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Nedney boots Niners past Seahawks

Sep 15, 2008 - 2:04 AM SEATTLE (Ticker) -- The San Francisco 49ers reversed their fortunes against the Seattle Seahawks thanks to Joe Nedney, who more than atoned for a near-fatal mistake.

After missing a potential game-winning kick in regulation, Nedney drilled a 40-yard field goal in overtime Sunday, lifting the 49ers to a wild 33-30 upset of the Seahawks.

It marked just the third victory for the Niners (1-1) in their last 11 meetings with Seattle (0-2), the four-time reigning winner of the NFC West Division. The Seahawks won both games against San Francisco last season by a combined margin of 47-3.

But despite facing three double-digit first-half deficits Sunday, the Niners rallied in incredible fashion to stun the Seahawks, who are off to their first 0-2 start since 2002 - the last year they missed the postseason.

"Certainly it was a gut check for our guys," Niners coach Mike Nolan said. "I thought they responded extremely well in the face of adversity."

"This is a tough place to play and we knew we were going to have to come out and score points," San Francisco quarterback J.T. O'Sullivan added. "This is a tribute to this team, how it is able to fight after obviously not the best start."

A 13-year veteran, Nedney sealed the victory when he split the uprights with 10:20 remaining in the extra session.

Nedney was especially pleased with the reaction of the 67,951 in attendance at Qwest Field, which fell silent following his game-winner.

"There was nothing louder than 67,000 people dead silent," he said. "To take the (home crowd) out of the game was very satisfying."

It was the fourth field goal of the day for the 35-year-old Nedney, who hooked a 41-yarder wide right as time expired in regulation.

"When we didn't take advantage to win it at the end, all I was hoping was that we would get another shot at it," Nedney said. "The offense got some yards, got downfield and gave me another opportunity."

Nedney redeemed himself thanks largely to another ageless veteran, 36-year-old wide receiver Isaac Bruce, who was released by St. Louis this past offseason following a stellar 14-year career with the Rams franchise.

Bruce's fourth catch of the afternoon, a 33-yarder on 3rd-and-7, moved the ball to the Seattle 44-yard line just three plays into overtime.

"That is not the exact way that the play comes out, but we talked about first a certain look that is what (Bruce) would do," O'Sullivan said. "That is the look, so that is what we did."

"I don't imagine (Bruce) is quite as quick as he used to be," Seahawks head coach Mike Holmgren added. "But he is really a quality receiver, and has been for a long time."

O'Sullivan completed two more short passes to help San Francisco advance to the 23. That set the stage for Nedney, who propelled San Francisco to a win in the first overtime contest in the history of this 19-game series.

"Joe is old school," Niners running back Frank Gore said. "He has been in the league for a very long time. When we got down there and they stopped us and it was fourth down, I knew that he wasn't going to miss the second one."

Making just his second career start, O'Sullivan survived Seattle's ferocious pass rush to complete 20-of-32 attempts for 321 yards and a touchdown.

"I think he has great presence in the huddle, out of the huddle, at the line of scrimmage," Nolan said of O'Sullivan, who was sacked eight times. "He has got the physical skills. He is competitive."

Bruce finished with 153 receiving yards while Frank Gore compiled 99 yards from scrimmage and ran for a TD for the Niners.

While San Francisco's offense avoided mistakes for the most part, the Niners' defense benefited from three turnovers committed by the Seahawks, who led by as many as 14 points in the first quarter.

The momentum began to swing in San Francisco's favor midway through the third quarter, when linebacker Patrick Willis intercepted a tipped pass from Matt Hasselbeck and returned it 86 yards for a touchdown to forge a 20-20 tie.

Hasselbeck was intercepted four plays later by cornerback Walt Harris, whose diving pick along the sideline gave San Francisco the ball at the Seattle 41.

The Niners capitalized four plays later when Gore scored on a 2-yard run to give San Francisco its first lead at 27-20.

"Really, the turnovers killed us," Hasselbeck said. "My two interceptions turned into 14 points. That's what killed us, on the offensive side, that's what killed us."

Seattle responded with a 15-play, 74-yard drive capped by T.J. Duckett's game-tying 1-yard TD run just 40 seconds into the fourth quarter. The Seahawks reclaimed the lead at 30-27 seven minutes later when Olindo Mare finished a nine-play drive with a 32-yard field goal.

But the resilient Niners answered right back with a 12-play drive capped by Nedney's third field goal of the game, a 28-yarder. The key play of that drive again came courtesy of Bruce, who prolonged the possession with a 30-yard catch on 3rd-and-14.

Hasselbeck completed 18-of-36 attempts for 189 yards while Julius Jones rushed for 127 yards and a TD for Seattle.

"We just have to regroup," Holmgren said. "We can't feel sorry for ourselves, fix the things we can fix and hopefully get ready for the Rams coming in here next week."