SEATTLE (AP) — Jaxon Smith-Njigba has made a lot of incredible catches over the past couple of seasons, but it was one the All-Pro didn’t make on Sunday in the Seattle Seahawks' 32-29 loss to the San Francisco 49ers that stuck with him.
With the Seahawks down by three points and facing third-and-10 at midfield with 1 minute left, Sam Darnold threw a deep shot to his most trusted receiver. Smith-Njigba already had five receptions for 102 yards and a touchdown
and seemingly has made every big catch for Seattle since last season, when he was the AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year.
But this time, Smith-Njigba mistimed his leap and the ball hit off his hands and fell to the turf at the 25 to make it fourth down instead of giving Seattle a first down in range for a game-tying field goal.
On the next play, Cooper Kupp was tackled 1 yard short of a first down, ending the Seahawks' chances.
“I had the chance to catch the ball,” Smith-Njigba said. “So really, just catch the ball, catch the damn football at the end of the day. I know I’ll make the next one.”
The drop was just one of many unforced errors by the Super Bowl champions. Seattle had four turnovers, three of which led directly to 49ers scores, with two lost fumbles inside the 11-yard line and two interceptions by Darnold.
Darnold’s first pick first came on Seattle’s first drive of the game, as cornerback Renardo Green caught a pass intended for Smith-Njigba at the Seattle 18 and returned it to the 11. Brock Purdy hit Mike Evans four plays later for a 2-yard touchdown pass.
Darnold threw a second pick to Green again on his first pass of the third quarter.
“You’ve got to tip your cap to those guys,” Darnold said. “They played a good game, but just again, those are all things that I can control. Just can’t be putting the ball in jeopardy like that.”
Seattle’s beaten-up running back room continued to struggle with fumbles, too, as Emanuel Wilson lost the ball midway through the second quarter at the Seattle 11. Fred Warner recovered it for San Francisco and one play later, Christian McCaffrey took the ball 11 yards for a touchdown.
George Holani then lost the ball in the end zone with 13 seconds left in the first half. Niners defensive lineman Gracen Halton recovered it for a touchdown to boost San Francisco’s lead to 21-13.
Two games ago, rookie Jadarian Price was benched partway through Seattle’s Week 3 game against Washington after he lost his second fumble in two games, but the problem has continued to plague the Seahawks.
“We need to grow quickly in terms of complementary football, definitely taking care of the football,” coach Mike Macdonald said. “Way too many giveaways at this point in the season, and we’ll look at those and see how we can get it fixed moving forward.”
With four days to go until Seattle’s Thursday night matchup against Denver, the Seahawks have little time to solve their turnover problems.
“It’s always something that’s emphasized, and it’s always you drill, something you work on,” Kupp said. “Defenses have a say too, and you protect the ball as best you can. Sometimes there’s just really good plays that are made defensively, and other times, we’re like, ‘Hey, let’s just fix these, fix the issue and let’s not make the same mistake twice,’ and you move forward.”
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