49ers (again) spoil an epic performance by Jauan Jennings against NFC West rival

The 49ers needed to start stacking NFC West wins, but a flurry of self-inflicted mistakes ensured they'd lose in Week 11 against the Seahawks.

To a small degree, the San Francisco 49ers may be able to blame their 20-17 Week 11 home loss to the Seattle Seahawks on injuries.

After all, the Niners were without All-Pro tight end George Kittle (hamstring) for the game and also watched All-Pro defensive end Nick Bosa leave in-game with an oblique injury that had been plaguing him for a couple of weeks.

Bosa exited on what was a vital defensive stand in the third quarter, and it wasn't too big a surprise the Hawks notched their first touchdown of the game in his absence.

Yet there were far more issues with San Francisco's performance than just injuries.

Whether it was Kittle's absence, an up-and-down offense or a flurry of penalties, the 49ers didn't look great against a Seattle defense that's been vulnerable the previous three weeks.

Not unlike what happened way back in Week 3 when he had a three-touchdown game against the Los Angeles Rams, the Niners spoiled an epic performance by wide receiver Jauan Jennings.

Jauan Jennings should have bailed 49ers out vs. Seahawks, but the Niners spoiled it anyway

Bookmark the play below:

Yes, that's a 3rd-and-11 play right after the Niners committed an offensive hold on 3rd-and-1, which just so happened to follow a Seahawks' go-ahead touchdown.

That should have defined the game.

"Third and Jauan" managed to drag multiple Hawks defenders at least 4 yards to move beyond the sticks, and then the unheralded receiver prior to 2024 found pay dirt with a 3-yard touchdown score off the hand of quarterback Brock Purdy:

With Kittle out, and fellow wide receivers Deebo Samuel and Ricky Pearsall mostly quiet in the game, Purdy needed another go-to target and opted to revert back to the early season chemistry with Jennings.

All Jennings managed was a cool 10-catch, 91-yard effort with that crucial third-down conversion and touchdown.

Up until that drive, Purdy and the rest of the offense struggled to get much of anything going, arguably the biggest play coming on the 10-yard rushing score by the quarterback way back in the first half.

Without Bosa, though, Jennings could only watch as San Francisco's defense collapsed against quarterback Geno Smith and his scrambling abilities late in the game, enduring yet another disastrous fourth-quarter meltdown.

Tragic.

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