49ers Beat Seahawks 26-23 In OT, Snap 10-Game Losing Streak To Seattle
SANTA CLARA (CBS SF/AP) -- The San Francisco 49ers haven't beaten the Seattle Seahawks since 2013, but their overtime win Sunday afternoon snapped that 10-game skid.
Robbie Gould nailed the 36-yard game-winning field goal.
Nick Mullens threw for 275 yards and a touchdown to help the 49ers (4-10) win consecutive games for the first time this season. Richie James Jr. returned a kick 97 yards for a touchdown and Gould kicked four field goals to give San Francisco its first win in the rivalry since Jim Harbaugh was still coach.
The Seahawks (8-6) had their four-game winning streak snapped and missed a chance to clinch a playoff berth with the loss.
Russell Wilson threw for 237 yards with two TD passes to Doug Baldwin and Chris Carson ran for 119 yards and a score for Seattle. But Wilson was unable to generate any points on his final three drives, leading to the loss.
Carson tied the game early in the fourth quarter when he scored on fourth-and-goal from the 1 . He appeared to be stuffed at the line by D.J. Jones, but managed to get out of that tackle and then fight through another attempt by Elijah Lee before diving over the goal line for the score that made it 20-all.
The teams then traded field goals later in the fourth to set up the overtime.
The 49ers forced a punt on the opening drive thanks in part to a holding penalty on Ethan Pocic that wiped out a third-down conversion.
Mullens then drove San Francisco into position for the game-winning kick with help from a pass interference call against Shaquill Griffin and a 16-yard run by Jeff Wilson Jr.
Gould then made his kick in the rain, to give 49ers a rare celebration in a rough season.
The Seahawks committed three personal fouls on one drive in the third quarter to help the 49ers move the ball into the red zone. But San Francisco had to settle for a field goal after Wilson Jr. committed a personal foul, tossing the ball in the face of a Seahawks defender.
Seattle rookie punter Michael Dickson downed consecutive punts at the San Francisco 1 and then 2-yard line in the first half. The Niners managed to score following the second kick with Mullens finding Garrett Celek on a 41-yard score . The 98-yard drive was the longest for San Francisco since a 99-yarder against Seattle in 2002.
James took a kickoff back 97 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter for San Francisco's first return touchdown on a kick or punt since Ted Ginn Jr. did it in the 2011 opener against the Seahawks.
Seattle's 40-year-old kicker Sebastian Janikowski made only a half-hearted effort at a tackle as the last line of defense on the play.
It was a rough sequence for Janikowski, who also missed the extra point before the kickoff.