Geno Smith’s game-winner highlights Seattle Seahawks’ 6-game skid against 49ers

“We knew how much was on the line, man,” Smith said after the game. “We’re trying to turn things around. We had a bye week and we have eight games ahead of us to put us in the positions we want to be in. So this is just a step in the right direction for us, and so I was very delighted and happy for that.

It was also a milestone victory for first-year Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald. Seattle hadn’t held Kyle Shanahan’s Niners offense to fewer than 20 points since Week 13 of the 2018 season.

Macdonald was hired to reinvent the Seahawks defense, and it didn’t work as expected through the first nine games of the season. The bye week changes, which included waiving starting linebacker Tyrel Dodson in favor of rookie Tyrice Knight, paid off.

After allowing a season-high 228 rushing yards against San Francisco in Week 6, the Seahawks held the Niners running backs to 92 rushing yards on 21 carries. Niners quarterback Brock Purdy also recorded a game-high 159 passing yards against Seattle’s coverage.

“I’ve been saying it from the beginning, there’s 11 guys on defense,” Macdonald said after the game. “So for these guys to do their job, we have to establish advantages up front. We have to play with hindsight and stay alive, especially against wide zone players. So it’s a team cry for play well.”

Seattle remained within striking distance at halftime, trailing just 7-6. It was a much more manageable deficit than the Seahawks’ situation in Week 6, which saw them trailing 16-3 after two quarters.

The Seahawks defense was the difference, pressuring San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy and ultimately taking him to the turf in the second quarter for the first time this season. Purdy finished the first half 11 of 15 passing for 81 yards and one interception (21 of 28, 159 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT in the game).

The pick was returned by tackle Johnathan Hankins, who threw the first interception of his 162-game career on a pass broken up by cornerback Devon Witherspoon.

But Purdy still avoided Seattle’s pass rush more often than he succumbed to its heat. The Niners quarterback made them pay on a 10-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter – the longest scoring drive of Purdy’s three-year career.

Offensively, the Seahawks continued their bye week trend: two steps forward, one step back. Smith’s sacks, a poor snap and an inconsistent rushing attack hampered promising drives, leading to just two field goals for Seattle.

Seattle finished the first half with 104 total yards. They had a golden opportunity to capitalize on Hankins’ interception midway through the second quarter, but the offense went back nine yards in three plays.

The first drive of the second half for the Seahawks offense was emblematic of the unit’s season-long woes: a short first down and an incomplete second down required a long third-down conversion that, with Smith trying to do too much, led to a direct interception on his side of the field.

While targeting wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba on a roll to his left, Smith threw the pass and it went straight to Niners cornerback Isaac Yiadom, who returned it to the 27-yard line. Seattle.

But after holding the Niners to a field goal thanks to strong defense, the offense found a rhythm. Offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb kept faith in Smith’s arm and Seattle drove 70 yards in 11 plays to score its first touchdown.

Smith finished the drive 5-of-6 passing for 63 yards, and running back Kenneth Walker III capped the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run – his first score since Week 7 against the Atlanta Falcons. Seattle took a 13-10 advantage late in the third quarter.

Niners All-Pro edge rusher Nick Bosa left the game in the second half with a hip/oblique injury, taking some of the pressure off Smith the rest of the game and during Seattle’s first touchdown drive.

San Francisco responded with another impressive push. Purdy targeted Jauan Jennings four times and completed three, including a 13-yard catch play on third down inside the Seahawks’ red zone.

Jennings carried four defenders through the first marker, and he caught a short touchdown reception two plays later to give the Niners a 17-13 lead. By far San Francisco’s best playmaker that day, Jennings finished with 10 catches for 91 yards and a touchdown.

Seattle’s subsequent campaign resulted in a regression from its previous trend. After driving 33 yards down the field, the Seahawks ran two plays to gain a yard to the Niners’ 37-yard line. Smith slipped it on third down and was stopped. Running back Zach Charbonnet received the ball on a full dive and couldn’t get it back on fourth down — shades of the team’s mistakes during their overtime possession that led to their loss to the Los Angeles Rams in Week 9.

San Francisco got the ball back with just under four minutes left, leading by four points. The Seahawks forced the Niners to punt on their third punt of the day for one more chance to go down and win the game.

Smith completed four passes to Smith-Njigba – finishing with 10 catches and 110 receiving yards on the day – on the final drive and had two long scrimmages, including the game-winner. In a hard-fought game that had gone in the Niners’ favor too often in recent years, the Seahawks finally scored a spot in the win column.

During San Francisco’s six-game winning streak against the Seahawks over three seasons, the Niners averaged 30.7 points per game. The last time the Niners scored fewer than 20 points against Seattle was Dec. 2, 2018, in a 43-16 loss to the Seahawks.

The Seahawks didn’t need to trail in a shootout to end their losing streak against their bitter NFC West rivals. It was a defensive battle, reminiscent of the games Seattle won when they went 17-4 against San Francisco from 2012-2021.

Smith, of course, scored the game-winning touchdown, but the positive differences in the Seahawks’ defense were the catalyst for keeping the game within the offense’s reach.

“For this team, for this win, man, I’m so grateful to be a Seattle Seahawk,” said linebacker Ernest Jones IV, who had a team-high 13 tackles. “(Those) years have been crazy for me, but to get a win like that against a good team like that and see how that team reacted and responded, man, I’m grateful to be a Seahawk.”

In crucial and unavoidable moments, Smith-Njigba appears to be Smith’s favorite target. After his four catches in the Seahawks’ victory, he had more than 100 receiving yards for the second straight week and third time this season.

“I like to make those plays when we need to, when it’s time,” Smith-Njigba said. “I like to be there for my team, whenever they need me, I’m there.”

Smith-Njigba didn’t surpass triple-digit receiving yards once as a rookie last season. He now has 17 catches for 390 yards and two touchdowns in Seattle’s last two games – even with DK Metcalf returning to the field this week.

The Seahawks return home for a game against the division-leading Cardinals (6-4, 2-0 NFC West). Seattle is 3-1 on the road this season and 2-4 at home, including four straight losses in front of a crowd at Lumen Field.

Arizona will have a bye after beating the New York Jets 31-6 in their final game of Week 10. The Cardinals have already beaten the Niners and Rams this season.