Geno Smith makes it personal as Seahawks shock 49ers with late score

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Geno Smith called it “very personal” this week that the Seattle Seahawks had not beaten the San Francisco 49ers in his two-plus years as the starter.

With time running out to finally vanquish that demon, Smith took it into his own hands, scrambling 13 yards for the game-winning TD with 12 seconds left as the Seahawks stunned the 49ers 20-17.

Smith’s run capped an 80-yard drive in 11 plays that took 2:26 off the clock.

Smith completed 7-of-8 passes on the drive for 54 yards to get the Seahawks close before his scramble ended the game.

The Seahawks improved to 5-5 with the win while snapping a six-game losing streak against the 49ers. San Francisco also fell to 5-5 in dropping a game it seemed to have in hand when it stopped the Seahawks on a fourth down a few minutes earlier.

The Seahawks trailed 17-13 when they took over at its own 20 with 2:38 remaining and one time out.

A drive that will go down in Seahawks lore began when Smith threw an 11-yard pass on an out route to DK Metcalf. The 49ers challenged the ruling but the call was upheld.

A check-down pass to Kenneth Walker III picked up four.

Another pass to Walker picked up one.

A pass in the slot to Jaxon Smith-Njigba picked up eight and a first down at the 49ers 44 at the two-minute warning.

Another pass to Smith-Njigba picked up seven.

That was followed by an incomplete pass to Metcalf with 1:36 remaining.

Smith stepped up and hit Smith-Njjigba for 15 to the 34.

Smith was sacked on the next play for a loss of four.

But he followed with a scramble of 16 to the 21.

The Seahawks called their final time out with 39 seconds remaining.

A pass to Smith-Njigba picked up eight to the 13 but left the clock running.

On a play that snapped with 18 seconds left, Smith dropped back, saw an opening to the left, and raced to the pylon, triumphantly whipping the ball into the end zone.

The win capped a tumultuous week following the Seahawks’ bye and the surprising retirement of center Connor Williams and release of linebacker Tyrel Dodson.

The 49ers had taken a 17-13 lead earlier in the quarter in a game that was mostly devoid of excitement early on.

The 49ers converted three third downs on the drive, of five, 11 and 11 yards.

The last one was the killer as the 49ers had been moved back to the Seattle 21 following a holding penalty on a third-and-one play.

Brock Purdy found Jauan Jennings eight yards downfield where he was immediately hit by Josh Jobe and Riq Woolen. Jennings stayed upright and kept moving forward even as two more Seahawks Julian Love and Ernest Jones IV, joined in, eventually reaching the nine.

Two plays later, Purdy hit a wide-open Jennings for a 3-yard TD that put the 49ers ahead 17-13 with 9:33 remaining.

On the ensuring drive, the Seahawks reached the 50, where it faced a fourth-and-inches.

A handoff to Walker gained four.

Two plays later, Smith avoided a rush and threw to the sideline to Smith-Njigba, who caught the ball while kneeling near the sideline for an apparent 8-yard gain to the San Francisco 37 with 4:55 left. The 49ers challenged the ruling but it was upheld, also costing the 49ers a time out.

A Smith sneak was ruled just short. Macdonald appeared to be considering challenging the spot as the Seahawks offense lined up to go for it.

They handed the ball to Charbonnet, who lined up as the front back in an I-formation with Walker behind him. But the play went nowhere and the 49ers took over at their own 37 with 3:56 remaining.

But the 49ers couldn’t run out the clock.

On a second down, Seahawks cornerback Riq Woolen broke up a pass to Deebo Samuel. And on third-and-11 a pass to Jennings came up short, leaving the 49ers a fourth-and-6 at the Seattle 42 with 2:45 left.

That set up Smith’s heroics.

Smith finished the game 25-of-32 for 221 yards.

The Seahawks hung with the 49ers throughout the game to allow them to come back at the end.

The Seahawks forced a three-and-out following the opening kickoff and drove to the 49ers’ 28 with a first down.

The drive stalled and the Seahawks had to settle for a 52-yard field goal by Jason Myers. It was a far cry from the game last month when the 49ers took a 23-3 lead before the Seahawks rallied some.

The 49ers quickly reclaimed the lead with their one good drive of the half, a 12-play, 71-yard march capped by a 10-yard run by Purdy to take a 7-3 lead with 10 seconds left in the first quarter.

The 49ers had to convert just one third down on the drive, and the march seemed like it might be foreshadowing the usual rout was about to be on.

That feeling intensified when yet another bad snap — this one from Olu Oluwatimi — resulted in a 17-yard loss that killed Seattle’s next drive.

Two plays into the 49ers’ next drive, Devon Witherspoon deflected a Purdy pass high into the air where 12-year veteran defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins leapt and controlled it as he fell to the ground at the 29 for the first interception in his 161-game NFL career.

The Seahawks couldn’t move it and had to settle for a 57-yard field goal by Myers to make it 7-6.

The score stayed there as the 49ers committed three penalties on their next drive and couldn’t move it.

That gave the Seahawks one more shot. But a pass to AJ Barner on third-and-12 came up three yards short. It wasn’t for lack of effort as Barner and a host of Seahawks tried to push the pile, with Walker and 49ers cornerback Deommodore Lenoir getting into it, which resulted in players on each team joining in.

After everyone was separated, offsetting penalties were called and the Seahawks eventually punted.

The Seahawks were outgained 152-104 in the first half, managing just 29 yards rushing on eight attempts.

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