Season's first touchdown is a huge one as Seahawks squeak past 49ers, 12-9



SEATTLE – The Seattle Seahawks’ first touchdown of the season was worth the very long wait.

A scrambling Russell Wilson threw a 9-yard TD pass to Paul Richardson with just over 7 minutes remaining in the game Sunday to give the Seahawks a 12-9 victory over the San Francisco 49ers at CenturyLink Field.

Richardson caught the game-winning grab after sufferin

"Sometimes its good to win a game like that because it tests your composure," Wilson said. "It tests your belief in the system, and everything that we’re doing."

g a compound dislocation of his finger, which he had sewn up before returning.

The touchdown  came after a long, ugly day for the offense in which Wilson struggled to find a rhythm and the running game failed to get rolling. Series after series ended with Jon Ryan trotting out for a punt, and he ended the day with 7 punts for 309 yards.

But a typically brilliant day from the Seattle defense kept the Seahawks in position to capitalize.

Bright spots for the offense? Sure, there were a few.

Chris Carson again looked quite solid and helped put the game away with some big runs in the fourth quarter, leading the Seahawks with 20 carries for 93 yards.

"There’s a style about the way he runs that you might recognize," coach Pete Carroll said. "The high knees, and chomping the ground.

" ... I think we’ve got something there. He’s a really good football player."

Wilson showed he’s still got plenty of life in his legs as well, as his scrambles largely powered the Seahawks’ touchdown drive and he wound up with 12 carries for 34 yards on the ground, and 23-for-39 passing for 198 yards and that all-important touchdown.

Thomas Rawls, on the other hand, was a non-factor in his return, carrying five times for 4 yards – all in the first quarter.

The offense looked reinvigorated at the outset, with Wilson leading a 16-play, 68-yard drive that featured two third-down conversions and one fourth-down conversion. But in a bit of foreshadowing, it ended with a 25-yard Blair Walsh field goal.

Seattle travels Tennessee next Sunday to face the Titans in a 1:05 p.m. game that will be broadcast on the home of the Seahawks, Q13 FOX.