The Seahawks weren’t supposed to be here, remember? Yet here they were, giving the hottest team in the league all they wanted. At least for one half.
The Seahawks defied all expectations this season. All expectations except their own, that is. Many of the football pundits said the Hawks would max out at three wins. One even said Seattle wouldn’t win a single game. And yet they made the playoffs for the 10th time in 13 seasons under Pete Carroll. Once you’re in the postseason, anything can happen, and Saturday’s wild game was as good an example of that as you’ll ever see.
The 49ers were the hottest team in the NFL coming into the playoffs, having won 10 straight. The Seahawks gave them a better game in their second chance this year but still couldn’t come away with the win in week 15. They couldn’t stop RB Christian McCaffrey or TE George Kittle then, and the Niners had more weapons back for their postseason run. Elijah Mitchell and Deebo Samuel were both back and that only spelled trouble for the Hawks. Or at least, that’s a lot of us thought heading into this game.
Seahawks play mistake-free in the first half
Seattle took the opening kickoff and did virtually nothing. Eight yards and three plays, and they were forced to punt. The Niners settled for a field goal, but then held the Hawks to another eight-yard three-and-out sequence. This time, McCaffrey ripped off a 68-yard run, and a few plays later, the Niners were up 10-0. This was shaping up to be the game we all feared. And then, Geno Smith took control.
Smith directed a masterful blend of runs and passes to drive the length of the field. He completed four of five passes, while Kenneth Walker III added 29 yards, including the finishing touchdown. Seattle mixed in two direct snaps to the running backs that kept the ferocious Niners defensive line guessing. After a slow start, suddenly the Hawks were back in the game trailing 10-7.
Smith, Walker, and Metcalf powered the Seahawks to the first-half lead
San Francisco methodically drove all the way to the Seattle 12-yard line, but a huge sack by Bruce Irvin forced the Niners to settle for a 33-yard field goal to extend their lead to 13-7. Smith, Walker, and DK Metcalf nodded, said alright, fine, and went right back to work. I mean, I imagine that’s what they said, probably in slightly more colorful language.
After Godwin Igwebuike set the Seahawks up with a solid 27-yard return, Geno Smith went back to work. Two completions took the ball to the Seattle 43-yard line. A run by Walker crossed the 50 into San Francisco territory. After the Niners stopped number 9 for a one-yard loss, Smith dialed up number 14 on a fly route. DK Metcalf caught the ball in stride, and of course, that was all that was needed for a 50-yard strike and the score. The ever-reliable Jason Myers gave the Hawks the lead, 14-13. With 5:01 left in the half, the Seahawks were outperforming all expectations, other than their own.
The Hawks defense held McCaffrey in check and put a lot of pressure on rookie QB Brock Purdy. San Francisco had to punt, and Seattle was in business. Unfortunately, they couldn’t do much either, only picking up one first down. Purdy hit Brandon Aiyuk for 31 yards and settled for a 46-yard field goal to retake the lead, 16-14. With 13 seconds on the clock, it seemed the Seahawks would have to settle for a close game at the half.
This is where it gets interesting. Obviously, the Niners had seen enough of Igwebuike. Instead of kicking deep, they elected to squib kick, and Colby Parkinson brought the ball all the way to the Seattle 38.
With nine seconds left in the half, Geno obviously had to launch a deep strike to give Myers a chance at a field goal. Instead, the Niners gave him no targets, so he took off running. Smith slid to the Hawks 47, but Niners defender Jimmie Ward inexplicably drove his shoulder into Geno’s head and shoulder. That incredibly stupid penalty gave the Hawks another 15 yards with one second on the clock. Myers drilled the 56-yard field goal, his seventh over 50 yards in seven tries, and the Seahawks took a 17-16 lead.
Now, this is where you probably want to stop reading. I warned you.
Seahawks need to look toward next year now
The second half was a very different story for the Seahawks. They played mistake-free ball – as in literally zero penalties and zero turnovers – and still only led by one point. And that was basically courtesy of Jimmie Ward’s amazingly stupid play. I’m not emphasizing the play because he’s a Niner – although, yeah, the heck with those guys – but I absolutely hate when any player makes that kind of stupid mistake.
Unfortunately, it didn’t exactly haunt the 49ers. They took the opening kickoff and executed a masterful 13-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that not only gave them the lead for good – sorry for not giving you the spoiler alert – but took 7:45 off the clock. Now the Hawks were down 23-17. Okay, no worries, we’ve got our guys, right? They’ll get it done again.
Well, they almost did. The Hawks launched their own long drive, reaching the Niners 15-yard line after 11 plays. A penalty on rookie Charles Cross moved the ball back to the 19, and then disaster struck. Smith dropped back and was literally swarmed by four garnet jerseys. The ball was batted loose, Nick Bosa recovered the fumble, and the Seahawks season was over.
I didn’t think so at the time, but it sure didn’t feel great. Purdy and McCaffrey carved up the Hawks defense again, this time in seven plays. That pushed the lead to 31-17 after the Niners converted on a two-point play. The Hawks continued to unravel, as they committed two straight penalties, and had a third declined. Michael Dickson was forced to punt – he hit a beauty for 60 yards – and the Niners were back in business.
Sadly, business was good for San Francisco. After a two-yard catch by Deebo Samuel got the ball to their own 26, Purdy connected with Samuel again. This time, no one remember to cover him, and he turned an eight-yard pass into a 74-yard backbreaking touchdown. After another Robbie Gould extra point, the score was 38-17. The game might not have been over, but with just 10:51 left in the fourth quarter, the Hawks faced a huge task to come back.
That wasn’t going to happen. Geno’s first pass of the drive was picked off and returned to the Seattle 37. The Niners added a field goal to stretch the lead to 41-17, and it was well and truly finished. Smith did march the Hawks down the field on a 15-play touchdown drive that ended with a three-yard strike to DK Metcalf, Smith looked solid, mixing in passes to Dareke Young and Cade Johnson along with Lockett, Noah Fant, and Metcalf along the way, but it was obviously far too late. The Hawks went down 41-23.
It was too late for this game and this season, but I prefer to think of it as preparation for this coming season. As they said on the broadcast, the Seahawks logged more snaps by rookies than any other team in the league this year. How much better will they be after the experience of learning what it takes to get to the playoffs? The future is very bright indeed in Seattle.