49ers Notebook: Christian McCaffrey says ‘I can be a lot better’; Geno Smith’s final run and Steph Curry taunt

The 49ers showed they still have plenty of room for improvement across the board in their disappointing 20-17 loss to the Seahawks on Sunday, starting on offense, where penalties and lack of production were points of frustration.

The 49ers were held to 277 total yards by the Seahawks, with 131 of those on the ground and 146 in the air. They committed nine penalties for 54 yards, several of them coming from the offensive line. The 49ers still had a 17-13 lead before the Seahawks took the game on a Geno Smith touchdown run with 12 seconds left to play, so the opportunity was there to win the game despite their errors. But the shortcomings on offense were one of the first complaints head coach Kyle Shanahan had when discussing the outcome with reporters after the game.

"I thought the penalties we had on a number of drives just killed us," Shanahan said Sunday. "I thought we had some good momentum and then had a penalty that kind of ended the drive on two big drives that cost us points on both of them. Still should have put it away there on that last drive and had every opportunity to."

We'll dive a little deeper into the offense in this version of 49ers Notebook, particularly the running game, where Christian McCaffrey is still waiting to break a big run after returning from injury two weeks ago. Plus we have quotes from Geno Smith discussing his game-winning run and his decision to troll the Bay Area crowd, some words from a former 49er, and more.

No monster game for McCaffrey, but maybe one is coming soon

In his second game since returning from the Achillles tendonitis that sidelined him for the first half of the season, Christian McCaffrey finished with 19 carries for 79 yards against the Seahawks and four catches for 27 yards. His rushing numbers were an improvement from the 13 carries for 39 yards he had in his season debut against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last week, but he still is far from satisfied with what he showed on Sunday.

"I can be a lot better," McCaffrey told reporters after the game. "I feel like I can be a lot better. You know, to miss time with an injury is always tough. It's not an excuse. I know I can be a lot better. I feel it. It's coming. I just gotta get rolling."

49ers fans are used to splash plays from McCaffrey -- long runs, highlight moves, and most importantly, touchdowns. Those have been lacking so far, but maybe he's getting close.

"Yeah," McCaffrey responded when asked if he felt he was close to breaking a big run.

McCaffrey added that his physical condition isn't standing in the way of him making highlight plays.

"Physically, I feel good," McCaffrey said. "You know, it's just getting everything back to normal."

Shanahan said the lack of big runs from the 49ers was a difference between Sunday's game and their 36-24 win in Seattle on October 10, during which the 49ers ran for over 200 total yards.

"I think we didn't break a big one today," Shanahan said. "The last time versus them, I think we had a one 74-yarder (Isaac Guerendo) and one 38-yarder (Jordan Mason). Today it was some solid running, but no big ones. They did a good job not letting us get through their secondary, but when you don't get a big one, it's tough to get those yards."

Next up for the 49ers are road games against the Green Bay Packers and Buffalo Bills, which would obviously be opportune times for the McCaffrey highlights to return. In the meantime, McCaffrey will get back to the drawing board and see what he can do to get himself on track.

"Each play has a life of its own," McCaffrey said. "Some plays, I feel great. Some plays I... Even when you know everything's going well, when you win by 25, you go back to the film and there's stuff to correct. When you lose, there's stuff to correct. When you win, there's stuff to correct. It just hurts worse when you lose. So my mindset will be the same. It's just go back to the tape and correct what I need to correct, get ready for next week."

Big game Jauan

One of the few bright spots on the day offensively for the 49ers was wide receiver Jauan Jennings, who caught 10 passes for 91 yards and a touchdown. Jennings had a number of clutch plays in the game, including this catch and run on a 3rd-and-11 play that helped lead to a go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter.

49ers quarterback Brock Purdy had plenty of praise for Jennings after the loss.

"That's just who he is. You give him a chance and an opportunity, he'll make the most of it, and he's going to fight for every yard," Purdy said. "And he's one of the toughest guys on the field, and he inspires all of us, just the way he plays and the energy that he brings. And you saw that the whole stadium fed off that after that. So I love playing with him, love going to war with that guy, and we just got to continue to get better together."

The final run and celebration

Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith threw for 221 yards in his team's win on Sunday, which was the first of his career over the 49ers. In the end, however, it was his legs that wound up giving the Seahawks what they needed in the clutch.

Smith had a 16-yard run on a 2nd-and-13 with 50 seconds left in the game that set the Seahawks up at the 49ers' 21-yard line. Then, after an 8-yard completion to wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Smith found plenty of daylight on his 13-yard run to give the Seahawks the lead with 12 seconds on the clock.

What happened on those runs? Shanahan gave his viewpoint after the game.

"No, it's not a breakdown. It's just getting through the D-Line," Shanahan said. "Everyone was in coverage. One was versus zone, the first one. The next one I believe was first man. No one was open in the rhythm of the play and you got to keep him in the pocket and he broke through there, especially on the touchdown run. Guys in man coverage had their backs to him and can't let him out of the pocket there."

Linebacker Fred Warner said, "We're in man coverage, so that means it's going to be hard for us to get to him if he escapes because everybody has got their back turned to him. We've got to be better."

Smith detailed what he saw on the play when talking to Seahawks beat reporters after the game.

"I felt like they were playing a lot of coverage there and just rushing four," Smith said. "So they were dropping back pretty deep, and I felt like if I could escape they were running some TE games and twists, so contain wouldn't be great, and if I could just find a lane somewhere in there I could get out there and make some plays with my legs."

Smith followed his touchdown by trolling the crowd with Steph Curry's famous "night night" celebration, which was very much by design.

"In the Bay. Got to do it," Smith said, per Gregg Bell of the Tacoma News-Tribune.

A familiar face

The win over the 49ers held extra meaning to offensive lineman Laken Tomlinson, who returned to Levi's Stadium on Sunday as a Seahawk after spending five seasons (2017-2021) with the 49ers.

"It's a big deal for me," Tomlinson said after the game.

Tomlinson signed with the New York Jets in 2022, then played two seasons there before landing with the Seahawks earlier this year. He told reporters that it was important to him to beat his former team as well as get a win for his current teammates.

"100 percent," Tomlinson said. "Just getting the vibe of the whole team, I knew how much it meant to this team, and I love these guys. I came in, been working my tail off with these guys, and I feel it. I'm here with them. I feel it too."