San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith has never looked better than he did today. But the Seahawks kicked a last-second field goal and beat the 49ers 20-17 in Seattle.
Smith completed 27 of 45 passes for 310 yards, with two touchdowns and no interceptions. It was the first 300-yard passing game of his career, and a sign that he might finally be developing into the player the 49ers thought he would become when they chose him with the first pick in the 2005 NFL draft.
That wasn’t enough, though. Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck also played well, completing 25 of 34 passes for 198 yards, with two touchdowns and no interceptions, and Hasselbeck maneuvered the Seahawks into field goal range in the game’s final moments, setting up Olindo Mare’s 30-yard game-winning field goal as time expired.
“We hung in there in that last minute,” Seattle coach Jim Mora said. “Hopefully, it’s an indication of what we’re building here.”
The 49ers and Seahawks now have identical 5-7 records, tied for second in the NFC West. If the first-place Arizona Cardinals unexpectedly collapse down the stretch it’s still possible that Seattle or San Francisco could sneak into the playoffs, but that’s unlikely.
What’s more likely is that the Seahawks just eliminated the 49ers from any realistic playoff hope, and the 49ers just squandered a career day from Smith.