For just the second time in the last seven meetings, the Seattle Seahawks were able to come out with a victory over the San Francisco 49ers 20-17 on Sunday, which was an exciting turn of events for Seahawks fans. Four weeks ago, the 49ers went to Seattle and handed them their third of the season and the third consecutive loss of their rookie head coach’s first season on the sideline.
Not only did the 49ers come into this matchup on a two-game win streak, but they have dominated this series in recent years. So, it was a bit of a surprise that the 49ers couldn’t gain any separation in the game and only took a modest 7-6 lead into the locker room at halftime.
On the third play of the 2nd half, the 49er’s journeyman cornerback Isaac Yiadom intercepted and returned a Geno Smith pass for 11 yards to give them excellent field position. The Seahawks were fortunate to force them to kick a field 33-yard field goal that gave the 49ers a momentary lead.
After being sacked by 49ers’ all-pro pass rusher Nick Bosa, Smith would bounce back to lead the Seahawks on an 11-play 70-yard scoring drive that ended with a Kenneth Walker III one-yard touchdown. Walker’s seventh touchdown run of the season gave the Seahawks a 13-10 lead late in the third quarter.
The seesaw nature of the game continued when San Francisco answered with a 70-yard drive of their own capped by a touchdown pass to Jujuan Jennings to make the score 17-13 with 9:33 remaining on the clock. Then the magic happened.
Just as he has taken advantage of his opportunity to shine as the Seahawks quarterback in recent years, veteran Geno Smith orchestrated an 80-yard drive that ended with him scrambling 13 yards into the endzone for the go-ahead touchdown. That final Smith touchdown gave the Seahawks a 20-17 lead with .12 seconds left on the clock to seal the game.
“We knew what was at stake,” Smith said emphatically. “We’re trying to turn around our season. This is a step in the right direction.”
“We gave them a chance,” 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said about this demoralizing loss. “I thought our defense played great all game until that last drive. We let them hang around and when you let people hang around, that’s what happens.
Even through the recent losses, the Seahawks maintained confidence with the work they put in and were eager to finish the job on the road against their division rival.
“I think our guys have believed. It’s just been frustrating when you’re not getting the results you want,” head coach Mike Macdonald explained. “We talk about 12 as one. That’s what we’re going to be and that’s what the guys have done. You want better results, you want to win every game. When you don’t and when you fall short, it gets frustrating. But our resolve has been there the whole way.”
“We just knew we had to go down and score,” Seahawks running back Walker III said showing they understanding the gravity of the moment. “A field goal wasn’t going to get it done.”
The Seahawks will face the division-leading 6-4 Arizona Cardinals at Lumen Field in week 12. With a victory, the Seahawks will take sole possession of first place in the NFC West. We’ll see what Mike Macdonald’s has in store for Kyler Murray and Co., while the 49ers will travel to 7-3 Green Bay to take on the Packers, who are coming off their nail-biting victory over the 4-6 Chicago Bears.
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