Niner Noise
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Position grades, analysis from 49ers NFC West-clinching victory over Seahawks

By Akshaj Dwivedula

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - DECEMBER 29: Wide receiver Deebo Samuel #19 of the San Francisco 49ers scores a touchdown against the during the first quarter of the game at CenturyLink Field on December 29, 2019 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - DECEMBER 29: Wide receiver Deebo Samuel #19 of the San Francisco 49ers scores a touchdown against the during the first quarter of the game at CenturyLink Field on December 29, 2019 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /
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The San Francisco 49ers clinched the NFC West and the first seed in the NFC in thrilling fashion, beating the Seattle Seahawks 26-21 in Week 17. Niner Noise has position grades for the game.

The San Francisco 49ers had a demon on the chest that, despite the success under former head coach Jim Harbaugh earlier this decade, they could never remove.

It was the demon to the North, the Seattle Seahawks.

Not during their 2012 Super Bowl season, not during their 2013 efforts that fizzled in CenturyLink Field. And as the Niners fizzled, they still regularly got pounded up in Seattle.

With the NFC West, and by extension, the first seed in the conference up for grabs as this iteration of the 49ers headed up north, there was a sense that this Week 17 Sunday Night Football game, which already meant so much, could somehow mean more.

And although the Niners jumped out in front for a 13-0 lead to enter the second half, aided by the stellar play of quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, wide receiver Deebo Samuel and tight end George Kittle, there was no doubt the Seahawks’ charge was coming.

It did, with three touchdown drives being matched by two touchdown drives of the Niners. With a little over two minutes to go, quarterback Russell Wilson, the master of late-game wizardry, had the Seahawks in a position to end the game in their favor.

They got all the way to the 1-yard line, before a delay-of-game penalty pushed the Seahawks back. The Seahawks ran four plays. Only one gained yardage, a fourth-down pass to tight end Jacob Hollister, which was inches away from scoring.

But it didn’t:

Linebacker Dre Greenlaw stopped Hollister dead in his tracks right before the goal line, the Niners iced the game and they won the division and exorcised that demon up north by means of the nail-biting 26-21 victory.

Because of the magnitude of this game, in spirit, everyone gets an A-grade. But if you’ve read my position grades, you’ll know I’m critical even in times of joy. This was a hard-fought divisional game where anything could happen, but this ending could have been easily avoided.

Let’s take a look at those grades right now.