The wait is over. The Seattle Seahawks (5-5) clawed their way back into the playoff race after an electrifying 20-17 victory over the San Francisco 49ers (5-5). Six-game losing streak against San Francisco? About. Geno Smith’s scoreless record against the 49ers? About. Seattle’s chances of winning the NFC West and returning to the postseason? Alive, if only barely.

If the Seahawks missed an opportunity against the Los Angeles Rams prior to the bye week, they seized their moment when it mattered most against the reigning NFC champions. Perhaps that was the most opportune way to end the drought against the 49ers.

It’s time for winners and losers, but happy ones!

Winners

Geno Smith

More than anyone else, Smith needed this. Not just for the personal moment of finally beating the 49ers, but remember what happened in the first game against San Francisco with a chance to take the lead, the fourth quarter disaster against the Rams before the bye week, and his terrible interception to start the 2nd half of this game. Smith has led many winning drives as the Seahawks’ quarterback, but this felt the most impactful. He was 7/8 for 54 yards and used his legs when it mattered most, including on the winning touchdown.

The stats aren’t flashy for Geno (25/32 for 221 yards and an INT), and life got easier when Nick Bosa left, but the 49ers still have plenty of quality defensive players and arguably the best linebacker in the league . Smith was unflappable when it mattered most, and this may go down as his signature moment as a Seahawks QB depending on how the rest of the season goes.

We’re used to Russell Wilson making this particular type of comeback against the 49ers, and now Geno has his moment to shine. If you want to question his ability to be an elite QB? Fine. Never doubt his heart and determination. That was terrible.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba

He has arrived. There’s no doubt he’s at least WR2, if not already in a 1a/1b situation with DK Metcalf. He has nearly matched last year’s rookie stats in ten games.

JSN had 10 catches for 110 yards and had four critical grabs on the final possession. He was Geno’s favorite target and he has earned those reps based on his last two games. The 49ers have been sensitive to slot receivers all season, and it was evident in this game.

I also love that he finally got a jet sweep transfer (for a first). Find creative ways to get him the ball!

DK Metcalf

Welcome back, DK. He had 7 catches for 70 yards and changed the game with that crucial 3rd and 12 grab for 26 yards over the outstretched arms of Isaac Yiadom. Metcalf also had a nice block on JSN’s screen pass that set up Ken Walker’s touchdown.

Ernest Jones IV

My personal winner in defense. It must be extended. Jones was very good against the Rams and excellent against San Francisco, showcasing his tackling skills and hindering the 49ers’ rushing attack time and time again. He led the team with 13 tackles, which can be an empty statistic. but about half of them were not more than six feet in length. Unlike Tyrel Dodson’s release, which I’m not completely sold on, I was fine with leaving Jerome Baker for someone with greater upside. Jones looks like a damn good middle linebacker.

Tyrice Knight

The rookie was second on the team in tackles (10) and looked fundamentally sound in his first start since Tyrel Dodson’s release. We’ll give it some time before we see if the big decision to give the former UTEP star a starting role (after not playing much for several weeks) is worth it.

Devon Witherspoon

I think Witherspoon had a good year, other than some of his issues with penalties and tackles. That was him Great Today. His tipped ball led to Johnathan Hankins’ interception, and he broke up two other passes and was excellent in tackling Deebo Samuel on the penultimate play of the game. You could tell the 49ers had a blinding lateral planned and Witherspoon was able to knock it out.

That was one of Witherspoon’s most impactful games of his young Seahawks career, and it was reminiscent of the promise he showed as a rookie.

Johnathan Hankins

How can he not be a winner? We have a great choice! And he jumped to make a hand catch while aiming the ball high! That’s his first career interception in 12 seasons in the NFL, and it led to points.

Boye Mafe

No sacks for Mafe, but a few key passes defended to deny the 49ers even a field goal attempt before halftime.

Dre’Mont Jones

Don’t discount the sack Dre’Mont made before halftime. That was easily one of the biggest moments of this win. Jones has four sacks this season and is on pace to surpass his career-high of 6.5.

Leonard Williams and Byron Murphy II

These two received multiple holding penalties and were crucial in Seattle’s defense, repeatedly stuffing Christian McCaffrey. It won’t show up on the stat sheet, but they had a huge impact in filling gaps and blowing up plays in the backfield.

Julian Love and Coby Bryant

Love had a TFL on Deebo Samuel that was so different from the typical result when Deebo gets the ball on a handoff. He had a brutal game against the 49ers in the first meeting, but he more than made up for it in the rematch. Meanwhile, Bryant should remain the starting safety alongside Love. Rayshawn Jenkins could come back from IR next week, but I’d rather see Bryant as the starter. He’s not the greatest safety in the world, but I think the previous coaching staff was on to something that took him from a slot corner to safety. Bryant has the versatility to provide value in both directions, and his pursuit of ball carriers (as on Jauan Jennings’ final goal) was beautiful to watch.

Jason Myers

I can’t emphasize enough how big making two field goals from 50+ yards was in the context of this game. Special teams has had its ups and (mostly) downs this year, including Myers, but Jason was on the money today.

Mike McDonald

That was his defensive masterpiece. This was only the second time a Brock Purdy-led offense — I’m not counting his injury-shortened NFC Championship game against the Eagles — failed to eclipse 300 yards in a game. Christian McCaffrey was held under 80 yards rushing. Deebo Samuel only had 21 total yards. Brock Purdy was limited to 146 net yards on 28 passing attempts. Only one passing play gained more than 20 yards and only two rushes gained more than 10. All of Seattle’s biggest foes were vanquished (although Jauan Jennings has become the newest boss). We hadn’t seen any of Pete Carroll’s defenses come close to this level against Kyle Shanahan’s defense during the losing streak.

These last two divisional games were his litmus test for stopping offenses that the Seahawks generally struggled against, and even though the defense gave up the game-winning TD in overtime against Los Angeles, they still played well. Overall, the defense was excellent against the 49ers.

Losers

Zach Charbonnet

Weft. Charbonnet really doesn’t have the power to make first contact on a consistent basis. The concerning part was the botched chip that resulted in Nick Bosa’s first sack of the game on the opening drive.

After another 4 carries for 3 yards, Charbonnet is averaging just 3.5 yards per carry and is being surpassed by Geno Smith in terms of total yards (222 to 217) and explosive plays. That’s not value for the second round for me.

A. J. Barner

Barner was a nice gem as a receiving tight end, which wasn’t labeled as his strength, but his blocking still needs work. The failed 4th and 1 run with Charbonnet prevented Barner from blocking safety Ji’Ayir Brown. Barner also had a drop right before Geno’s interception, and that can partly be attributed to not getting into his route as he came to the ball. He’s a rookie and he’ll live and learn. I like his potential.

Ryan Grubb’s short-yardage play calling

Have the Seahawks made even one play-action pass on 3rd, 4th and 1 this year? I don’t understand why he doesn’t use it. I also don’t understand why the Seahawks are so good with 21 men (two running backs, one tight end) in short yardage and then he gets away from it on that botched Charbonnet run.

Grubb did promise to look more under center and wasn’t looking for an endless stream of shotgun dropback plays, but this aspect of his situational calls needs to be cleaned up.

3rd down defense

No bueno except Coby Bryant on the last drive. San Francisco was 7/11 on 3rd down, including multiple 3rd and 10+ conversions to Jauan Jennings. The Seahawks have generally been a good 3rd down defense this season, but all you could ask them for was the 49ers having long, clock-killing drives that shortened the game for both teams.

Final comments

• Anthony Bradford is not recorded as giving up a sack, but he effectively gave up one on the final drive by allowing immediate pressure and forcing Geno into Leonard Floyd’s arms. He also had what amounted to a drive-killing false start to end the half. Otherwise? I haven’t seen much bad from him besides Abe Lucas.
• Olu Oluwatimi looked good off the high snap, which Geno could have gotten, but I thought it was a good second career start for Oluwatimi. The 49ers not blitzing much made life a little easier for the offensive line in pass protection. I’ll watch more of the OL play when the All-22 is available.
• Welcome back, Abe Lucas. He was on a short count restriction, and I have to admit I wasn’t paying full attention when he left the game for Michael Jerrell. The real test will be whether his knee can hold up in the coming weeks and whether he can ramp up his conditioning to play 100% of the snaps.
• It felt like Charles Cross was being a bit bullied by Yetur Gross-Matos and Leonard Floyd all day. Wasn’t his best performance, but you know who the pairing was? Laken Tomlinson for getting the necessary block to allow Geno to compete for the go-ahead rush TD.
• Kenneth Walker III just has so little space to work with, which sucks, because he’s great when he has space. He still got into the end zone for his seventh rushing TD of the season.
• Only four penalties for the Seahawks, one of which was an intentional stoppage of play. Much, much better discipline overall
• I think the Seahawks will need new punt and kick returners next week after the injuries to Laviska Shenault Jr and Dee Williams. It appears that Dee’s injury is a little more serious.
• The job isn’t done yet. The season comes down to the next three weeks. If they can beat the Arizona Cardinals and beat the hapless New York Jets, the Seahawks will likely be in pole position to win the NFC West. Arizona is playing damn good football on both ends right now, and they will. to be very disciplined in dealing with the run threat that is Kyler Murray. The vague feelings may disappear as soon as next week. But in the meantime? Damn, it feels great to celebrate another win over the 49ers. See you Monday for Enemy Reaction.