In a thriller that went down to the final minute, the San Francisco 49ers outlasted the Seattle Seahawks 29-26 on the road to improve to 5-0 on the season.
It wasn’t a pretty game on either side, as both teams combined for seven turnovers, while neither side topped 300 yards in a hard-nosed, physical game. Ultimately, the 49ers had a great fourth quarter, as the team gritted out a gutsy victory over a division rival.
With the win, the 49ers are now one of two 5-0 teams in the NFL and are also 3-0 in the division.
Here are three quick takeaways from the win over the Seahawks on Sunday.
Brock Purdy’s finish
Just like last week, Sunday wasn’t Brock Purdy’s best game. He had a couple of turnover-worthy plays and a rough interception on a bad read and throw.
Purdy finished the game with 189 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception on 19 of 29 passing attempts, while being sacked for the first three times this season. There were times Purdy just held on to the ball too long earlier in the game.
But he continued to fight and finished out the game strong once again, leading the 49ers to another victory. It was the Brock Purdy to Mike Evans show, as the 49ers star receiver gutted out seven catches for 113 yards and a touchdown despite clearly dealing with an injury once again.
On San Francisco’s 12-play, 74-yard touchdown drive to start the fourth quarter, Purdy was 7 of 8 for 89 yards, including a seven-yard touchdown pass to Brandin Cooks that gave the 49ers a 29-26 lead. In addition, he also found a way to extend the play on the two-point conversion, finding Mike Evans to give the 49ers the three-point lead.
Then, with under seven minutes left, Purdy and the 49ers went eight plays and 43 yards for the go-ahead field goal.
That fourth-quarter touchdown drive was an MVP-level drive, and it came at exactly the right moment for the 49ers. Purdy wasn’t close to perfect on Sunday. He had probably his toughest game of the season and made a few uncharacteristic decisions. But he delivered when his team needed him to, and the 49ers are 5-0.
Points off turnovers
It was a turnover-laden day for both teams, and the 49ers had their fair share with a Brock Purdy interception, Jacob Cowing punt muff, and a Deebo Samuel fumble.
But San Francisco was also the beneficiary of four takeaways, and they were able to make the most of those opportunities, which directly led to the win. The 49ers had 21 points off turnovers in the first half alone. While they weren’t able to capitalize on Sam Darnold’s interception to start the second half, those three easy touchdowns off turnovers were a big factor on a day that offense was going to be hard to come by.
Seattle also did well off turnovers with 17 points, but that difference between a field goal and a touchdown was a big one. Also of note, the 49ers scored touchdowns on all three of their red zone drives, while the Seahawks went just two of three.
Those two slight advantages (21 to 17 on points off turnovers, 3 red zone touchdowns vs. 2) ended up being huge for the 49ers in a big battle.
Mike Evans is him
My biggest concern coming into the game was the 49ers receivers outside of Mike Evans. They struggled last week, which made things a bit more difficult for Brock Purdy in the passing game. Here, the 49ers were in a similar situation against an even better defense.
Well, no receiver outside of Mike Evans had more than 25 receiving yards. Deebo Samuel, Jacob Cowing, and Brandin Cooks combined for four catches and 37 yards.
But it didn’t matter because a beaten-up Mike Evans outplayed whoever Seattle threw at him, making several tough catches en route to 7 receptions for 113 yards and a touchdown on 10 targets. Still laboring from his rib injury, Evans came up often, especially in big moments, serving as the key target for Brock Purdy.
We’re really starting to see Purdy grow with a true WR1 after the 49ers didn’t really have that guy in 2025. And Evans’s hands were incredible: he caught a ton of contested targets and was a factor in the red zone once again.
