That was the incredible, back-and-forth game everyone wanted from this once great rivalry. The rivalry appears to be all the way back, and Seattle left Levi’s Stadium with a 27-24 overtime victory that came down to the final seconds of OT.H
Here are our notes and observations from the contest:
– The Seahawks defense is fast. They’ve stuffed two runs to open the game to put the 49ers in an early third-and-10.
– Jimmy Garoppolo hit Kendrick Bourne for 16 yards and a first down to extend the 49ers’ first drive. His wiggle in the pocket was fantastic. It bought him time to find Bourne open over the middle.
– Garoppolo threw a bad interception on third-and-5, but a defensive holding call bailed him out. That’s the kind of throw he can’t afford to make where a trailing defender can cut underneath a shallow cross. It was almost identical to the pick he threw against the Panthers. He’s just finding the receiver too late.
– Garoppolo is getting whacked on this series. Seattle’s defensive line has gotten multiple free runs at him. The 49ers have to find a way to clean that up.
– The chemistry between Garoppolo and Emmanuel Sanders is remarkable. He’s made a couple passes to Sanders under pressure that took a lot .of faith in his receiver to make a play.
– Garoppolo had Goodwin on a third-and-5, but it was a little high and went off Goodwin’s hands. That’s probably one San Francisco would like him to pull down. Garoppolo made a terrific play to avoid another heavy pass rush and get rid of the ball down the field.
– Rookie Chase McLaughlin, in for the injured Robbie Gould, drilled a 43-yard field goal to open the scoring after a 13-play, 50-yard drive. They’ve got a ton of adjustments to make on offense. That drive was sustained by a couple of bad Seahawks penalties.
– DJ Jones just eviscerated backup center Joey Hunt to swallow up Russell Wilson and end Seattle’s first series. That was an incredible play.
– Deebo Samuel had a 30-yard catch-and-run. San Francisco badly needed one of their receivers to emerge with George Kittle out. A 30-yard reception will do.
– Garoppolo is dropping dimes to Sanders. He threaded the needle over a corner and under a safety for a reception. Sanders held on despite getting his helmet removed by the hit. Incredible play on both ends.
– Garoppolo hits Bourne for a 10-yard touchdown. The 49ers are torching Seattle on underneath routes. They’ve been there all night.
– Emmanuel Moseley had terrific coverage one-on-one against rookie wide receiver DK Metcalf. The pass breakup forced another Seahawks three-and-out.
– Seattle got its play action working on offense to grab a couple quick first downs on its third series. A third-down blitz and a sack by Fred Warner snuffed out that drive. It’s another Seahawks punt.
– Warner was the catalyst for the 49ers’ next stop. He batted down a Wilson pass on third-and-1. The was a a heck of a play by the linebacker. Nick Bosa wasn’t fooled by the play action and forced an early throw.
– Garoppolo got careless with the ball in the pocket. There wasn’t a flag to bail him out this time. He fumbled on a strip sack by Jarran Reed, and Jadeveon Clowney recovered and strolled in for a touchdown. It’s now 10-7, 49ers.
– Fullback Kyle Juszcyzk got open down the field, and Garoppolo threw a dime over the linebacker in coverage, but Juszcyzk dropped it. That’s where San Francisco misses George Kittle.
– Another drop. This time Dante Pettis nearly plucked a first down, but got leveled and the ball came loose as he went down.
– WOW. Jaquiski Tartt just ripped the ball away from DK Metcalf as he was going in for a touchdown. Incredible play by the safety to save a score and get the ball back with a minute left in the first half. A score there would’ve given Seattle the lead, and they get the ball to start the second half. It’d be a huge victory for San Francisco if they can get to the half with a lead.
– It feels like the air got sucked out of the 49ers defense. Wilson has time to throw and Chris Carson is finding room to run on the first drive of the second half.
– And just like that Seahawks RB Rashaad Penny put the ball on the ground and the 49ers recovered. That’s a huge play by the defense, and their second takeaway of the night.
– The 49ers couldn’t capitalize on the turnover. Garoppolo misfired to Deebo Samuel on fourth-and-2, and Seattle took over at their own 33-yard line. It’s going to be tough sledding for the quarterback without Kittle and Sanders.
– Dre Greenlaw made a great read on a screen pass to keep Seattle to a five-yard gain when it could’ve gone for a lot more. Nice diagnosis by the rookie on a well-designed screen.
– Fred Warner got Wilson again. It’s his second sack of the night and Seattle will punt on their second series of the half.
– Deebo Samuel made a terrific diving catch on second-and-7 that was ruled just short of the first down marker. Kyle Shanahan challenged the spot successfully and got San Francisco a big first down. With injuries to Emmanuel Sanders and George Kittle, churning clock and shortening the . game is going to be vital. Garoppolo also has to find a pass catcher he can trust.
– And right on cue, Kendrick Bourne has a ball slip through his hands for an easy interception and long return that put Seattle at the 49ers’ 16-yard line. It’s been a truly abhorrent showing by the receiving corps.
– Seattle scored three plays later. 14-10, and this looks dire based on how the 49ers offense has been playing since Sanders’ exit.
– Garoppolo loses another fumble. The route may be on at Levi’s Stadium. The 49ers can’t block anyone or hold onto the football.
– It’s another easy score for the Seahawks. Chris Carson plows in from a yard out to make it 21-10 with 1:42 to go in the third.
– Deebo Samuel dropped a would-be first down and it nearly led to another turnover.
– Huh. Well then. Russell Wilson nearly got sacked, but his offensive lineman took the ball away from him, then Fred Warner punched the ball away from the offensive lineman, and DeForest Buckner scooped and scored. What a wild play that San Francisco desperately needed. They converted the two-point conversion as well and it’s 21-18, Seattle.
– The 49ers defense backed up the score by forcing a punt, then a shaky helmet-to-helmet call on the punt return gave the 49ers excellent starting field position. A big catch-and-run by Deebo Samuel put them in Seahawks territory.
– Another Kendrick Bourne drop on third-and-8 forced San Francisco to settle for a game-tying field goal. That one nearly resulted in an interception as well. This has been a very rough game for San Francisco’s banged up WR corps.
– Levi’s Stadium is LOUD.
– The 49ers can’t get a stop. They keep letting Seattle get into second-and-third and shorts and they keep moving the chains and eating clock.
– Well then. Wilson tried a naked boot, and Ronald Blair read it the whole way. He slung the quarterback down for a sack to bring up third-and-6. Biggest play of the game coming with 3:30 to go in the fourth.
– Another conversion on third-and-6. Seattle is going to get the final possession at this rate. It’s four and five yards at a time. Just a methodical march by a very good offense.
– Huge stop on third-and-short with 1:49 left. Seattle lined up to go for it, then called a timeout. Kicker Jason Myers drilled a 46-yard field goal to take a 24-21 lead. Gut check time for Garoppolo.
– Oof. Brutal series from the 49ers’ QB, who was so good a week ago in Arizona. He nearly threw an interception on first down, then delivered way too high on second-and-10.
– Another interceptable throw on first-and-10 after a third-down conversion. This time Bobby Wagner drops it.
– Shanahan dialed up a screen, but the Seahawks sniffed it out pretty easily. Instead it was a long-developing play that ran a ton of time off.
– Well, San Francisco got it to the Seahawks’ 29. It’s a 47-yard try for McLaughlin and he drilled it to tie. Unbelievable. We’ve got overtime at Levi’s.
– The Seahawks won the toss in overtime. That’s not great news for a 49ers defense that’s struggled to get stops late in this one.
– The 49ers sacked Wilson for a huge loss, but Seattle converted a third-and-16 with a gain of 28. That’s a back breaker after San Francisco appeared to have Wilson sacked, but he escaped, bought time, and hit Malik Turner for a big-time catch-and-run.
– Another huge play by Wilson. He avoided another sack to connect with tight end Jacob Hollister for a first down at the 49ers’ 20. Wilson is the MVP of the league because of his ability to orchestrate drives like this.
– DRE. GREENLAW. He intercepted Russell Wilson in the red zone and returned it to the Seahawks 49-yard line. Unbelievable. He is in because of the injury to Kwon Alexander.
– The 49ers got a huge 7-yard completion on a third-and-6 to extend their series. Then they churned it down to the 29 where they came up on a fourth-and-short and the 49ers will rely on McGlaughlin again from 47 yards. He missed this time and Seattle has great field position. They can win with a field goal.
– Emmanuel Moseley again. He breaks up a third-and-2 throw intedned for Metcalf. Great game by him.
– Quick three-and-out is not what the 49ers needed. Their series took 14 seconds.
– Wilson with a huge scramble for 18 on third-and-3 to the 49ers’ 39. That puts them on the edge of field goal range. The 49ers sent the house but couldn’t get home.
– A 42-yard Myers field goal with no time left in OT won it. What a game. The 49ers are still in first in the division and the conference.