SANTA CLARA – The 49ers fell in the fourth quarter to the Los Angeles Rams and Arizona Cardinals earlier this season, and completed the NFC West trifecta on Sunday against the visiting Seattle Seahawks.
If the 49ers (5-5) fail to win a third straight division title, the trio of losses will destroy them. Sunday was a 20-17 heartbreaker, with Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith scrambling 13 yards for the go-ahead touchdown with 12 seconds left.
Next up on Sunday is a visit to the Green Bay Packers, who improved to 7-3 after winning 20-19 in Chicago on a blocked field goal as time expired.
The Seahawks (5-5) snapped a six-game losing streak to the 49ers thanks in large part to Smith’s heroics on the go-ahead 80-yard drive in the final three minutes. Smith completed 7 of 8 passes on that drive and overcame a Leonard Floyd sack, while Nick Bosa remained on the sidelines with a hip injury that forced him out in the third quarter.
Remember when defensive woes overshadowed Jauan Jennings’ heroics in last season’s Super Bowl. Well, this match it happened again.
Jennings delivered what should have been a game-winning touchdown catch earlier in the fourth quarter on a drive that stayed alive with a pair of his third-and-long conversions. Until Smith’s final touchdown by the 49ers’ beleaguered defense, no play Sunday was more impressive than when Jennings, on third-and-11, carried four defenders to the 8-yard line for a 13-yard gain to set up his touchdown. .
Two snaps later, Brock Purdy feigned a handoff and found Jennings open for a three-yard touchdown and the 49ers’ third go-ahead score in a back-and-forth game. Earlier in the drive, on third-and-11, Jennings made a 14-yard grab on the Seahawks’ 20.
Jennings finished with 10 catches on 11 targets for 91 yards. His final grab was a 5-yarder on third-and-11, and with his second attempt not enough to move the chains, the 49ers punted to renew the Seahawks’ comeback bid.
With 2:38 remaining, the Seahawks took over at their 20-yard line, with 49ers’ pass-rushing star Nick Bosa sidelined since the third quarter with a hip injury. DK Metcalf opened the drive with an 11-yard catch that 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan challenged to no avail. Smith then peppered the 49ers defense with a series of completions before ultimately racing through himself for the winning points.
Earlier, the 49ers defense thought they had secured this victory when they stopped the Seahawks on a fourth-and-1 attack at the 49ers’ 37-yard line with just under four minutes remaining. Dee Winters and Ji’Ayir Brown were officially credited for stopping Zach Charbonnet, with other help from Maliek Collins and Fred Warner.
The 49ers fell behind 13-10 with 3:25 left in the third quarter, when Kenneth Walker’s 1-yard touchdown run capped the Seahawks’ 70-yard drive, most of which unfolded after Bosa’s second sack of had taken the day and left for treatment of his problematic left hip.
The 49ers offense noticeably lacked the grit of George Kittle, as the All-Pro tight end missed his second game this season with a hamstring injury. They have now lost eleven of the last fourteen games he has not played, dating back to November 2020.
After taking a dull 7-6 lead into halftime, the 49ers emerged with an eye-opening play: pass rushers Leonard Floyd and Bosa flushed Smith out of the pocket and he fired a sideline pass that Isaac Yiadom easily intercepted in the area of Seahawks.
Yiadom’s return to the 27-yard line put the 49ers in scoring position, and they eventually cashed in with a 33-yard field goal by Jake Moody for a 10–6 lead. More penalties (holding on Aaron Banks; illegal formation against Jauan Jennings) and another injury (Kyle Juszczyzk) prevented that short cross-country drive from becoming more powerful.
Brock Purdy used his legs to spark the 49ers’ initial scoring drive, pause it and finish it for a 7-3 lead. He had a 9-yard scramble on the second snap, and after stumbling on a 5-yard loss on a rollout, he promptly raced to his right and dove to swing the ball over the goal line around the right front pylon with 10 seconds left. to go. the first quarter.
It was Purdy’s fourth career rushing touchdown, and his fourth in as many games. Through two drives, Purdy’s passing line read 6-of-6 for 43 yards passing, with four completions to Jauan Jennings.
Not to be forgotten: Jake Moody made the point-after kick with new holder Pat O’Donnell, who also stepped in as a punter while Mitch Wishnowsky went on injured reserve on Saturday.
At halftime, Christian McCaffrey had barely outpaced Purdy on the ground (37 yards to 32), reflecting an overall offensive output thwarted by poor blocks, an interception, a sack and penalties.
The Seahawks converted their Purdy interception into their second scoring drive, settling for a Jason Myers field goal (57 yards) after a third-down sack by Yetur Gross-Matos, who returned from a six-game hiatus. Purdy was intercepted on the 49ers’ third series when a pass to Christian McCaffrey was broken up by Devon Witherspoon and grabbed by defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins at the 49ers’ 29-yard line.
The Seahawks scored first, and it was Nick Bosa who produced the third-down sack that led to Jason Myers’ 52-yard field goal; Bosa has a team-leading 6 ½ sacks this season.
This week in the 49ers special teams chaos: Jordan Mason muffed a return in the second quarter when the ball ricocheted off his knee and went out of bounds, but the 49ers retained possession for an ensuing 7-minute drive that didn’t points, but multiple points instead. penalties, a sack and a punt.
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