Jaxon Smith-Njigba makes dazzling one-handed catch vs. 49ers
Seattle Seahawks rookie wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba served up an amazing play on Thanksgiving in the third quarter of Seattle’s Thursday night matchup with the San Francisco 49ers.
Down 24-10, Smith-Njigba made a phenomenal one-handed catch on a third down play to spark some new life into the Seahawks’ offense and make fans jump out of their seats.
Smith-Njigba’s grab would mark his second catch of the game and made him the Seahawks’ leading receiver on the night at the moment, with the drive ending in a field goal to help narrow San Francisco’s lead. Check out his dazzling catch below.
Seattle selected Smith-Njigba with the No. 20 overall pick in the first round of this year’s NFL Draft following an impressive career at Ohio State. His final year with the Buckeyes was riddled with injury, only appearing in three games where he hauled in five catches for 43 yards. But in the season prior he had his breakout year with nine touchdowns and a team-leading 95 receptions and 1,606 yards in a wide receiver room that featured names like Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave, and Marvin Harrison Jr..
Smith-Njigba underwent surgery on a fractured wrist in August heading into the season that raised some concerns for some, but he only ended up missing the team’s opening game of the season versus the Los Angeles Rams.
From that point forward he was in the lineup for Seattle every single week, bringing in 36 receptions for 365 yards and two touchdowns through 11 games of his rookie season. His two touchdown catches came in consecutive weeks versus the Arizona Cardinals and Cleveland Browns in Weeks 7 and 8 of the season, with his touchdown versus the Browns serving as the game-winner with under a minute to go in the game to give the Seahawks a 24-20 win.
He’s the team’s third-leading receiver behind Pro Bowl wide receivers DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, ending three games this season as the team’s leading wide receiver. And if he continues reeling in one-handed catches like he did on Thursday night, that trend could like keep tracking upward.
Seattle was not able to secure the win on Thanksgiving, losing their second straight game in a row both to divisional opponents to drop their record to 6-5 on the season. 49ers running back Christian McCaffery stole the show with 139 all-purpose yards and a touchdown, as the Seahawks will have to face another NFC juggernaut in their upcoming matchup visiting the Dallas Cowboys next Thursday.