The San Francisco 49ers were bit by the injury bug early in Week 15 with the Seattle Seahawks in town, losing cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon to a knee injury just before the halfway mark of the first quarter.
With the Seahawks driving, Witherspoon attempted a tackle on running back Chris Carson at the 49ers' 5-yard line and went down awkwardly just out of bounds. Trainers came over to tend to him, eventually helping him up and walking him to the locker room.
Witherspoon has been listed as questionable to return, although it seems much more on the doubtful side given the look of his knee injury.
Update: Witherspoon has been ruled out and will not return to the game.
Three plays later, Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson targeted Witherspoon's replacement, defensive back Tarvarius Moore, who surrendered a 5-yard touchdown to wide receiver Doug Baldwin to put Seattle up 6-0.
Kicker Sebastian Janikowski subsequently missed the Seahawks' extra-point attempt, and the 49ers were able to take over the lead on the following kickoff, with kick returner Richie James bringing it back 97 yards for a touchdown:
Richie James with a 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to give the #49ers a 7-6 lead. #SEAvsSF #49wz pic.twitter.com/qjLnb1TQCG
— Peter Panacy (@PeterPanacy) December 16, 2018
Stay tuned for updates on Witherspoon, as the Niners still have that 7-6 first-quarter lead.
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Written by:Peter Panacy has been writing about the 49ers since 2011 for outlets like Bleacher Report, Niner Noise, 49ers Webzone, and is occasionally heard as a guest on San Francisco's 95.7 FM The Game and the Niners' flagship station, KNBR 680. Feel free to follow him, or direct any inquiries to his Twitter account.
