The Seattle Seahawks are NFC West champions, and the San Francisco 49ers are, well...not. That is the situation, even though 49ers cornerback Deommodore Lenoir tried to talk his way into the opposite happening. He likes to trash-talk, but must be sad when his team loses an important game.
Before Week 18, Lenoir said, "Hopefully, I’ll get to shadow JSN. I’m ready for this. I hope he ready. Man to man covers me and him. That’s what I want. Me and him."
Of course, JSN's got the final word, as the Seahawks took a game at Levi's Stadium that gave Seattle the top seed in the NFC, and the NFC West crown. Lenoir wasn't lined up opposite Smith-Njigba much, but that was part of the issue. Lenoir knew he wouldn't shadow the Seahawks' best receiver as Lenoir sticks to one side of the field.
Seattle Seahawks receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba delivers the best response to the 49ers' Deommodore Lenoir
Speaking with the media after the game, Smith-Njigba said, "I definitely heard (what Lenoir said). It’s hard to respond back to all my fans. But I knew that we were going to see him today and take care of business."
The rub there is that JSN is referring to Lenoir not as a player, but simply as a fan of his. Smith-Njigba's shade makes sense, too. After all, no Seattle player is taking to social media specifically to speak badly about the 49ers' cornerback. He is the one seemingly more worried about others.
In Seattle's Week 18 victory, Lenoir was only targeted once as Seattle ran the ball more than passing it. The one target went to wide receiver Rashid Shaheed. While it was a completion, to be fair to Lenoir, the play only amounted to a 2-yard gain.
Meanwhile, Jaxon Smith-Njigba was moved around in the Seahawks' alignments, was targeted eight times by quarterback Sam Darnold, and six of those targets were completed. JSN didn't have a touchdown catch, but did have 84 yards receiving.
Lenoir didn't have much to do in terms of pass coverage, but he was atrocious in run support. He whiffed on two of his five tackle attempts, and Pro Football Focus (subscription required) gave him a paltry run defense grade of 31.7 for the game, second-lowest on the 49ers.
One shouldn't doubt that Deommodore Lenoir will keep chirping because that appears to be one way he motivates himself. That is a bit of a shame for San Francisco fans, however. The Seattle Seahawks don't need the same kind of inspiration. Mike Macdonald's team simply allows most of its talking to happen on the field on the way to another victory.