SANTA CLARA – Linebacker Fred Warner, sporting a crimson welt above his proper eye and acquainted heartache inside his black jacket, knew simply how you can summarize the 49ers’ emotions after Sunday’s 20-17 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
“It’s just infuriating, honestly,” Warner mentioned.
“That’s a good word,” operating again Christian McCaffrey mentioned.
It was the 49ers’ third defeat this season by way of a fourth-quarter collapse, the others additionally coming in opposition to NFC West opponents — on the Los Angeles Rams in Week 3, and at house in opposition to the Arizona Cardinals on Oct. 6
If the 49ers (5-5) fail to win a 3rd straight division title, it is going to be that trio of losses that ruins them. Sunday’s was assured as soon as Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith scrambled 13 yards for the deciding landing with 12 seconds remaining, capping an 80-yard drive inside the ultimate three minutes.
Subsequent up is a go to Sunday to the Inexperienced Bay Packers, who improved to 7-3 after successful in Chicago 20-19 on a blocked discipline aim as time expired.
“It’s NFL football. Every game is going to be close like that,” 49ers linebacker DeVondre Campbell mentioned. “We’ve just got to find a way to get it done.”
Seattle Seahawks beginning quarterback Geno Smith (7) scores the game-winning landing in opposition to San Francisco 49ers’ Malik Mustapha (6) and San Francisco 49ers’ Isaac Yiadom (22) late within the fourth quarter at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Space Information Group)
The Seahawks (5-5) snapped a six-game shedding streak to the 49ers thanks in large half to Smith’s heroics on the ultimate drive. Smith accomplished 7-of-8 passes for 54 yards and had a 16-yard scramble two snaps earlier than his landing. Smith overcame a sack by Leonard Floyd, all whereas Nick Bosa remained on the sideline with a brand new hip/indirect damage that pressured him out within the third quarter and will shelve him longer.
“It’s not like us,” Warner mentioned of late-game protection in his seventh-year tenure. “But that’s just what we’ve shown this year, so I guess until we stop doing that, that’s who we are.”
“At the end of the day, we’ve got to find a way to close games and we have to emphasize that,” cornerback Isaac Yiadom mentioned. “I still feel like we are a great team. I’ve been on 5-5 teams and sometimes it’s like you’re confidence isn’t there, but I still feel like we are a great team.”
Bear in mind when defensive points overshadowed Jauan Jennings’ heroics in final season’s Tremendous Bowl? Nicely, it occurred once more on this recreation, and it occurred in a Week 3 loss on the Rams. After shedding to the Rams regardless of his prolific outing (175 yards, three touchdowns), Jennings declined to talk with reporters at his locker, and he once more declined interviews after this one (10 catches, 91 yards, landing).
Jennings delivered what ought to have been a successful landing catch earlier within the fourth quarter on a drive that stayed alive with a pair of his third-and-long conversions. Up till Smith’s last landing run, no play Sunday was extra spectacular than when Jennings, on third-and-11, carried 4 defenders to the 8-yard line for a 13-yard achieve to arrange his landing.
San Francisco 49ers’ Jauan Jennings (15) runs after a catch in opposition to Seattle Seahawks’ Coby Bryant (8) within the fourth quarter at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Space Information Group)
Two snaps later, Brock Purdy faked a handoff and located Jennings open for a 3-yard landing and the 49ers’ third go-ahead rating of a back-and-forth recreation. Earlier on the drive, on third-and-11, Jennings made a 14-yard seize on the Seahawks’ 20.
Jennings’ last seize was a 5-yarder on third-and-11, and since his second effort wasn’t sufficient to maneuver the chains, the 49ers punted to resume the Seahawks’ comeback bid.
With 2:38 remaining, the Seahawks took over at their 20-yard line with Bosa sidelined. DK Metcalf opened the drive with an 11-yard catch that 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan unsuccessfully challenged. Smith then peppered the 49ers’ protection with an array of completions earlier than lastly racing by means of himself for the successful factors.
“I knew the contain wouldn’t be great and if I could find a lane somewhere in there, I could get out there and make some plays with my legs,” Smith mentioned.
“They just made plays at critical moments,” Campbell mentioned.
Smith ran simply 4 occasions (29 yards), and he accomplished 25-of-32 passes for 221 yards. Purdy scrambled 5 occasions (40 yards) and accomplished 21-of-28 for simply 159 yards.
The 49ers protection figured to have locked up this win as soon as they stopped the Seahawks’ on a fourth-and-1 cost on the 49ers’ 37-yard line, with just below 4 minutes to go. Dee Winters and Ji’Ayir Brown have been formally credited for stopping Zach Charbonnet, with different assist coming from Maliek Collins and Warner.
“We had a chance to put them away a number of times throughout the game,” Shanahan mentioned. “Our defense played great all game until that last drive. If you let people hang around, that’s what happens.”
San Francisco 49ers’ De’Vondre Campbell Sr. (59) and San Francisco 49ers’ Malik Mustapha (6) sort out Seattle Seahawks’ Kenneth Walker III (9) within the first quarter at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Space Information Group)
The 49ers fell behind 13-10 with 3:25 left within the third quarter, when Kenneth Walker’s 1-yard landing run capped the Seahawks’ 70-yard drive, most of which unfolded after Bosa recorded his second sack of the day and exited for remedy on his left indirect/hip after he struggled the final two weeks with a proper hip challenge.
The 49ers’ offense noticeably lacked George Kittle’s pizazz because the All-Professional tight finish missed his second recreation this season with a hamstring damage. They’ve now misplaced 11 of the final 14 video games he has missed, courting again to November 2020.
McCaffrey once more delivered over 100 yards from scrimmage in his second recreation again from Achilles points, however none of his 19 carries (79 yards) or 4 receptions (27 yards) went longer than 11 yards, and he kicked himself for not icing the victory within the closing minutes.
After dully taking a 7-6 lead into halftime, the 49ers emerged with an eye-opening play: Move rushers Floyd and Bosa flushed Smith out of the pocket and he unloaded a sideline go Yiadom simply intercepted in Seahawks territory.
Yiadom’s return to the 27-yard line put the 49ers in scoring place, they usually in the end cashed in with a 33-yard discipline aim from Jake Moody for a 10-6 lead. Extra penalties (holding on Aaron Banks; unlawful formation on Jennings) and one other damage (Kyle Juszczyk) saved that short-field drive from being stronger.
The 49ers matched a season-high with 9 penalties (54 yards).
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) runs for yardage whereas being tackled by Seattle Seahawks’ Ernest Jones IV (13) within the first quarter of their NFL recreation at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Space Information Group)
Purdy used his legs to altogether spark, pause and end the 49ers’ preliminary scoring drive for a 7-3 lead. He had a 9-yard scramble on the second snap, then after stumbling for a 5-yard loss on a rollout, he promptly raced to the entrance proper pylon with 10 seconds left within the first quarter. It was Purdy’s fourth speeding landing in as many video games, a career-high for a season.
The 49ers’ particular groups once more delivered chaos however escaped blame for this one as Jordan Mason muffed a second-quarter kickoff return however the ball ricocheted off his knee and out of bounds; the 49ers’ ensuing 7-minute drive yielded no factors however a number of penalties, a sack and a punt.
“It was one of those games you couldn’t hurt yourself,” Purdy mentioned. “We had mishaps with penalties, and had opportunities where we were moving the ball and we hurt ourselves. Once we have momentum, we have to finish drives.”
Ten video games in, it’s trying extra like they might end out of the playoffs for the primary time since 2020.
“It’s hard to think of the big picture. We have a lot of games left,” Bosa countered. “All we have to do is get in the dance and I still have confidence.”
San Francisco 49ers’ Nick Bosa (97) leaves the sector following their 20-17 loss to the Seattle Seahawks at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Space Information Group)
Initially Revealed: November 17, 2024 at 4:11 PM PST
