SEATTLE — Of course the 49ers’ fate would be decided near the north end zone, near the “Hawks Nest.”
It’s where their 2019 team clinched the NFC’s No. 1 seed with a goal-line tackle. It’s where NaVorro Bowman sustained a catastrophic injury in the 2013 season’s NFC Championship Game loss.
And it is where, on fourth-and-goal with 22 seconds remaining, Jimmy Garoppolo wanted to throw his final pass. Instead, he took their final snap from the 3-yard line and had his throw blocked by Carlos Dunlap’s left hand.
It sealed a 30-23 defeat.
“We shouldn’t have let it get to that point,” Shanahan said of the final, failed drive.
Ghastly turnovers, scary injuries, foolish penalties, familiar pass coverage woes and far too many special teams snafus ended the 49ers’ win streak at three. Shanahan referred to those gaffes as “self-inflicted stuff.” These were their early-season hallmarks, not the formula for a December playoff run.
This was Seattle, however, and it’s a haunting place where the 49ers (6-6) have now lost 10 of their past 11 visits.
“This is as electric as it gets,” Garoppolo said of the Seahawks’ stadium. “In the end, you couldn’t hear much in the huddle and guys were reading lips. There’ve been (games) like this for years now. It starts with Russ (Wilson) and coach (Pete) Carroll. It’s similar to us and why it’s always such a dogfight.”
This disaster doesn’t cripple playoff aspirations. It certainly serves as a reminder that the 49ers are not the NFC threat as envisioned this past month. With the loss, they dropped to the No. 7 seed in the playoff picture.
“We definitely blew it but we knew it’d be this type of game whenever we play them,” Nick Bosa said. “We have to do a much better job of not giving the game away. But we’re still in the mix and have confidence in our game.”
About three hours into the latest episode of this still-intense rivalry, the 49ers caught a break. Their goal-line defense produced a takeaway, with Azeez Al-Shaair forcing a fumble and Dontae Johnson recovering it at the 2 with 4:03 to spare.
What ensued were big gains offensively, by George Kittle, Elijah Mitchell and Brandon Aiyuk. The 49ers had reached the 7-yard line for the final minute. Then came two Mitchell runs and back-to-back incompletions toward Trent Sherfield, rather than toward Kittle.
Shanahan said the final pass plays were called to target Kittle (9 catches, 181 yards, 2 TDs), but the Seahawks had him double covered, forcing Garoppolo to look to Sherfield, who got held on a third down in the end zone (no penalty was called) and got open on the fourth-down pass breakup.
“It’s hard to win in Seattle if you don’t do anything in the second half,” Kittle said. “What a (heck) of a way to end the game.”
Could right tackle Tom Compton have done anything to prevent Dunlap’s heroics? Left tackle Trent Williams said it’s a tough task when such a 6-foot-6 defensive end with long arms has eyes on the quarterback and can see when he’s throwing. “There’s no way to keep a man’s hands down, not with the rules we’re governed with,” Williams said. “Guys with long arms like that are sought after because they can do stuff like that.”
Garoppolo finished 20-of-30 for 299 yards with those two touchdowns to Kittle, but also two interceptions in which Shanahan noted “he’s got to be better with the ball.”
The drama-filled game opened in somber fashion when the 49ers’ Trenton Cannon suffered a head injury covering the opening kickoff. His concussion resulted in him leaving the field by ambulance and staying overnight in a local hospital, where he’s listed in stable condition.
Compounding the 49ers’ slow start: the Seahawks faked a punt on their first possession, resulting in a 73-yard touchdown run and 7-0 lead only 1:49 into the game.
The 49ers clearly were missing chemistry, which could be traced to playing their first game this season without wide receiver Deebo Samuel (groin) and linebacker Fred Warner (hamstring).
There would be no building off a 23-21 halftime lead. There would be no second-half points allowed by the Seahawks (4-8). The 49ers go back on the road next weekend for a Sunday date at the Cincinnati Bengals.
Here are other key takeaways:
KITTLE STEPS UP
Kittle spoke earlier this week about how the 49ers needed to reverse history and beat a Seahawks franchise that had won 16 of the last 19 meetings between the teams. He did his part to try making it 16 of 20.
Kittle scored two touchdowns in the first half: a game-tying 24-yard reception and a 48-yard catch and run along the left sideline. He had a season-high 121 yards (five receptions) by halftime. Also, credit a Jauan Jennings block for helping spring Kittle the final 25 yards on that second touchdown.
He remained Garoppolo’s go-to guy down the stretch — until the final passes. Kittle caught 9 of 12 targets for 181 yards.
OFFENSIVE WOES
Interceptions, dropped passes and penalties doomed the 49ers’ offense, not to mention an end-zone sack that resulted in a game-tying safety.
Tied at 23, Garoppolo converted a third-down pass to Aiyuk for a 21-yard gain, then Garoppolo overshot a double-covered Kittle over the middle for the Seahawks’ second interception of the game. “I got greedy and should have been smarter and taken the checkdown,” Garoppolo said.
The two interceptions were as many as he had yielded in the previous five games combined.
After Garoppolo’s second interception, the 49ers wanted rookie Elijah Mitchell and their run game to power them like their most recent wins. Mitchell got cleared from a potential concussion and remained their go-to back, but his 22 carries netted only 69 yards.
BAD PASS DEFENSE
The 49ers’ pass defense started strong, or so it looked with sacks by Nick Bosa and Arik Armstead. Emmanuel Moseley also was humming along with a fumble recovery and forcing a third-down stop.
But then Moseley left with an ankle injury, and rookie Deommodore Lenoir struggled in his replacement. Lenoir allowed a 33-yard pass to the 4, committed a pass-interference penalty in the end zone (to set up an Adrian Peterson scoring run), then yielded a touchdown catch on the ensuing series.
Lenoir got benched, safety Jaquiski Tartt left with a hamstring injury, and more woes ensued. Seattle took a 30-23 lead when Josh Norman surrendered a touchdown catch by Tyler Lockett. Dontae Johnson, who replaced Lenoir, drew a personal foul on what would have been a third-down stop with nine minutes to go.
SPECIAL TEAMS GAFFES
The 49ers’ special teams endured a miserable day, starting with Cannon’s injury on the opening kickoff. The second half also opened with more misery on a kickoff, as Travis Benjamin fumbled it away and the Seahawks recovered at the 26-yard line. Another special-teams miscue: Robbie Gould missed a point-after attempt for the first time this season. Special teams mistakes doomed the 49ers’ in their home loss to Seattle in October, including a pair of botched kickoff returns by Cannon.