For three hours Sunday, anyway, the Seahawks were everything they mostly haven’t been in 2021 — resilient, clutch and ultimately victorious when the 49ers were turned away at the 3-yard line with 18 seconds left.
The 49ers drove 95 yards appearing ready to steal a victory and raise a ton of questions about Pete Carroll’s decision not to kick a field goal earlier in quarter.
But Seattle made three straight stops from the 3 to close out the 30-23 win on a day when Russell Wilson looked closer to his old self than at any time since returning from his finger injury.
The final stop came when Carlos Dunlap tipped a Jimmy Garoppolo pass on fourth down.
It added up to a rare feel-good day for Seattle, made that much better by the damage it might have done to a San Francisco team that had won three in a row, positioning itself for the playoffs. Instead, the 49ers fell to 6-6, with two of its losses this season to the Seahawks.
The win improved Seattle’s record to 4-8 and meant that while the Seahawks were officially eliminated earlier in the day from winning the NFC West, they kept alive both their slim playoff hopes, as well as a chance to run the table and avoid their first losing season since 2011.
But before the final drama — in the same end zone where two years ago the 49ers stopped a final Seattle drive to win the NFC West — Seattle had played as it often hadn’t all season.
The offense was explosive and resilient, overcoming a rugged start to hold the ball for 33:12 and convert some key third downs with Wilson going 30-for-37 for 231 yards and two TDs and an interception that wasn’t his fault.
The defense was opportunistic, with two interceptions and a safety and limiting the 49ers to 3 of 10 on third down.
And the special teams were electric, with a 73-yard fake punt run for a touchdown by Travis Homer setting the tone for the day, and a forced fumble on the opening kickoff of the second half helping turn the game as Seattle overcame a 10-point second-quarter deficit.
Still, the end might be what is most remembered.
Ahead 30-23, Seattle appeared ready to sew up things when it drove to the 49ers 1 with 5:36 left.
Seattle got there after going for it on fourth-and-1 at the 4, deciding not to kick the field goal and take a 10-point lead that might have been insurmountable.
But Carroll eschewed the chip shot field goal and Adrian Peterson was stopped on two plays from the 1.
On third down, tight end Gerald Everett caught a shovel pass up the middle, then fumbled it with the 49ers recovering at the 2 with 4:03 left. Everett earlier lost a fumble and bobbled a pass that turned into an interception.
The 49ers used a 29-yard pass from Garoppolo to George Kittle to get the drive started with passes to Brandon Aiyuk of 18 and 16 taking the ball deep into Seattle territory.
A 4-yard first down run by Elijah Mitchell took it to the 3.
But he was then stopped for no gain on second down, setting up third and goal at the 3 with 27 seconds left.
A third-down pass intended for Trent Sherfield in the back of the end zone was broken up by Sidney Jones.
Dunlap, who earlier in the game had a safety, then got his tip and Seattle had snapped a three-game losing streak and a skid of six losses in seven games dating to its 28-21 win over the 49ers on Oct. 3.
The 49ers led 23-21 at the end of a wild first half.
Seattle went three-and-out on its first drive after taking the opening kickoff.
Only, instead of punting, snapper Tyler Ott hiked it directly to up back Travis Homer, who raced around left end and into the open untouched for a 73-yard score that put Seattle up 7-0.
The 49ers then dominated much of the rest of the action in the first quarter and early second, with two Garoppolo to Kittle touchdowns giving San Francisco a 23-14 lead with 1:48 left in the half.
But as he’s done so often, Wilson led a two-minute drive that got Seattle again in the end zone with a seven-yard pass to rookie Dee Eskridge — the first TD of his career — that made it 23-21 at halftime.
On the possession before Wilson hit Metcalf on a 33-yard completion to convert a third-and-14 that set up a 1-yard TD run by Peterson that cut SF’s lead to 17-14.
The TD was the 126th of Peterson’s career, tying Jim Brown for 10th in NFL history.
Wilson completed 16 of 19 passes in the first half for 111 yards and Metcalf had four catches for 53 yards.
Garoppolo was 10-15 for 157 yards and two touchdowns in the first half.
The first was a 24-yarder in the first quarter that followed a San Francisco recovery of a fumble by tight end Gerald Everett.
The second was a 48-yarder in which Kittle tiptoed down the sideline, leaving Seattle middle linebacker Bobby Wagner standing with his hands on his hips, protesting that Kittle had to have stepped out. But Seattle responded with the quick-strike drive to cut it to 23-21 at halftime.
Seattle looked on the verge of retaking the lead when Homer recovered a fumble forced by Nick Bellore of 49ers returner Travis Benjamin on the opening kickoff of the second half.
That gave Seattle the ball at the 26. Seattle then faced a third-and-four at the 6 and a TD appeared imminent when Wilson hit a wide open Gerald Everett in the end zone.
Only, Everett bobbled the ball into the hands of San Francisco’s K’Waun Williams.
Williams tried to run it out but was tackled at the 3 by Jake Curhan, playing left guard in place of the injured Kyle Fuller.
Three plays later, Carlos Dunlap sacked Garoppolo for a safety that tied the game at 23.
The Seahawks then moved to the 49ers’ 31. But on second down, Wilson overthrew an open Metcalf in the end zone down the left sideline. Curhan then was beaten for a sack on third down and the Seahawks had to punt.
The 49ers appeared on the move on their next drive.
But with a first down at the 34, Garoppolo badly sailed a pass over the middle intended for Kittle that went straight into the arms of Quandre Diggs, who returned it 29 yards to the 49er’ 28.
Five plays later, with Seattle facing third and six at the 12, Wilson lofted it to Lockett, who got open by beating Josh Norman off the line of scrimmage, made an over-the-shoulder grab for the TD in the back of the end zone to put Seattle ahead 30-23 with 2:28 remaining in the third quarter.
That was it for the scoring, but not for the drama.
