Seahawks hand 49ers 1st loss of season, win 27-24 in OT
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Russell Wilson high-stepped his way down the sideline before hugging coach Pete Carroll after Jason Myers’ kick split the uprights.
After a wild overtime that featured a rare Wilson interception, a missed field goal by San Francisco and a questionable decision from 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan, the Seahawks had knocked the Niners from the ranks of the unbeaten and made sure the NFC West would remain tight down the stretch.
Myers kicked a 42-yard field goal after Chase McLaughlin missed a kick earlier in overtime, and the Seahawks handed the San Francisco 49ers their first loss with a 27-24 victory on Monday night.
“That was the craziest game I’ve ever been a part of,” Wilson said.
Myers gave Seattle (8-2) its second straight overtime win after Wilson got the Seahawks into position with an 18-yard scramble on third-and-3. After being iced by a timeout, Myers delivered one week after missing two field goals and an extra point, moving Seattle on the heels of San Francisco (8-1) in the NFC West.
“We practice these situations every day,” left tackle Duane Brown said. “Russell Wilson is the best quarterback in the league. When you have him under center, I don’t care how much time is on the clock. We feel like we have a chance.”
The Seahawks blew an opportunity to win the game on the opening possession of overtime when Wilson was intercepted at the 4 by Dre Greenlaw.
It was Wilson’s second interception of the season and just the second red-zone interception in overtime in the last 25 years, according to STATS, with Jacoby Brissett having the other in 2017 against San Francisco.
Greenlaw returned it 47 yards to the Seattle 49 and the Niners moved the ball 20 yards before McLaughlin missed badly to the left on a 47-yard attempt. McLaughlin had made his first three field goals after being signed earlier in the week when Robbie Gould went down with a quadriceps injury.
“Just rushed it a little bit, hit it a little high and unfortunately missed it,” McLaughlin said.
The teams then traded punts, the Seahawks took over at their 36 with 1:25 remaining after Jimmy Garoppolo threw three straight incompletions as San Francisco burned only 14 seconds off the clock with Seattle out of timeouts.
“Definitely wish we had taken more time off the clock, but was counting on us catching one of those balls,” Shanahan said.
After the defenses dominated much of the game with each team scoring a defensive touchdown and generating three takeaways apiece in regulation, the quarterbacks traded late drives for field goals that set the stage for overtime.
Wilson drove the Seahawks 47 yards before Chris Carson was stuffed on third-and-1, leading to a 46-yard field goal by Myers with 1:45 to play.
Garoppolo and the Niners took over from there and used short passes to move the ball down to the 29 where McLaughlin kicked a 47-yard field goal with 1 second left to tie it at 24.