In honor of the new Wicked movie coming out, let me be the first among the 12th Man to take after the Munchkins and declare “ding dong the witch is dead!” Of course, this is in regards to the Seattle Seahawks finally snapping their six-game losing streak to the San Francisco 49ers. On Sunday, the Seahawks claimed their first win over the Niners since December 5th of the 2021 season with a triumphant 20-17 victory.
It has been an incredibly frustrating two and a half years for Seattle in this rivalry, as San Francisco has had their number for far too long as of late. But in Week 11, the Seahawks finally struck back. This was not just a great moral victory, it may have actually saved Seattle’s season.
As of now, the Seahawks, 49ers and Rams are all tied in the NFC West with identical 5-5 records. The Rams won earlier on Sunday, improving to 5-5, which put extra pressure on Seattle to avoid falling to 4-6 and perhaps watching their playoff hopes fly too far out of reach.
The Seahawks were down only 7-6 at halftime, their most competitive first half against the Niners since the 2022 Wild Card game. Things seemed to be on the verge of spiraling out of control when Geno Smith threw his league-leading 11th interception on third down of Seattle’s opening drive of the third quarter. Thankfully, the Seahawks defense held the Niners to only a field goal.
Actually, Mike Macdonald’s defense was the story of the game for Seattle. Showing incredible improvement in the Rams game from Week 9, the Hawks carried it over in a massive way to Week 11. In the first meeting, the Niners had 358 yards of offense and scored 36 points. On Sunday, they were held to 277 and only 17 points. Actually, it is the first time since December 2018 that Seattle kept the 49ers under 20 points in any game.
The Seahawks’ defense gave their offense, which had struggled all day long, one final opportunity. Trailing 17-13, Geno Smith and Co. had their shot at redemption. Their shot to end this streak and rewrite the narrative on the season. It was a shot they took and landed, as Smith engineered an 11-play, 80 yard drive which was capped off by this 13-yard scramble to the end zone.
Geno Smith just completed his 10th game winning drive since 2022… the most in the NFL during this stretch #Seahawks pic.twitter.com/VESmBFe1y4
— Kole Musgrove (@KoleMusgrove23) November 18, 2024
Seattle, Los Angeles and San Francisco are all technically tied, but due to the worst divisional record among the three, the Niners now currently occupy last place in the NFC West. Of course, with these teams all being so tight, anything can happen week to week. But the fact the Seahawks are in the mix and not climbing from the basement is nothing short of a monumental victory in the long run.
So sing loudly, 12’s. The witch is dead. At least, for now.
