the 49ers for another night.

Another Thursday night, in fact, and on San Francisco’s home field again. No turkey this time, just some high-flying defense and hard running by Marshawn Lynch.

Wilson threw a 43-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Lockett late in the first half, Lynch added a leaping one-yard score, and Seattle beat San Francisco, 20-3, for its fourth straight victory against the NFC West rivals.

“It felt like a really normal Seahawk night tonight,” Coach Pete Carroll said. “Defense played really well all night. … Nice to see us run the football again and run it with some authority.”

The Seahawks (3-4) whipped San Francisco in Levi’s Stadium on a Thursday in prime time 11 months after Richard Sherman chomped turkey on the field last Thanksgiving night after a 19-3 victory.

Wilson completed 10 of his first 12 passes and finished with 235 yards passing, and Lynch ran for 122 yards after vomiting on the sideline in the first half. Seattle won for the first time in four road games this season, avoiding another fourth-quarter collapse.

“The idea was to believe in one another,” Wilson said about his message to the team along with defensive end Michael Bennett. “We lost four tough games but we thought we could have won.”

This game lacked its usual intrigue with both teams trying to save their seasons and Carroll missing former nemesis and Michigan Coach Jim Harbaugh.

Wilson made the key plays and Colin Kaepernick struggled once again facing Seattle as the 49ers (2-5) lost four days after snapping a four-game losing streak by beating Baltimore.

Steven Hauschka sent dirt flying when he kicked a 49-yard field goal in the second quarter four days after Ravens kicker Justin Tucker slipped on the turf and shanked one off the right upright and slipped to the ground on the field that will host the Super Bowl in early February.

Wilson was sacked five times to push his NFL-leading total to 31 and threw a pair of interceptions, but still made plenty of big plays for another lopsided result against the Niners.

“It’s always cool to win in the division; it’s great to win on the road,” Carroll said.

Fans left early again in an eerily similar scene to Thanksgiving night, when 49ers Chief Executive Jed York apologized on Twitter in the waning moments by saying: “This performance wasn’t acceptable. I apologize for that.”

This time, it was former 49ers wideout Kassim Osgood weighing in on Twitter with: “Something ain’t right in SF.”

Kaepernick’s errant passes sailed into both sidelines, one ball even hitting a 49ers staff member in the head early in the game and requiring him to be checked.

Phil Dawson kicked a 35-yard field goal late in the third, and the 49ers have been held to single digits in their last three losses to Seattle with just one touchdown — outscored, 56-13.

Kaepernick dropped to 1-6 in seven starts against the Seahawks with three touchdown passes to nine interceptions and 24 sacks, six more Thursday.

Bennett had 3 1/2 of those sacks for Seattle, which expects to build off this game after some close losses the Seahawks wish they could have back, such as Sunday’s overtime loss to Carolina at home.

He has a new motto, too: chopping wood.

“When you’re chopping wood, just keep chopping until the tree falls, man, you can’t get ahead of yourself,” Bennett said.

The Seahawks’ winning streak in the series started with the NFC championship game in January 2014 that propelled them to a Super Bowl victory. Seattle has won six out of seven overall against San Francisco.

Jermaine Kearse caught a 21-yard pass over a leaping NaVorro Bowman, facing Seattle for the first time since a frightening left knee injury in the NFC title game. He needed surgery and was sidelined all of last season.

San Francisco’s 55 yards in the first half were the fewest allowed by the Seahawks defense in an opening half since Week 17 of the 2013 season against St. Louis. The 49ers finished with 142, fewer than the 164 they managed on Thanksgiving.

On their opening drive, the Seahawks needed six plays once they reached the three-yard line before Lynch’s leaping touchdown run, scoring just their second touchdown of the season on the initial drive.