Seahawks fans have heard for the last 14 years that you cannot win a game in the first quarter. Mike Macdonald’s Seahawks may have won a game on the first possession. You might even argue he won it on the first play. The San Francisco 49ers have dominated the match-up between these two franchises the last couple of years. Part of their recipe for success has been getting out in front early. They scored on their first possession in 5 of the 6 straight losses for Seattle. The last time the Seahawks played in Levi’s Stadium, Christian McCaffrey ran for 72 yards on the very first play from scrimmage. Seattle was down 7-0 in 57 seconds. Brock Purdy took the 49ers 90 yards from their own 3-yard line in the game these two teams played earlier this season, and scored a field goal to take a lead they would never relinquish. Kyle Shanahan has built a team of bullies. That usually is a compliment in football. These 49ers, though, are the Jake Paul of the NFL. They only want to get in the ring with someone who won’t punch back. Macdonald and this Seahawks defense punched first in this game, forcing a 3-and-out to start the game. They punched throughout, holding the 49ers to a season-low in yards (277) and tying a season-low in points (17). Geno Smith punched last. No judges were needed. Seattle knocked the NFC Champs out cold. They may not get back up.
NFL seasons are full of stories. Each play, each game, tells a story about the team, the coaches, the players. This Seahawks season has told many tales. Most have belonged somewhere between the horror or dark comedy genres. This past week had become a pivotal chapter. Macdonald exited the bye week with the clarity he needed to make a bold decision to bench, and ultimately release, his leading tackler in Tyrel Dodson. He then heard from his starting center that he was going to retire.
Fans started questioning whether there was a problem in the locker room. Players and coaches were more moody and curt in their interviews. Macdonald, though, was almost chipper. He seemed encouraged by what he saw from his defense in the bumbling loss to the Rams, and could see they were ready to take the next step.
Any leader needs to have vision. They need to imagine a future others may not yet see, and guide them to it through storms and sunshine. Leaders become vulnerable when times get hard and provisions run short. You need to provide your crew sustenance and proof that you know what you are doing and where you are taking them or you risk a mutiny.
Macdonald gave his team and this fanbase a bounty that should last at least the rest of this season by doing something his predecessor had been unable to do for the last 6-7 years. He may have only delivered one win in the last two games, but he out-coached Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan as a defensive play caller in back-to-back games.
The Rams scored 13 points in regulation on offense. The 49ers scored 17, and 3 of those came after an interception deep in Seahawks territory.
Shanahan has eviscerated the Seahawks run defense for years. They piled up 228 yards on the ground just five weeks ago at Lumen Field. He had added his offensive player of the year to the backfield. They entered the game ranked 3rd in the NFL in yards per rush, and 5th in total rushing yards.
Time and again, they tested the mettle of the Seattle rush defense. Time and again, they were turned back. A team that had surrendered two runs of 35+ yards in the last match-up held the 49ers to a long of 11 yards on a designed rush.
Robbed of their comfortable ground advantage, the 49ers became more reliant on Purdy and their passing game. That did not fare much better.
Shanahan and McVay have frustrated Seahawks coaches and fans by scheming open players for easy and big gains. The 1-2 punch of being gashed on the ground and hemorrhaging yards through the air made these games unwatchable. There were precious few easy throws for Purdy in this game. It was his improvisation and scrambling that was responsible for most of the offense, not the play calling.
If not for three conversions on 3rd down and 10+ yards to go, the 49ers would have ended this game with 10 points. Macdonald and his new look defense suffocated the powerhouse San Francisco offense.
Consider the personnel changes that Macdonald has made to the defense since the first game between these teams:
- Acquired Roy Robertson-Harris to play over Mike Morris and Myles Adams
- Acquired Ernest Jones IV, traded away Jerome Baker
- Inserted Coby Bryant in as a starter at safety
- Inserted Josh Jobe in as a starter at corner
- Inserted Tyrice Knight in as a starter at linebacker
Each one of those moves made the team better. He also adjusted the alignment of the defensive front and narrowed the calls to emphasize what the team did best. It took roughly eight games for Macdonald to get his Ravens defense playing well in his first year as defensive coordinator.
He had a far bigger task to turn around this Seahawks defense that had become one of the worst in football. The last two performances indicate he may have found the formula after eight games as well. And when you have a good defense, you are going to be competitive in every single game. Pair that with a quarterback who has a penchant for game-winning drives and this Seahawks season may have more inspiring tales to tell.
No player was more blamed for the Seahawks losing streak to the 49ers than Geno Smith. People ignored the fact that Seattle was inferior in almost every facet of the roster or that just about every team that faced the 49ers the last few years was overmatched. They saw a quarterback who looked like he did not have what it took to beat a hated division rival.
San Francisco fans mocked him. They laughed so hard that they cried. Smith made sure they cried on Sunday. He overcame a bad interception to lead his team 80 yards down the field for a game-winning touchdown, and added the flourish of leaving 12 seconds on the clock as 12s around the half-empty stadium erupted.
This was not Smith’s finest game. It was not even among his top ten. He simply managed to be closer to his normal self. The version of Smith who played against the 49ers over the past few years has too often been his worst self. That contributed to the narrative that he shrinks in big games and against great opponents, despite evidence to the contrary.
It is no coincidence that this less disastrous performance came in the game when he got his starting right tackle back on the field. Abe Lucas got his first start of the year and looked like a competent right tackle. He was not dominant or great. He even got beat for a sack. But he was not a turnstile that allowed the 49ers to make life impossible for Smith.
Olu Oluwatimi got his first start of the year as well at center and had what appeared to be a pretty good game. He had one bad snap and got driven off the ball a few times, but he also had a few impressive blocks and was not a glaring weakness in the middle of the line. He may even be an upgrade over what the team was getting from Williams, especially if his snaps are not a problem.
I got the sense during training camp that Smith had bonded with Oluwatimi and was excited to have him as his partner on the offensive line. He looked like a proud big brother when talking about the second-year players performance on Sunday.
This was not a great offensive line. It looked functional, though. That would be a massive step forward.
People will talk about the splits when Nick Bosa was on the field versus when he was not. Be wary of on/off field splits. They rarely tell the whole story. Seattle was mostly unable to function as an offense in week six when Stone Forsythe was at right tackle. They were not exactly lighting the world on fire in this game, but each rep was competitive, and the Seahawks won enough to win the game.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba had been oddly chastised by some in the Seahawks fan base early this year despite leading the team in receptions. He has silenced those doubters with back-to-back deadly performances against two division rivals.
The two-week absence for D.K. Metcalf provided an opportunity for Smith to gain confidence in the connection with Smith-Njigba. It also gave defenses more to think about when setting up their coverages now that Metcalf was back. Both players had efficient and important games.
Metcalf caught 7 passes in 9 targets for 70 yards. His 26-yard catch on 3rd and 12 in the 3rd quarter was the pivotal play in this game. Without it, Seattle does not go down the field and score that touchdown to take the lead 13-10, and they may not even have a chance to win it in the end.
Smith-Njigba finished with 10 catches in 11 targets for 110 yards. He was targeted on five 3rd down passes. He caught four, each resulted in a first down. This was always the vision for Smith-Njigba in the NFL. Be a player who can always get open, have great hands, and be a sneaky big play threat.
What people did not account for is his yards after catch ability. He has proven slippery and productive after the catch. He had a great weaving run after catching a short pass for a tunnel screen on the earlier touchdown drive.
We are seeing the ups and downs of a young team. Many were down on the Seahawks young players as recently as last week. This game gave fans reason to be optimistic about Smith-Njigba, Devon Witherspoon, Oluwatimi, Lucas, Bryant, Knight, Byron Murphy, and others.
These youngsters are finding their way. Success breeds confidence. Confidence sustains success. Sustained success builds identity. It is a process.
That this loss likely closes the 49ers championship window makes it all the sweeter. San Francisco sits 5-5, with a 1-3 division record and is about to play the Packers and the Bills on the road the next two weeks. They paid Brandon Aiyuk a boatload of money and he was seriously injured. Even before he was injured, he was not looking like the same dangerous player and Jauan Jennings might be the better X receiver even when Aiyuk returns. McCaffrey has been hobbled all year and is headed toward the downside of a running back career arc. George Kittle is on the wrong side of 30 and has struggled to stay healthy. Deebo Samuel is past his prime and no longer the weapon he once was. Trent Williams can barely walk. Even Fred Warner has not looked the part the last few weeks and was mostly absent in this game.
They are going to pay their young quarterback $60M+ and there is mounting evidence he is not a player who carry the team to a Super Bowl without the huge talent advantage they have enjoyed during his time as a starter.
Now, Macdonald has entered. Set aside the game in Seattle where they were missing starters, playing the third game in 11 days, and in crisis mode. The last two times a Macdonald defense has played Purdy and Shanahan was with Baltimore last season and this game. Purdy has thrown 5 picks combined in those games. He threw for only 159 yards in this one.
Beating the 49ers would have been a milestone no matter when it happened or how. That is was led by a gritty defense that had been spiraling just a few weeks earlier makes this much more meaningful. This win marks the true start of the Mike Macdonald era. His team did something no Seahawks team has done for years, and he did it his way with his guys. They may not make the playoffs. They may not lose another game this season. Either way, this season has already been a success.
