SANTA CLARA, Calif. — They needed this one.
Geno Smith needed to end his personal six-game losing streak to his division rivals. Seahawks first-year head coach Mike Macdonald needed to show he’s capable of keeping a struggling team on the rails, and the team needed it to keep playoff hopes alive.
The Seahawks (5-5) got exactly what they needed in a 20-17 victory over the San Francisco 49ers (5-5) at Levi’s Stadium.
Smith, who apologized to the team, the organization and the city after Seattle’s 26-20 loss at Lumen Field to the LA Rams two weeks earlier, used his legs and his arm to upset the 49ers. While he didn’t play his best game Sunday — Smith completed 25 of 32 passes for 221 yards and an interception — all was forgiven when he scrambled 13 yards for a go-ahead touchdown with 12 seconds remaining in the game.
“We knew how much was at stake,” said Smith, the 34-year-old quarterback who rushed four times for 29 yards. “We were trying to turn our season around. … This is just a step in the right direction for us, so I was ecstatic and very happy for us.”
The Seahawks entered the bye week after the Rams loss feeling the weight of four defeats in five tries after a 3-0 start. The bye week offered its share of tumult, as the team waived its leading tackler, Tyrel Dodson, and endured the surprising retirement of starting center Connor Williams.
“Just really proud of the guys for sticking in there,” said Macdonald, whose team is one game behind 6-4 Arizona in the NFC West standings, along with fellow 5-5 teams San Francisco and Los Angeles. “All the points of emphasis we made through the last couple of weeks trying to take the next step as a football team just really showed up. The challenge now is, ‘let’s keep stacking this thing.’”
Dodson’s replacement, Tyrice Knight, looked just fine, finishing with 10 tackles — just shy of the team-high 13 posted by Ernest Jones IV, who the Seahawks brought in via a trade on Oct. 23.
The Seahawks defense, maligned after failing to stop offenses during much of the past six weeks, held the 49ers to 277 total yards. All-Pro running back Christian McCaffery rushed for 79 yards on 19 attempts, and Brock Purdy managed just 159 passing yards on a 21-for-28 afternoon. Seahawks defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins recorded the first interception of his 12-year career on a Purdy pass tipped by cornerback Devon Witherspoon.
“This defense — I look to my left, I see T-Knight, I look behind me, I see (Wither)spoon and those safeties,” Jones said. “I looked up front, and I see those dogs. We can go out there and play with anybody. We came out there and showed what we are and played physical and disciplined.”
Oddly, it was Purdy’s legs that frustrated the Seahawks. Purdy gained 40 yards on eight scrambles, including a career-long 10-yard TD run that put San Francisco ahead 7-3 with 10 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
Seattle, with two new offensive lineman starters, struggled at times, but held up just enough, especially on its final drive of the night. Right tackle Abraham Lucas saw his first action of the season and rotated with rookie sixth-round draft pick Michael Jerrell. Olu Oluwatimi, who was a healthy inactive for part of the season, started in place of Williams.
“We knew it was going to be a gritty, grimy win, but glad we got it done,” Lucas told FOX 13 SEATTLE’s Alyssa Charlton-Smith after the game. “… Every win’s important, but to get a big win in the division like that is especially important.”
Seahawks receiver DK Metcalf returned to the lineup after missing two games with a knee sprain and finished with seven catches for 71 yards. Jaxon Smith-Njigba hauled in 10 for 110, giving him 290 receiving yards in the past two games. Kenneth Walker III, often under siege immediately after handoffs, carried the ball 14 times for 54 yards and scored on a 1-yard plunge to give the Seahawks a 13-10 edge with 3:25 to go in the third quarter.
The offense and defense performed exactly as needed in the game’s final few minutes after the 49ers, leading 17-13, stuffed running back Zach Charbonnet on fourth-and-1 at San Francisco 37 with 3:56 to go. That came one play after Smith’s third-down quarterback sneak was ruled to be just shy of the first-down marker.
McCaffery began the next drive with an 11-yard run, his longest of the game. After a 1-yard loss by McCaffery, the 49ers punted after two pass plays.
Aided by San Francisco standout defensive end Nick Bosa standing on the sideline after aggravating a hip pointer injury, the Seahawks used 2 minutes, 26 seconds and 11 plays to drive 80 yards and win the game. On second-and-2 from the 49ers 13, Smith dropped back to look for a receiver, felt the pass rush and took off for the end zone, seemingly discarding a monkey on his back that had kept him winless against San Francisco.
“The monkey on my back — I didn’t feel it at all.” Smith said.
The game’s box score is available here.
This story originally appeared in seattlesportsnow.com, of which Aaron Coe is a co-founder. Follow Seattle Sports Now on X.
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