SEATTLE — Just two weeks ago, the 49ers lost to the Atlanta Falcons on a last-second touchdown pass from Matt Ryan to Julio Jones that just barely broke the plane of the goal line.

Thankfully for the 49ers, that nightmare did not repeat itself Sunday night in Seattle, and the team left CenturyLink Field not only with a 26-21 win over the Seahawks but with the NFC's No. 1 playoff seed, a first-round bye and home-field advantage.

There was, of course, a little controversy surrounding the final Seahawks play, in which the 49ers stopped tight end Jacob Hollister mere inches from the goal line. The play was reviewed for several minutes while players and fans alike endured elevated heart rates.

NFL senior vice president of officiating Al Riveron explained the ruling on the play, confirming first and foremost that Russell Wilson’s pass to Hollister was complete.

“There were several things to look at, and we have to start with the ruling on the field,” Riveron said. “The ruling on the field was that of a fumble and then recovered by the defense and run back, so we have to let the play play out.

“Remember we start with the premise that the ruling on the field is correct. So we stopped that play and we look at several things. No. 1, is it a catch? We confirmed it was a catch. No. 2, does he break the plane of the goal line prior to being contacted and being down by contact? He is contacted. We see that he maintains control of the football when he hits the ground. Additionally, he doesn’t break the plane of the goal line.

“So now he’s contacted, he’s short of the goal line, and he’s on the ground, which means the play is over. There is no fumble. So we reverse it to down by contact and short. At which point, there are nine seconds left in the game and the ball turns over on downs. So, therefore the ball goes to the defense. The defense takes over. First-and-10 coming out inside of the 1-yard line.”

HE WAS SHORT 😱 pic.twitter.com/DBBrhL54qB — 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) December 30, 2019

The player who stopped Hollister from breaking the plane of the goal line with the football was 49ers rookie linebacker Dre Greenlaw. He delivered the hit that decided the outcome of the game, with an assist from teammate Fred Warner.

“I just knew that I had my foot on the goal line,” Greenlaw said. “I knew that they had to get the touchdown in the end zone to score in order to win the game. I just made sure that I kept my feet on the goal line and played lateral to downhill, and just made a tackle that my coaches and teammates would be proud of.”

While Greenlaw immediately believed that he had prevented the touchdown, he had a flashback to the Falcons game. That alone gave the linebacker a little doubt.

“I’m just excited about how the game ended, and just thankful to be able to make a play,” Greenlaw said. “It was very close to Atlanta, and honestly, I thought they weren’t in either. So, I wasn’t quite sure exactly when it happened.”

Cornerback Richard Sherman was on the goal line near the 49ers' bench, defending Seahawks running back Travis Homer. When the play ended, he immediately motioned that the play had stopped short and it was a turnover on downs.

“I probably had the best or second-best view,” Sherman said. “I saw his elbow down and the ball in his opposite hand. So, I knew that if he wasn’t down, it was either a fumble, but I saw his elbow down. The ball wasn’t across, so I thought it was done.”

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49ers coach Kyle Shanahan also was skeptical of the outcome until he got the final word from the officials. History and wisdom has given him reason to be cautious in celebrating anything too quickly.

“I have experience from the Atlanta game, so I wasn’t ready to celebrate anything," Shanahan said. "It kind of ruined my celebration, to tell you the truth. I wanted to wait until I saw the scoreboard. I saw he did not get in. Then everyone tried to tackle me, but I was waiting to see how much time was left on the clock.

“I wanted to take a knee. We could have taken the safety if there was one second, so there’s no chance to fumble. It was a little hectic there at the end, but once the whistle officially blew, I felt very good.”