SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Geno Smith had that look in his eyes.
Laken Tomlinson has been a Seattle Seahawk for only seven months, but that’s more than enough time to learn how this current team feels about the San Francisco 49ers, his former club.
It was also enough time to gather how much a game like this meant to Smith, who came into the huddle ahead of Seattle’s game-winning drive Sunday calm and in control, smiling as if he knew what was about to happen. Smith’s confidence and command of the moment added to the feeling of belief flowing through everyone in the Seahawks’ huddle Sunday afternoon at Levi’s Stadium.
“I was like, ‘This is it. We’re going to win this game,’” said Tomlinson, Seattle’s veteran left guard. “He gets that look in his eyes, and he’s just going to do something special. When he gets that look, man, all we can do is back him up.”
The situation called for greatness, and Smith and the offense delivered. Down by 4 points on the road against a division rival that had defeated them six times in a row, the Seahawks needed 80 yards in the final 2:38 to avoid a sixth loss in seven games, which would have essentially put a fork in their season.
Smith has had special late-game moments in his three seasons as Seattle’s starter, but Sunday he checked a new box by leading a game-winning scoring drive against San Francisco, punctuated by his 13-yard scramble with 12 seconds remaining to give the Seahawks a 20-17 victory.
GENO!!!! TD @SEAHAWKS!!
📺: #SEAvsSF on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/ATSZeKJaOe— NFL (@NFL) November 18, 2024
On the final series, Smith completed 7 of 8 passes for 54 yards and accounted for 29 yards on two runs, the latter so cathartic that once he extended the ball over the goal line, he joyously launched it into the air toward a stunned crowd of 49ers fans.
“That was probably my best throw of the day,” Smith said with a smirk in his postgame news conference.
It is impossible to overstate the significance of this victory for Seattle, which improved to 5-5 and third in the NFC West with two games against the division-leading Cardinals (6-4) over the next three weeks. The Seahawks came into this game with 3 percent odds of winning the division, according to The Athletic’s projection model. A loss would have kept them in the division basement while being at a mathematical and psychological disadvantage against a 49ers team that had won the previous six meetings by an average of two touchdowns.
“Just getting the vibe of the whole team, I knew how much it meant to this team,” said Tomlinson, who signed a one-year deal with Seattle in April and spent five seasons with the 49ers from 2017 to 2021. “I love these guys. I came in and been working my tail off with these guys and feel it. I’m here with them, so I feel it, too.”
Smith’s 13-yard scramble was an injection of adrenaline in part because of those previous defeats. He was 0-5 against San Francisco before Sunday. On Thursday, he said this game was personal. Two weeks ago, he apologized for costing his team the game against the Rams in Week 9. During Seattle’s Week 10 bye, Smith talked to coach Mike Macdonald and vowed to atone for those mistakes.
“I told him I was going to do everything in my power to make it right,” Smith said. “Today was just a step in that direction. But we’ve got a long ways to go.”
Smith made mistakes in this game, too. He began the third quarter with a poor decision on third down that led to an interception. Rather than give up a touchdown that could have opened the floodgates, though, Seattle’s defense allowed just 12 yards on seven plays on the ensuing possession, and San Francisco settled for a field goal to take a 10-6 lead.
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That sort of defensive effort was also why atonement was on Smith’s mind Sunday. Smith felt he let the defense down in Week 9 and didn’t want another strong showing by his teammates to go to waste.
“When they come out and play the way they did today, we deserve to win, and they deserve to win,” Smith said. “It’s my job as the quarterback to make sure that happens.”
Seattle’s defense put Smith in position to make good on his promise by forcing a punt on San Francisco’s second-to-last drive of the game. After the Seahawks’ offense turned the ball over on downs, the 49ers took over at the 37-yard line with 3:56 remaining. During a crucial three-play stretch, safety Coby Bryant tackled running back Christian McCaffrey for a loss of 1, cornerback Riq Woolen blanketed receiver Deebo Samuel and forced an incompletion on second down, then Bryant stopped receiver Jauan Jennings short of the sticks on third-and-11.
“As long as I gave the offense a shot, I knew they was gonna take care of business,” Bryant said.
In this instance, taking care of business meant leaning heavily on Smith. He completed his first four passes on the final drive, including an 8-yard hookup with receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba on third-and-5 to the Seattle 44-yard line at the two-minute warning. A few plays later, he bought time in the pocket on third-and-3 near midfield and zipped the ball by linebacker Fred Warner into the hands of Smith-Njigba for 15 more yards.
Following a first-down sack, Smith again bought time and scrambled for 16 yards to the 21-yard line with 39 seconds left.
“I mean, the guy can run,” receiver Jake Bobo said. “Most people probably don’t know that, but he can run — and he can run fast.”
After an 8-yard completion to Smith-Njigba, setting up second-and-2 at the 13-yard line with the clock ticking under 20 seconds, Smith put everyone on notice once more. He dropped back, recognized a crease between Tomlinson and left tackle Charles Cross, held the ball out as if he might attempt a pass, crossed the line of scrimmage and outraced safety Malik Mustapha and cornerback Isaac Yiadom to the end zone.
“He was legendary, like I tell everybody,” said second-year center Olu Oluwatimi, who made his first start of the year after Connor Williams’ sudden retirement, which became official Saturday. “From how his career started, people still label him that way, and I always tell people Geno is great. He’s a great player.”
That play and the entire final drive were testaments to the belief Seattle’s players and coaches have in Smith, who has 10 game-winning drives in the fourth quarter or overtime since becoming Seattle’s starter. He has had seven such drives in the last two seasons, most in the NFL over that span, according to Pro Football Reference. This was his second game-winning drive of the season, and it couldn’t have come at a more pivotal time.
The Seahawks still have long odds of making the playoffs (12 percent) and winning the division (8 percent), according to The Athletic’s model, but they control their fate (mathematically) with seven games remaining.
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“We get to determine what our season is going to be,” said Smith, who completed 25 of 32 passes for 221 yards. “The 49ers are a great team, hats off to them, much respect to those guys. They have great players. But we do, too.”
This game and the 11-play sequence that saved the season also further illustrated the chemistry between Smith and Smith-Njigba, who led the team with 10 catches for 110 yards and eclipsed the 100-yard mark for the second straight game, again proving reliable in crunchtime. Smith-Njigba’s ability to find holes in the zone, stress the defense vertically and generate yards after the catch make all the difference in the world when it’s winning time.
That’s why Smith texted former coach Pete Carroll and lobbied for Smith-Njigba on draft night in 2023. And it’s why those two spent so much time in the offseason training all over the country, so they could be in lockstep when it matters most.
“When we’re traveling place to place, those are times that we talk about,” Smith-Njigba said. “To execute in those tough times, the times that we need, that’s communication that we have, and it shows up.”
No one celebrating during the Seahawks’ postgame scene downplayed how much of a weight this win was off their collective shoulders. From rookies like AJ Barner to veterans like receiver Tyler Lockett, everyone admitted this was more than just a victory. Barner said the Seahawks “want a bitter rivalry with these guys,” and they knew they couldn’t establish that without walking into this building and winning for the first time since 2021.
And nothing speaks to how sweet this triumph was more than Smith roaring as he galloped through the end zone after his touchdown before borrowing Golden State Warriors guard Steph Curry’s “night, night” celebration as he taunted the home crowd.
Geno Smith busting out the GTS 🙏 pic.twitter.com/LR25EIGcEL
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) November 18, 2024
“In the Bay,” Smith said, “you gotta do it.”
(Photo: David Gonzales / Imagn Images)
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