SANTA CLARA — Jauan Jennings tried.
The 49ers wide receiver — their No. 1 option at this point in the season — did his best to drag the Niners to a win on Sunday. He dragged some Seahawks along the way, too.
But one man — even an incredible player like Jennings — couldn’t do enough to beat an entire NFL team by himself, as Seattle quarterback Geno Smith used his feet and arm to drive 80 yards in the final 2:26 to lift the Seahawks to a come-from-behind 20-17 win that the Niners should have put away countless times throughout the game.
The Niners are 5-5 on the season now, with arguably their toughest back-to-back stretch of the season — at Green Bay, at Buffalo — coming down the pipe.
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Nick Bosa • DE
» Overtly playing through a hip injury, he played one of his best games of the season, taking on triple teams from Seattle, but still finding his way to the ball repeatedly Sunday. The downside: He missed the end of the game with what coach Kyle Shanahan said was an injury to his other side. His absence proved noticeable on the final drive.
Leonard Floyd • DE
» He was flying off the edge and punishing Seahawks linemen into the ground. It might have been Seattle’s fault, though — their offensive line is brutal.
Jauan Jennings • WR
» He had two tough penalties in the game, but he was also the best player on offense. It wasn’t even particularly close.
And nothing quite says “stud” like his third-and-11 catch on a snap taken at the Seattle 21 in the fourth quarter. The throw was short of the line-to-gain, but Jennings — football player he is — took not one, not two, but four Seahawks with him three yards forward and over that line, picking up a must-have first down, setting up the Niners’ go-ahead score (which he caught) two plays later.
Jennings caught 10 passes for 91 yards in the game. With Christian McCaffrey not showing the same kind of burst we saw in prior years and the rest of the Niners’ offense struggling Sunday, Jennings put the team on his back Sunday.
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De’Vondre Campbell • LB
» Late. Again. The 49ers’ linebackers had poor games on Sunday (Dee Winters might have been the standout), but Campbell was attacked again and again, particularly late. It’s a story we’ve seen a handful of times before this season. If teams aren’t taking advantage of him early, they save those looks for late. Sunday, the Seahawks waited until they needed yards in bunches and went right after No. 59. Geno Smith — not exactly Lamar Jackson — ran right past him on his 13-yard game-winning touchdown run.
Aaron Banks • LG
» Missed a block or two every single series and had two key penalties in the game. Rare was the snap where he didn’t end up sitting on the ground. It was a legitimately brutal game from the left guard — the kind you can’t help but notice and never really unsee. It raises questions about whether he’ll start again this season.
Jake Brendel • C
» He was caught with a brutal hold on a third-and-1 in the red zone, but he had been a weak point on the line all game. If not for Banks’ poor play, Brendel’s would have stood out more.
Deebo Samuel • WR
» Division games are supposed to be more physical — they’re pound-it-out affairs.
Samuel barely touched the ball Sunday before two final flails. Not once did he make his physical presence known. We’ve known for a long time that Samuel’s game would precipitously fall off at some point. You can only take so many hits in this league, after all.
It seems the time has come.
Pat O’Donnell • P
» His first game as the Niners’ punter might be his last.
O’Donnel’s first punt of the game — a no-stress affair — was middling, but when given a shot to pin the Seahawks deep in their own territory with 2:45 to play in the fourth quarter, and with Seattle opting not to put a returner back, he kicked it into the end zone on one bounce. It wasn’t even close to being downed by the Niners.
Is it the most egregious special teams error this season? Not even close.
But is it a significant error? You bet. The final score says as much.
Kyle Shanahan • HC
» Challenged twice and lost on both. Not only has he let special teams turn into an actively harmful phase of the game, but he’s also failing in the other responsibilities as a head coach.
Oh, and his offense is hardly world-class right now.
