The San Francisco 49ers had another deflating loss in the 2024 season. This time, they fell to the Seattle Seahawks 20-17.
It was a heartbreaking loss in which the Niners gave up a last-second touchdown to the Seahawks.
The 49ers led narrowly at halftime, 7-6. Beyond that score, though, they held the Seahawks without a touchdown until 3:25 in the third quarter.
Before that touchdown, the San Francisco's defense looked pretty good. Defensive lineman Yetur Gross-Matos returned from injury and logged his first sack of 2024. Cornerback Isaac Yiadom also got his first interception of the season. That interception occurred on the first drive of the third quarter.
Defensive end Nick Bosa also looked like he was on his way to a big game. He had 1.5 sacks before exiting the game with an injury in the third quarter.
After a sack on Hawks quarterback Geno Smith, Bosa looked to re-aggravate his previously injured oblique/hip.
That appeared to be a big turning point in the game.
To reiterate, the Seahawks had zero touchdowns with Bosa in the game. With Bosa's exit, the Seahawks scored touchdowns on two of their three following offensive drives.
To quantify Bosa's impact on the pass rush, the 49ers recorded three sacks with Bosa on the field. Without him, they only had one sack.
Seahawks with Nick Bosa on the field Sunday: 3.3 yards per play
— Nick Wagoner (@nwagoner) November 18, 2024
Seahawks with Bosa off the field: 6.1 yards per play
Additionally, Smith had no rushing yards with Bosa on the field. Without Bosa on the field, Smith ended up picking up 29 yards rushing on the Seahawks' final offensive drive. That included a 13-yard run for the game-clinching touchdown.
After the game, Bosa mentioned he injured his other oblique. So now with both obliques injured, it appears he will miss some time in the coming weeks.
The 49ers travel to Wisconsin next week to play the Green Bay Packers in Week 12. With the absence of one of their best players, the 49ers will need someone to step up big on defense, especially with the pass rush.
Will it be Gross-Matos, Leonard Floyd or someone else on the defensive line? We hope to find out sooner than later in that game.