The Seahawks’ playoff berth will have to wait.
Seattle could have clinched its ninth postseason trip in nine years with a victory over the 49ers on Sunday, but San Francisco’s young defense had other thoughts, even without several starters on the back end.
The 49ers forced the Seahawks to punt eight times in a 26-23 overtime victory, including Seattle’s final three possessions and the first series of overtime. San Francisco did it with its fourth-string free safety (Antone Exum Jr.), backup cornerback (rookie Tarvarius Moore), reserve strong safety (Marcell Harris) and third-string nickel (D.J. Reed).
“What I was excited about was our defense never let them break them down, even when they gave up some plays,” coach Kyle Shanahan said.