SEATTLE SEAHAWKS

Seahawks fall 26-23 to 49ers on Robbie Gould’s FG in OT

Dec 16, 2018, 1:47 PM | Updated: 6:26 pm

Russell Wilson and the Seahawks couldn't complete a comeback win over the 49ers. (AP)...

Russell Wilson and the Seahawks couldn't complete a comeback win over the 49ers. (AP)

(AP)

With a postseason berth just a win away for the Seattle Seahawks, the San Francisco 49ers did everything in their power to prevent that from happening on their home turf.

And while it took overtime, the 49ers accomplished their goal.

Seahawks lose: O’Neil on officiating Takeaways | 710 reaction | Photos

San Francisco kicker Robbie Gould hit three field goals, including the winner from 36 yards in overtime, to lead the 49ers to a 26-23 victory.

The Seahawks’ loss ends a 10-game win streak over their rival from the Bay Area that goes back to the 2013 season and prevents them from sealing a postseason spot for at least another week.

Here’s a quarter-by-quarter (and overtime) look at the 8-6 Seahawks’ defeat in Santa Clara, Calif..

First quarter

49ers 7, Seahawks 6

Russell Wilson looked a lot more like himself starting out against the 49ers, but a pair of missteps in the kicking game allowed San Francisco to jump out to the lead after the first quarter.

Wilson connected with Doug Baldwin on a 5-yard touchdown pass to cap a nine-play, 59-yard drive on the Seahawks’ first series of the day, but Sebastian Janikowski missed the PAT. Just a moment later, Janikowski’s kickoff to 49ers return man Richie James had a disastrous result. James broke a tackle and got some key blocks, and by the time James got to Janikowski as the last line of defense, there was no question he was going the full 97 yards for the score. San Francisco kicker Robbie Gould his his PAT, and the Seahawks found themselves in a 7-6 hole.

Special teams was the only problem Seattle had in the first, however, and even then it got some help from punter Michael Dickson. Punting from the San Francisco 39, the rookie sensation planted the ball on the Seattle 2, and because he has some sort of mystical powers the ball bounced straight up, allowing the Seahawks to down the ball at the 1.

A fumble recovery by Bradley McDougald gave Seattle possession with 2:39 to go at its own 39.

Just six days removed from being held to a career-low 72 passing yards in a win over Minnesota, Wilson had a strong opening frame. In addition to his nifty touch pass to Baldwin, he had another one for 28 yards to Tyler Lockett on a stop-and-go route that helped set up Baldwin’s score, and finished the first quarter 8 for 11 passing for 93 yards.

SEA – Doug Baldwin 5 pass from Russell Wilson (kick failed), 9:27
SF – Richie James 97 kick return (Robbie Gould kick), 9:15

Second quarter

49ers 17, Seahawks 13

Doug Baldwin was back and playing as good as he had all season. But the Seahawks still trailed at halftime.

In his return from missing last Monday’s game due to a hip injury, Baldwin caught a pair of touchdown passes that accounted for all of Seattle’s scoring in the first half. The second came with 5:19 remaining in the second quarter, a 35-yarder from Russell Wilson that saw Baldwin get himself open while Wilson scrambled, then after making the catch immediately spun out of trouble and leapt for the end zone. That was the third catch on three targets for Baldwin, adding up to 51 yards and bringing the Seahawks within a point at 14-13.

It wasn’t just Seattle’s passing game that was successful before halftime, however. San Francisco’s Nick Mullens, who had 414 passing yards in his team’s 43-16 loss in Seattle two weeks ago, burned the Seahawks’ secondary again for a 41-yard touchdown pass to tight end Garrett Celek that pushed the 49ers’ lead to 14-6 at that point. That was the final play of a 10-play, 98-yard drive that made a second incredible punt by Seattle’s Michael Dickson an afterthought and caused some Seahawks defenders to change cleats to get better traction in the rain and on grass in Santa Clara.

San Francisco had an answer for Baldwin’s second TD, too, with Robbie Gould’s 28-yard field goal pushing the 49ers’ lead to 4 with just over a minute left before the half.

The second quarter came with some bad news on the injury front for the Seahawks, who may have lost safety Bradley McDougald to a right knee injury. He was deemed doubtful to return.

SF – Garrett Celek 41 pass from Nick Mullens (Gould kick), 9:29
SEA – Baldwin 35 pass from Wilson (Sebastian Janikowski), 5:19
SF – Gould 28 FG, 1:05

Third quarter

49ers 20, Seahawks 13

In the third quarter, things got chippy, a lot of flags were thrown, and the Seahawks fell further behind a 49ers team doing its best to play spoiler.

San Francisco pushed its lead to 20-13 on a 33-yard field goal by Robbie Gould to end a drive that was helped out a ton by flags against Seattle. Those included a facemask on Bobby Wagner, an unnecessary roughness call on Justin Coleman, and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Neiko Thorpe on the Seahawks punt that started the possession. San Francisco had its share of penalties on the drive, too, but the 20 yards combined on a delay of game and unsportsmanlike conduct on Jeff Wilson Jr. wasn’t enough to kept the Niners from adding to their lead.

Down by a touchdown and extra point, Seattle’s offense started to show life towards the end of the quarter. Runs of 21 and 26 yards by Chris Carson led the Hawks into the red zone for just the second time all day, and the Seahawks were knocking on the door of a touchdown at the 1-yard line as the quarter came to a close.

SF – Gould 33 FG, 2:54

Fourth quarter

Seahawks 23, 49ers 23

A more impressive 1-yard touchdown run you will never see.

Beginning the fourth quarter with second-and-goal from the 1, the Seahawks handed the ball off to Carson. He lost a yard.

They handed it off to him again. He gained the yard back.

Then on fourth down, Carson’s number was called once more, and he would not be denied.

After fighting and scratching and clawing his way to the goal line, Carson allowed Janikowski to kick the tying PAT and put a playoffs-clinching win in Seattle’s grasp.

It wouldn’t be that simple.

The 49ers took the lead back with a 45-yard Gould field goal on the next possession, aided by a pass interference call on Seahawks safety Delano Hill that probably should have gone against 49ers tight end George Kittle.

Seattle answered with a field goal of its own, a huge 48-yarder by Janikowski with 5:21 left that was set up by a 27-yard pass down the middle to Baldwin, who made an impressive effort to hold on to the ball while taking a wicked shot.

The Seahawks’ defense came up with the stop it needed on San Francisco’s next drive, forcing a three-and-out with two incompletions sandwiching a Frank Clark sack, the 12th of the season for the probable first-time Pro Bowler.

The offense stalled out at its own 35, though, and Dickson’s punt went into the end zone, giving Mullens the chance to lead the Niners on a game-winning drive. A sack by Seahawks defensive tackle Jarran Reed sent the game into the two-minute warning, and another one by Reed two plays later forced San Francisco into punting deep in its own territory to Seattle with 1:49 to go.

The Seahawks attempted one last march towards a decisive score, beginning at their own 26 due to a block-in-the-back penalty by Malik Turner on the punt return. A holding penalty on Ethan Pocic loomed large as Seattle was forced to punt and send the game to overtime.

SEA – Chris Carson 1 run (Janikowski kick), 13:51
SF – Gould 45 FG, 9:51
SEA – Janikowski 48 FG, 5:21

Overtime

49ers 26, Seahawks 23

With a steady rain coming down, the Seahawks had an inauspicious start to the extra period as Tyler Lockett muffed the kickoff and was hammered down at the Seattle 14. The Hawks were forced to punt from deep in their own territory after another holding call on Pocic, who was filling in for injured right guard Jordan Simmons, who himself was filling in for an injured D.J. Fluker, giving San Francisco the chance to win the game with a field goal.

The 49ers did just that. They picked up a first down on the ground, got into Seattle’s side of the field on a pass interference call on Shaquill Griffin, and a 16-yard run by Jeff Wilson Jr. put them in field goal position.

Gould, who has missed one field goal attempt all season, was true from 36 yards to give San Francisco its first win over the Seahawks since 2013.

SF – Gould 36 FG, 3:06

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