SANTA CLARA — Deommodore Lenoir was reveling in the 49ers’ win over the Chicago Bears in a jubilant postgame locker room but couldn’t resist but looking ahead to the last game of the regular season.
If the host 49ers (12-4) beat the Seattle Seahawks (13-3) Saturday night (5 p.m., ABC, ESPN) they’ll be the No. 1 seed in the NFC and will be assured of nothing but home games if they’re good enough to make it to Super Bowl LX at Levi’s Stadium.
Seattle presents many challenges, but one of the most difficult matchups is with wide receiver Jaxson Smith-Njigba, who isn’t a household name yet in his third year out of Ohio State but probably should be. The Seahawks felt good enough about him to trade D.K. Metcalf, their No. 1 receiver, to Pittsburgh in the offseason.
“Hopefully I get to shadow JSN,” Lenoir said Sunday night after a 42-38 win over the Bears. “I’m ready for this. I hope he’s ready. Man to man coverage. Me and him. That’s what I want.”
It’s what the Seahawks want as well, given Smith-Njigba’s season which has him in the running to be the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year.
The league’s most explosive wideouts have taken a back seat to Smith-Njigba, who has 113 receptions for 1,709 yards and 10 touchdowns. In 2021, Smith-Njigba had 95 receptions for 1,606 yards and nine touchdowns for Ohio State, and a 2022 season cut short by a hamstring injury didn’t prevent him from being the 20th pick in the draft by Seattle after bypassing his senior year. He was the first receiver drafted and based on performance probably could have gone higher overall.
Seattle quarterback Sam Darnold will target at Smith-Njigba early and often against the 49ers and with good reason. He keeps the chains moving with a league-high 74 first downs among receivers and at 6-foot and 197 pounds has a deceptive look when it comes to making the big play. In three seasons, Smith-Njigba already has 276 receptions for 3,467 yards and 20 touchdowns.
If there’s any criticism of the Darnold-to-Smith-Njigba connection it’s that he’s too often the sole focus of the Seahawks’ passing game. He’s been targeted 155 times, with Cooper Kupp the next highest at 67.
“I’m sure teams are having discussions about it and it’s a point of emphasis, but the have to guard us and we have a lot of threats out there and we have Sam who is playing really well,” Smith-Njigba told reporters earlier this season. “We’re going to trust him and put us in the best spots and have guys make plays when their name is called.”
Niners coach Kyle Shanahan, having navigated the Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk sagas, could only dream of having an elite receive who was so low maintenance. He’s admired Smith-Njigba’s physical talent from afar.
“Everyone knows how good he has been this year in the whole league,” Shanahan said. “He’s extremely talented, as most first-round guys are. He’s got a very good feel in zones, how to move around. He almost plays in slow motion, but he’s one of the fastest guys out there.”
As for Lenoir’s desire to go one-on-one with Smith-Njigba as often as possible, Shanahan likes his cornerback’s willingness to challenge the best.
Jaxson Smith-Njigba (11) reacts after scoring a touchdown for the Seattle Seahawk. AP Photo“I know D-Mo well enough to know that’s what he wants every week,” Shanahan said. “So, him lobbying for it really hard just makes me like him more. But, it would have to do with what was the best for our team schematically and what we were going to do.”
Smith-Njigba is one of three receivers with 100-yard-plus games against the 49ers this season, with nine receptions for 124 yards in the season opener, a 17-13 win for the 49ers in Seattle. The others were Mike Wilson of Arizona (15 receptions for 185 yards) in a 41-22 win for the 49ers and Luther Burden III, who had eight receptions for 138 yards in the Week 17 win over the Bears.
Opposing quarterbacks have a 100.6 passer rating (26th in the NFL) with 29 touchdown passes against the 49ers. That’s the most since they gave up 35 in 2018, Shanahan’s second year as head coach.
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So Smith-Njigba stands as the 49ers biggest challenge of the season as an opposing wideout. In five career games against the 49ers, he has 30 receptions for 353 yards but has yet to score a touchdown.
“I know he’s a great receiver,” 49ers linebacker Tatum Bethune said. “I pay a lot of attention to a lot of plays he’s made, but we’ve got to limit him and get him on the field.”
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