Rapid Reaction: Seahawks Slay Demons, Earn Hard-Fought 20-17 Win Over 49ers

Marching 80 yards in the closing moments, Geno Smith scrambled his way to the end zone to finally lead the Seahawks to a defeat of the 49ers.

November 17, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins (97) catches the football for an interception against the San Francisco 49ers during the second quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images / Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Finally overcoming their arch nemesis for the first time in three seasons, Geno Smith scrambled into the end zone on a 13-yard touchdown run to push the Seattle Seahawks past the San Francisco 49ers for a 20-17 road win.

Rebounding from an ugly interception early in the third quarter, Smith marched the Seahawks 80 yards on 11 plays in the final three minutes before escaping the pocket and taking off for a game-winning rushing touchdown. He finished the afternoon with 25 completions on 32 attempts for 221 yards and added 27 yards on the ground, snapping a personal five-game losing streak against the 49ers in thrilling fashion.

Leading the charge on defense, defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins corralled his first career interception, setting up a 57-yard field goal by Jason Myers. Linebackers Ernest Jones and Tyrice Knight both eclipsed double digit tackles, helping limit San Francisco star running back Christian McCaffrey to 79 yards on 19 carries on the afternoon.

Here are five observations from a drought-breaking Week 11 road victory at Levis Stadium:

1. Geno Smith puts the team on his back - as a passer and a runner - to finally slay San Francisco.

Entering Sunday's game, Smith had yet to find a way to beat the 49ers, posting an 0-5 record against them since replacing Russell Wilson as the Seahawks starting quarterback in 2022. In those games, he had struggled to elevate his teammates around him and finish off their rivals, including coughing up a devastating fumble on a strip sack in a wild card loss that same season and throwing four interceptions compared to only three touchdown passes. Things didn't look to be heading in a different direction for most of Sunday's battle either, as he airmailed a terrible interception on the opening drive of the third quarter to gift San Francisco excellent field position and set them up for a field goal to extend the lead to four points.

But playing with the resiliency that has defined his time in Seattle, Smith didn't give up, leading a 70-yard touchdown drive capped off by a short scoring run by Ken Walker III to cap off the quarter. After the Seahawks were stuffed on 4th and 1 on their ensuing drive, the defense gave him one last shot to orchestrate a signature comeback, and he more than answered the call, completing seven out of eight passes for 54 yards and then putting a dagger in the 49ers with two explosive runs on his league-best seventh game-winning drive since the start of 2023.

First, Smith took off on 2nd and 13 after being sacked by Leonard Floyd inside a minute to play, sliding after a 16-yard gain before Mike Macdonald called the team's final timeout. Two plays later, after a short completion to Jaxon Smith-Njigba, he took advantage of an aggressive pass rush by stepping up in the pocket again and bolted for the pylon to give his team the lead back for good, stunning a sellout crowd into silence.

2. Screen game supplements run game to produce more balance, spark offense in second half.

Scoring only six points in the first half, the Seahawks once again leaned far too heavily on the passing game with Smith dropping back to pass on 16 out of 24 plays, taking a pair of sacks in the process that prevented them from reaching the red zone on either one of their scoring drives. Interestingly, Walker rushed for 27 yards on only five carries, proving effective in limited opportunities, but remained largely a non-factor in part due to the pass-heavy play calling that continued into the start of the second half.

After halftime, Walker didn't post a gaudy stat line, rushing nine times for 27 yards and just three yards per carry. However, he converted a key fourth down run into a new set of downs and rumbled into the end zone for a one-yard touchdown late in the third quarter on the heels of two well-executed screens to tight end AJ Barner and Smith-Njigba that netted six and 17 yards apiece, with the latter play moving Seattle inside the opposing five-yard line. From there, those screen plays seemed to give the offense life and helped slow down San Francisco's pass rush, leading to the eventual game-winning drive where Smith was able to escape and sprint his way to the end zone.

3. The decision to make a massive change at linebacker fuels another strong outing against the run.

Kick starting a hectic post-bye week at the VMAC, the Seahawks jettisoned starting linebacker Tyrel Dodson, shockingly waiving the veteran on Monday. With his departure, the door opened for rookie Tyrice Knight to take over as Seattle's new starter at weakside linebacker alongside Ernest Jones, creating major questions in the middle heading into a rematch with a 49ers squad that torched Macdonald's defense for 228 yards on the ground back in Week 6. Nobody knew what to expect from the fourth-round pick, especially against a Kyle Shanahan-led offense that had consistently grounded and pounded the Seahawks into oblivion.

Suffice to say, Knight made the most of his latest opportunity stepping into Dodson's former stead, while Jones kept proving himself as a legitimate game changer in the heart of Seattle's defense. Helping lock down McCaffrey for most of the game with the exception of a few good gains on draw plays, both players eclipsed double digit tackles and played their part in establishing the line of scrimmage. Knight finished with 10 tackles and a quarterback hit, including two run stops netting three or fewer yards. As for Jones, he gave San Francisco fits crashing gaps all afternoon, racking up six tackles of two or fewer yards and frequently stopping McCaffrey in his tracks before he could build up any steam.

Thanks to Jones and Knight's efforts, the Seahawks held 49ers running backs to just 91 yards, a far cry from what they totaled without McCaffrey five weeks ago at Lumen Field. After shutting the Rams run game down two weeks ago, recent results look like they could have staying power, which would be a massive boost for the team's chances to make a run in the second half.

4. Rebounding from a rough touchdown drive, Seattle's defense buckles down in the clutch.

As Shanahan's team has done to opponents for much of the past five-plus years, moments after Walker's touchdown put the Seahawks in front by three, the 49ers embarked on a long, physical drive to reassume control of the game early in the fourth quarter. Led by Purdy and receiver Jauan Jennings, they marched 70 yards on 14 plays, converting a trio of third downs, including a pair of 3rd and 11 situations. In both of those cases, Purdy found Jennings, who continued to be a thorn in Seattle's side using his size, power, and route running savvy to move the chains and eventually score a three-yard touchdown to cap off the drive.

Once San Francisco got the ball back following a failed fourth down run by Zach Charbonnet with less than four minutes to play, it seemed inevitable McCaffrey would shoulder the load and the home team would grind out the game with stellar four minute offense. But after picking up two first downs, including one via penalty, Seattle beared down, as safety Coby Bryant made a pair of crucial tackles on McCaffrey and Jennings on first and third down to help force a punt shortly before the two-minute warning, setting the stage for Smith's latest game-ending heroics.

5. Situational football continues to be a significant issue for the Seahawks in spite of a victory.

As Macdonald pointed out following the game, the Seahawks obviously couldn't be happier to finally beat the 49ers, but there's still much left for improvement in all three phases with seven games left to play. Offensively, as has become an all-too-familiar problem over the course of the season, the offensive line couldn't create push in short yardage situations, including Smith getting stopped on a third down quarterback sneak and Charbonnet getting thwarted at the line of scrimmage on the ensuing fourth down in the fourth quarter. That missed opportunity easily could have come back to haunt them if San Francisco could have picked up one more first down on its second to last possession.

Defensively, Macdonald wasn't pleased with Seattle's performance on critical third downs, which are often called "money" downs for a reason. Jennings moved the chains twice on 3rd and 11 situations on San Francisco's last touchdown drive, including somehow bullying his way through four tacklers to pick up extra yardage and power past the line to gain on the second reception. For the game, the Seahawks allowed the 49ers to convert on seven out of 11 third downs for a 64 percent conversion rate and two of their three red zone opportunities resulted in touchdowns, leaving much to be desired in those key moments moving forward.

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