I wanted to breakdown the worst plays by the Seahawks offense because that was the biggest difference in this game.
My process: pause the film pre-snap, check the down, distance, situation, where you're at on the field, what the personnel and formation is for both teams, and then what happens post-snap.
TLDR is Fleury needs to be better, Darnold's decision making needs to be better, and our RB coach should be fired for not teaching guys how to secure the ball better.
2 fumbles on Holani, 1 fumble on Wilson, 2 sacks on Fleury, 1 sack on Cross, 2 sacks (almost a third) on Darnold, and 2 picks on Darnold.
Sack #1 (Fleury): 2nd & 3. 2 TEs, 2 WRs, 1 RB - Darnold under center, quick 3 step drop, 2 WR and 2 TEs are running 4 out routes at the same depth of 5 yards, 2 to each side, and Holani stays in backfield to pass pro but then runs forward. 2s after snap Abe gets horribly beat by his man and Darnold is sacked.
On this play Niners had 4 down linemen, 1 out wide blitzing on Abe, corners are in press-man, and 3 LB's middle of the field at the first down marker. The Niners were in the right defense to shut down this play, whether it was a run or short pass. A counter run to the blitzing side would've gone for at least 2 yards as the blitzer went very wide.
Looking at it from Sam's POV you have 4 guys running the same route at the same depth, all out routes, so nobody in the middle of the field or deep. Nobody was open. Kupp and JSN were the best options as the far outside receivers and it would've been a contested throw to either side. I chalk this up to bad play design because even if Abe gets his block for 3s, by that time the receivers are done with their routes and it would've been an off script play from there.
Pick #1 (Darnold): 3rd & 10 shadow of your own end zone. 1 TE, 3 WR, 1 RB - Darnold in shotgun. On snap Holani rolls out right, nobody follows due to blitzing LB and the other LB stays middle of the field. Darnold has a clean pocket.
On this play Niners have 4 down linemen and a blitzer standing up in front of Zabel. 1 LB middle of the field, 2 shell safeties. Only 1 CB in press-man on Kupp in the slot. JSN motions to the far right of Kupp and a DB in off-man moves over with him. Shaheed's corner was playing 9 yards off of him and never moves up. Overall the Niners were looking to put Sam under pressure to make a quick throw and the Niners were conceding 4-6 yards but protecting anything deeper.
A quick toss out to Holani on the right or Shaheed on the left and you get 5 yards easily. A broken tackle would've gone a long ways. Instead Darnold forces a throw to JSN who's not open at all and it gets picked. I chalk this up to poor decision making by Darnold. Also worth noting Seahawks were misaligned on this play so any positive gain would've pushed them back.
Sack #2: 2nd & 10 deep in your own territory. 2 TE, 2 WR, 1 RB. TE's lined up wide in a stack with JSN and Kupp. On snap Wilson leaks out left and nobody follows as the LB and CB both playing zone on that side follow Kupp and Barner. Arroyo is wide open on a 5 yard out route on the right if Darnold throws in rhythm. JSN and Kupp run deep routes with 2 deep safeties playing over the top. The o-line holds their blocks for 3 seconds until Darnold literally walks right into the sack. This was the cleanest looking pocket he had all day.
On this play Niners have 4 down linemen, corners play off, 3 LB's middle of the field 5 yards back playing zone. The Niners were again conceding a 5 yard gain.
A quick toss out to Arroyo or Wilson gets you 5 yards here and eventually even Kupp and Barner beats their men. Unfortunately Sam is locked in on JSN's route and never looks away until he literally walks into being sacked. I chalk this up to poor decision making and bad pocket awareness by Darnold.
Fumble #1 (Wilson): 1st & 10 shadow of your own end zone again. 2 TE, 2 WR, 1 RB. Hawks overload right side of the line making it the obvious direction of a run. Wilson runs away from his blockers in traffic flailing the ball at his side with one arm making it ripe for punching out.
On this play the Niners had 4 down linemen, 1 standing blitzer on the side opposite of the run, 2 LB's middle of the field playing zone, 1 CB in press-man against JSN and the other CB playing off-man with Kupp. 2 deep safeties over the top.
This was actually the perfect play call against this defensive alignment but unfortunately our new RB coach is bad at teaching ball security. Also worth noting Wilson took a very bad angle on the handoff and missed his initially blocked gap which is why he ran into a sea of Niners instead of behind his blockers. I chalk this up to bad running back play and ball security.
Fumble #2 (Holani): 3rd & 7 near the redzone. 1 TE, 3 WR, 1 RB. Darnold in shotgun. Holani motions to the left behind JSN and Kupp.
On this play Niners have 3 down linemen and a LB out wide blitzing. 3 LB's are 5 yards back middle of the field playing zone. Corners are off-man and 2 deep safeties at the sticks. The Niners are clearly expecting pass and are trying to keep the receivers short of the first down. Warner was caught looking at the QB staring JSN middle of the field and he fell out of position as Holani was his man on this play.
Darnold sees the Niners have nobody covering Holani in the flat and checks it down. Holani breaks what could've been a TD run after the catch but forgets to secure the ball as he runs and drops the ball. I again chalk this up to bad running back play and ball security.
Sack #3 (Cross): 1st & 10 at the edge of redzone after the fumble. 2 TE, 2 WR, 1 RB. Darnold under center. 2 WR's off to the right. This reads like an RPO pre-snap.
On this play Niners have 4 down linemen and one standing LB blitzing on the offense's left against the TE. 3 LB's are again middle of the field 5 yards away in zone. Corners are off-man and 2 deep safeties at the sticks.
Post snap this looks like a play action pass but unfortunately Cross got completely schooled on this play. Darnold probably should've this one off because the blitzer was not fooled at all by the play action and the whole secondary dropped leaving a ton of running room. I chalk this up to bad blocking and bad decision making.
Sack #4 (Darnold): 2nd & 19 backed up after previous sack but still in FG range. 1 TE, 3 WR, 1 RB. Darnold in shotgun. This is right after the previous sack.
On this play the Niners are in the exact same look as last time but no blitzer this time and only 4 DL rushing.
The play design looks to be a WR screen to the right to Shaheed who doesn't run a route and just turns around. Darnold looks right at him immediately and chooses not to make the throw. Blockers are ahead of the play and Shaheed is wide open. Shaheed then starts running back towards Darnold with his hands up in confusion, now the blockers are out of position and the OL wasn't expecting to hold this long. Holani comes wide open on the left in the flat but Darnold doesn't even look his way, he's locked in on JSN downfield who is triple covered and then he takes the sack. I chalk this up to bad decision making by Darnold.
Fumble #3 (Holani): 1st & 10 at your own 4 and 21 seconds to go. 2 TE, 1 WR, 1 FB, 1 RB. Darnold under center in off-set I-formation. Barner comes in motion to the strong side.
On this play Niners have 4 down linemen, 4 LB's 5 yards away in zone, 1 corner off-man, and a deep safety.
In hindsight a quick out to JSN (whose corner is 7 yards away) gets him 3+ yards and keeps the clock running. You don't want to risk the incompletion and have to punt so you hand off. Sundell gets completely beat by his man and even Abe is pushed back 3 yards into the play. If Holani cuts it outside, or spins back the other way, then there's zero Niners there to tackle him and it's an easy run for a few yards, instead he pauses while in the end zone and not securing the ball. The man who beat Sundell dives at the ball and knocks it out easily and what's hilarious is the ball pinballs back to Holani who doesn't see it and it bounces off him back into the endzone. I chalk this up to bad running back play and ball security.
Pick #2 (Darnold): 2nd & 8 near midfield after halftime. 2 TE, 2 WR, 1 RB. Darnold under center and Kupp motions into the backfield to the left of center.
Niners have 4 down linemen, 3 LB's 5 yards away in zone, 2 safeties playing up in the box, and 1 corner in man-press. The Niners look like they're playing the run here pre-snap.
On snap, 7 Niners drop into coverage and aren't fooled at all by the play action. The Seahawks fell for the trap. The O-line holds up and gives Darnold a huge pocket and plenty of time to make a decision. This unfortunately fools Sam into not taking his checkdown because Wilson is open underneath for a 5 yard gain. Also Kupp is open in stride on an out route on this play if Sam is looking at him immediately. Instead Sam throws to Arroyo who's double covered. I chalk this up to poor decision making by Sam.
Near Sack #5 (Darnold): 1st & 10 4th quarter down 3 near midfield. 2 TE, 2 WR, 1 RB. Darnold under center. Saubert motions into the backfield at FB.
Niners have 4 down linemen, 1 LB standing at the line on a blitz to the strong side. Corners are in man-press, 2 LB's are 5 yards back in zone leaning forward and 2 safeties are very deep middle of the field.
Pre-snap this looks to be a run. Every indication points that way. Post snap Sundell pulls and runs to the strong side to take on the blitzer leaving his DT completely unblocked and Kupp is blocking his corner. This is obviously a run right? Nope Darnold goes play action and the unblocked DT nearly sacks him. He has to shake off the sack to make a crazy throw on the run to the only WR who runs a route which is JSN. This could've easily been a sack and it would've been on Darnold for not handing it off on a play where his center is pulling. Despite the gain I chalk this up to poor decision making by Darnold.
Actual Sack #5 (Fleury): 3rd & 5 in the redzone. 1 TE, 3 WR, 1 RB. Darnold in shotgun. Holani is out wide and JSN is in the backfield next to Sam.
Niners have 4 down linemen. 1 corner is press-man against Holani and opposite side both corners are off-man against Shaheed and JSN. 2 LB's middle of the field, one is shaded over to Kupp. 2 safeties are very deep near the end zone.
Typically JSN in the backfield means the play is designed to go to him. Post snap in rhythm Sam has a very clean pocket and everyone is blocking fine. Receivers are all running deep routes. Only Holani stops and turns at the sticks and his route was not very good, the corner stays on him. Everyone else runs beyond the sticks. There's no outlet here, no short routes, nobody in the flat to dump to. JSN is doubled in the end zone and Darnold takes a coverage sack. I chalk this up to bad play design by Fleury.
Final Play Turnover on Downs: 4th & 10 at midfield. 1 TE, 3 WR, 1 RB. Darnold in shotgun. JSN & Kupp stacked to the right.
Niners have 4 down linemen and 1 LB up the middle at the line showing blitz. 2 corners in press-man against JSN and Shaheed. 2 deep safeties. Other LB is shaded over doubling JSN so nobody is in the middle of the field.
Post snap blitz coming, Cross misses his man, Holani picks his up. JSN runs into double coverage, Barner runs into the flat, Shaheed runs into double coverage. Kupp comes free due to his corner running into someone. Had Darnold hit him sooner maybe he gets the first down. Chalk this up to bad play call against the situation needing 10 yards and only running 2 routes deep enough for a first down against cover 2.