Division News: Seahawks Dismantle 49ers

Shutouts are fun to watch, especially in the case of a defensive battle in the trenches that ends with a final score of 3-0 -- those are good games.

But for an Arizona fan -- or San Francisco fan -- last night's 24-0 rout wasn't such a good game. Matt Hasselbeck had a great performance, finishing 27-40 for 278 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The gameplan from start to finish was true to Holmgren's roots as his team aired the ball out successfully and managed to control the ball for nearly 40 minutes. The Seahawks also won the penalty battle, committing only 4 to San Francsisco's 10.

At least you can give Seattle this much credit: their defense showed up to play. It allowed only 173 yards (less than half of Seattle's total offense) and Alex Smith was held to a completion percentage of 42.8%.

In all, Seattle dominated both sides of the ball while the 49ers dropped their 7th in a row. Meanwhile, Seattle maintained its 1 game lead in the division and it should be noted that the Seahawks have the best scoring defense in the conference, having allowed just over 15 points per game this season.

Arizona won the first head-to-head matchup by a 3 point margin the second week of the season. They face Seattle again December 9 in a game that could have postseason implications.

An Interesting Fact: All four teams in the NFC West have a .250 or worse record on the road. Seattle is 1-3 while Arizona, San Francisco, and St. Louis are all 1-4.