Rapid Reactions: Offensive Performance Leads Seahawks To Win ...
Nov 17, 2024 at 04:26 PM
SANTA CLARA, Calif.—As Geno Smith said earlier in the week, if the Seahawks are going to be the kind of team they think they can be, they need to go through the 49ers, who have won two straight NFC West titles.
And on Sunday, the Seahawks were able to beat the 49ers for the first time since the end of the 2021 season, ending streak of six straight losses to their NFC West rivals. Smith, who had not previously beating the 49ers as a starter, led the game-winning drive and finished off with his legs, while Seattle's defense played great throughout, and that was enough for Seattle to secure a 20-17 win and improve its record to 5-5.
Here are seven rapid reactions to Sunday's win at Levi's Stadium:
The second half got off to a poor start for Geno Smith and the Seahawks offense, with Smith scrambling on third down before trying to hit Jaxon Smith-Njigba with a pass that floated over the second-year receiver for a 49ers interception.
Smith, who has been resilient throughout his Seahawks career, refused to let his day be defined by that miscue, however, bouncing back to lead a 70-yard touchdown drive on Seattle's next possession, giving the Seahawks their first lead of the game. After the 49ers retook the lead, the Seahawks had one last shot, getting the ball back with 2:38 left on the clock, and Smith and the offense went to work on what was arguably their biggest drive of the season, going 80 yards on 11 plays, with Smith finishing it himself on a 13-yard run for the game-winning score with 12 seconds left on the clock.
Smith, who also had a 16-yard run a couple plays earlier, completed 7 of 8 passes for 54 yards on that final drive, including a pair of third-down conversion to Smith-Njigba.
Despite a loss in Week 9, the Seahawks saw their defense take a step in the right direction, and coming out of the bye facing an offense that has given them fits in recent years, the Seahawks defense showed it may indeed be on their way to a strong second half of the season.
A run defense that looked to have turned a corner in Week 9 held Christian McCaffrey, who had over 100 yards in each of his previous four games against Seattle as a 49er, to 79 yards on 19 carries, with his longest run, an 11-yard gain, coming against prevent defense at the end of the first half.
After gaining a season-high 483 yards against Seattle in Week 6, the 49ers had just 280 in this game, and most importantly, the defense got stops in big moments, holding the 49ers to a field goal after a third-quarter interception, and most importantly, getting the stop late in the fourth quarter to set up the game-winning drive.
After piling up a career-high 180 yards and two touchdowns in his last game, second-year receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba was a huge factor again for Seattle's offense, catching 10 passes for 110 yards. And most importantly, he came through in big moments, catching four passes for 38 yards on Seattle's game-winning drive.
Statistically, it has been a quiet second season for cornerback Devon Witherspoon, who earned Pro-Bowl honors as a rookie after recording 16 passes defensed, 79 tackles, 3.0 sacks, eight tackles for loss and a 97-yard pick-six last season.
Through nine games this year, those impact plays haven't been there as often for Witherspoon, who had three passes defensed, one tackle for loss and no picks or sacks coming into Sunday's game. Despite a decrease in on-paper production, however, Witherspoon has played well this season, as Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald noted earlier in the week.
"I'll tell you what, this guy, talk about force multipliers on your football team, that is Devon Witherspoon," Macdonald said on Wednesday. "This guy, he's an elite competitor. He's a guy that hopefully, he's leading the charge for us for a long time here. This guy, we talked about this at length, but he's worth a shout-out.
"He's so intelligent, he can play all the multiple spots, all the energy we feed off this guy and how competitive he is. Plays the way we want to play. You kind of want to play him everywhere, and so that's probably my biggest compliment to him. It's trying to figure out how we can play him the best to make him affect the game. We're thinking through that lens, and frankly, it's nothing that he's not doing that's not creating production. You could probably put it on me to get him into better spots so he can go affect the game, but that's definitely a focus."
And sure enough, it didn't take long for Witherspoon to back up his coach's praise, with the second-year cornerback having a big impact on Sunday's game. Most notably, Witherspoon had a third-down pass breakup that was intercepted by defensive lineman Johnathan Hankins, and that was one of three pass breakups for Witherspoon, matching his season total coming into the game. Witherspoon also made eight tackles and drew a holding penalty.
Since joining the Seahawks in a midseason trade, linebacker Ernest Jones IV has looked like a playmaker in the middle of Seattle's defense, starting with a 15-tackle performance in his Seahawks debut. Jones added nine more tackles, including a tackle for loss, in his second game with Seattle, then on Sunday he totaled a team-high 13 tackles, bringing a physical presence on just about every one of those stops.
Rookie Tyrice Knight, meanwhile, also had a strong showing after taking over a starting job from Tyrel Dodson coming out of the bye, recording 10 tackles.
Defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins has accomplished a lot since coming into the NFL as a second-round pick in 2013, but even in his 12th season, the veteran lineman was able to accomplish a career first.
In his 162nd career game, Hankins found himself in the right place at the right time when Witherspoon broke up a pass, and the big man leapt up to secure the first interception of his career, a turnover that led to a Jason Myers field goal.
With the Seahawks offense struggling to sustain drives in the first half, Jason Myers was called upon to kick a couple of long field goals, and as he has so often done in his career, Myers came through from long range.
Myers, who came into the game 3 for 5 from 50-plus yards this season, including a 59-yarder in Atlanta that was the longest made field goal in Mercedes-Benz Stadium history, helped keep the Seahawks in the game early with deep field goals of 52 and 57 yards. With those two kicks, Myers now has 22 field goals of 50-plus yards as a Seahawk, adding to a franchise record he already held in that category.
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Seahawks linebacker Tyrice Knight (48) at the Week 11 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
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Seahawks cornerback Riq Woolen (27) at the Week 11 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
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Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III (9) at the Week 11 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
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Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith (7) at the Week 11 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
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Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith (7) at the Week 11 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
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Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) at the Week 11 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
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Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) at the Week 11 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
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Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III (9) at the Week 11 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
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Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III (9) at the Week 11 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
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Seahawks kicker Jason Myers (5) at the Week 11 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
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Seahawks linebacker Dre'Mont Jones (55) at the Week 11 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
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Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) at the Week 11 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
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Seahawks cornerback Josh Jobe (29) at the Week 11 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
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Seahawks cornerback Josh Jobe (29) at the Week 11 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
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Seahawks defensive end Leonard Williams (99) at the Week 11 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
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Seahawks tackle Abraham Lucas (72) at the Week 11 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
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Seahawks defensive tackle Byron Murphy II (91) at the Week 11 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
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Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) at the Week 11 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
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Seahawks players at the Week 11 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
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Seahawks free safety Coby Bryant (8), Seahawks free safety Julian Love (20), and Seahawks linebacker Tyrice Knight (48) at the Week 11 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
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Seahawks players at the Week 11 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
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Seahawks cornerback Josh Jobe (29), Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon (21), Seahawks linebacker Tyrice Knight (48), and Seahawks cornerback Riq Woolen (27) at the Week 11 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
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Seahawks punter Michael Dickson (4) and Seahawks kicker Jason Myers (5) at the Week 11 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
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Seahawks linebacker Tyrice Knight (48) and Seahawks defensive tackle Byron Murphy II (91) at the Week 11 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
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Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) at the Week 11 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
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Seahawks players at the Week 11 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
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Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III (9) at the Week 11 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
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Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) at the Week 11 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
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Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet (26) at the Week 11 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
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Seahawks punter Michael Dickson (4) at the Week 11 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
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Seahawks players at the Week 11 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
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Seahawks tackle Abraham Lucas (72) at the Week 11 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
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Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith (7) at the Week 11 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
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Seahawks tight end AJ Barner (88) at the Week 11 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
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Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) at the Week 11 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
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Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III (9) at the Week 11 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
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Seahawks wide receiver Cody White (82) at the Week 11 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
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Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III (9) at the Week 11 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
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Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith (7) at the Week 11 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
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Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith (7) at the Week 11 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
