RENTON, Wash. - Across the backs of numerous shirts printed up since Pete Carroll took over in Seattle is the word "finish," a reference to making sure his Seahawks close strong in every game.

Instead of finishing, the Seahawks flopped in their season opener.

A combination of an absent offense and a late special teams meltdown had Carroll's club lamenting a missed opportunity on Monday after falling 33-17 to San Francisco.

The Seahawks had trimmed a 16-0 deficit to 19-17 with less than 4 minutes remaining on Doug Baldwin's 55-yard touchdown catch-and-run. Then Ted Ginn Jr. returned the ensuing kickoff 102 yards for the decisive score. He added a 55-yard punt return touchdown just moments later.

"It really came down to getting caught up and getting out of a lane and giving Teddy Ginn a chance to use his speed, and he did," Carroll said. "That's a classic mistake that you make in containment and we're going to use it as an illustration of doing things right until the finish, as we always talk about."

The late special teams problems were the capper of a day where Seattle's new-look offense stumbled through the entire first half and the Seahawks defense could only do so much in keeping them close.

New quarterback Tarvaris Jackson was again barely given time to throw for the first 30 minutes - getting sacked three times - and Seattle's offense managed only three first downs and 37 yards of offense before halftime.

The second half was a response Seattle's offense needed. Jackson was given time in the pocket and was 14 of 26 for 155 yards and two scores as Seattle rallied. The Seahawks had 15 first downs in the second half alone.

"I made sure today in the team meeting to show them that there was a big contrast from first to second half. They need to know that they're capable and feel it and have that confidence," Carroll said. "I think it was clear and the coaches did a good job of pointing that out in the meetings today to at least make sure that they feel right about it."

Injuries had a part in Seattle's special teams problems at the end. Fullback Michael Robinson and rookie cornerback Byron Maxwell, who both play on every kick coverage unit, suffered sprained ankles and weren't on the field in the fourth quarter when Ginn had both his scoring returns.

Neither Robinson nor Maxwell is expected to play Sunday in Pittsburgh, leaving the Seahawks without a healthy fullback on their roster and with concerns on their special teams.

"Those guys are core players, they play every single snap of our special teams and they've both been effective," Carroll said. "Mike was a leading tackler in preseason and Maxwell was the most impacting player (of the preseason), so those guys force us, not being available this week, to have to do some other things and shuffle some things around."

Carroll said the team would be looking to see if there was an available fullback that would fit the Seahawks' needs.

The first-half struggles offensively and the late special teams issues took away from a defensive performance that was impressive and carried Seattle much of the day. The Seahawks held San Francisco to just 1 of 12 conversions on third-down, 209 total yards and just 12 first downs.

Frank Gore, who had tormented the Seahawks in the past with some of the biggest games in his career, was held to 59 yards on 22 carries by Seattle's defensive line. The play of the front four, along with the emergence of young safeties Kam Chancellor and Earl Thomas stood out to Carroll.

"Just that whole center of the defense was really solid and probably what was most notable was how consistent it was, from the start all the way to the time they were on the goal line and we knocked them back and got them out of there and forced that second field goal attempt there," Carroll said. "The consistency and the toughness of it was really obvious and were very good signs."