© Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports
The talk was rightfully about the history. The history of the 49ers’ inability to win a game in Seattle since 2011 and how in order to secure the No. 1 seed in the NFC, that path was necessary. No matter all the different scenarios that could have avoided that path, it felt almost like there was no alternative, like this was some unavoidable fate, that the 49ers would have to beat the Seahawks in Seattle if they were to earn the favor of the football goods.
And so they did. But not with the manic energy of the Harbaugh era that fueled and fed off recklessness and passion, but on pragmatism and concerting energy in the right areas. Sunday was still a perfect rivalry game, but without the pomp and circumstance, the bitterness of old curmudgeons going to battle with familiar foes.
Aside from Joe Staley, it still felt new. In year three of the Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch era, the identity is just finally being molded, and a new energy to the 49ers-Seahawks rivalry is being created in the same vein.
It’s no longer Navorro Bowman and Patrick Willis. It’s Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw. It’s Jimmy Garoppolo (playing in Seattle for the first time in his career) and a mostly veteran offensive line, but one that, outside Staley, has no history with the Seattle rivalry. It’s young defensive linemen and young skill position players, all of whom were taking their first licks in a rivalry that will surely, one day, feel the way for them it’s felt for Staley forever.
The win can be credited to Garoppolo (18-of-22, 285 yards) or Shanahan, or Raheem Mostert (10 rushes, 57 yards, 2 TDs) or George Kittle (seven receptions, 85 yards) and Emmanuel Sanders (three receptions, 25 yards), or Fred Warner.
But it came down to the young bloods one either side of the ball who defined this win: Dre Greenlaw and Deebo Samuel.
Greenlaw’s tackle won’t be forgotten by anyone who was a witness to Sunday night’s contest. Two weeks after he made a mistake in bracket coverage on Julio Jones that saw an inch-perfect goal line touchdown go against the 49ers, Greenlaw made sure the result, in an eerily similar situation, was reversed. He hit Jacob Hollister, again, in inch-perfect fashion, to keep him out and after a replay delay, allow the 49ers to celebrate an NFC West title and No. 1 seed in the NFC.
He led the game with an astounding 13 combined tackles (next-closest was Marcell Harris with nine) and one for a loss, but it’s this tackle that will live on in the annals of NFL history.
Dre Greenlaw gives #49ers first overall seed by an inch.
An absolutely all-time tackle by the rookie.
— KNBR (@KNBR) December 30, 2019
Greenlaw admitted it felt like the end of game against the Falcons and he “wasn’t sure” if he’d stopped Hollister from scoring. He felt more confident than Samuel, however, who might hate these close games more than anyone else on the 49ers.
“I’m like please, do not be a touchdown again. Me, personally, I hate close games, like legit, just hate them,” Samuel told KNBR. “It was a great play by Dre Greenlaw and as you could see, everybody was celebrating. When they went back down. They went and reviewed it and it was just another celebration, just a great feeling.
Samuel was the utilitarian weapon he’s been all season, as was evidenced by his third rushing touchdown of the season, which matches his receiving touchdown total. With his 30-yard reception that preceded his 30-yard touchdown rush, he secured the second-most receiving yards for a 49ers rookie, trailing only Jerry Rice (927 yards).
“I really wasn’t thinking about it, but it’s a great accomplishment, but you can’t settle for things like that,” Samuel said. “You just got to continue to do the things that you do and just continue to contribute to the team in as many ways as you can.”
He finished with five catches for 102 yards and two rushes for 33 yards and one touchdown, and ended the regular season with 802 receiving yards, which is tied for the 72nd-most in NFL history, and tied with DeAndre Hopkins’ rookie year. His three rushing touchdowns are tied for the third-most by a rookie wide receiver, and his 159 rush yards are eight-best in NFL history. Samuel’s pride in contributing in different ways is well-appreciated by his teammates.
“He’s unreal,” said Garoppolo. “He has that dog mentality. The guy is unbelievable.”
The young 49ers have a fearlessness and poise about them that’s in great part a product of the players and coaches around them, but in their humility and appreciation for circumstance, and the lows that their colleagues have been through
“I know what they went through as far as last year and how tough the season was,” Greenlaw said. “So I’m just trying to make sure that I can do what I have to do it in order to make sure that they get successes.”