With one third-quarter headbutt toward Seahawks receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Deommodore Lenoir captured all of the frustrations that he — and the 49ers — were feeling during their divisional round loss Saturday.
Lenoir, a San Francisco cornerback, went up to Smith-Njigba following a play and thrust his helmet toward the wideout’s head, though a penalty wasn’t called after the sequence during Seattle’s eventual 41-6 victory to advance to the NFC Championship game.
It could still lead to a fine for Lenoir — in his fifth season with the 49ers after being a fifth-round pick in 2021 — despite not drawing a flag in real time after making contact with Smith-Njigba, who finished with only three catches for 19 yards and a touchdown.
Still, the performance was enough for Smith-Njigba’s brother, Canaan, to call out Lenoir in an X post following the game.
“Jax always wanted a little brother to bully. welcome to the family,” Canaan wrote, while tagging Lenoir.
Saturday’s game quickly turned disastrous for the 49ers, as they trailed by 18 points at halftime and 28 points by the end of the third quarter.
Running back Kenneth Walker III erupted for 116 yards and three touchdowns, while Sam Darnold fought through an oblique injury that jeopardized his status to throw a touchdown and complete 12-of-17 passes.
The 49ers’ unit had been plagued by injured throughout the season, and San Francisco was missing key pieces such as edge rusher Nick Bosa and linebacker Fred Warner — in addition to tight end George Kittle on the offensive side of the ball — for the postseason.
And Lenoir told reporters postgame that the 49ers would’ve won in a “landslide” against Seattle, their NFC West rival, if healthy.
“To have them guys back, it’s gonna be a totally different game,” Lenoir told reporters. “But I mean we can’t make no excuses. We had enough guys in here to get the job done, so I feel like it just didn’t go in our favor today.”
Smith-Njigba, who led the NFL with 1,793 receiving yards during the regular season, and the Seahawks will now host the winner of the No. 2-seeded Bears and No. 5-seeded Rams in the NFC Championship game next Sunday.
