Are you not entertained? This was the most San Francisco 49ers-Seattle Seahawks game you’ll see.
The 49ers started with a three-and-out. Punter Corliss Waitman pinned Seattle deep in their territory. Three plays later, Renardo Green stepped in front of a route to intercept Sam Darnold.
Gifted with terrific field position, Brock Purdy found Mike Evans on 3rd and 7 for 13 yards. Then threw a slant to Evans to give the 49ers an early 7-0 lead.
After the defense got off the field again in three plays, Jacob
Cowing muffed a punt, returning the gift to Seattle. The Seahawks converted a 3rd-and-5 to Cooper Kupp, who was defended by Deommodore Lenoir. Emmanuel Wilson punched it in to tie the game at seven.
The teams would trade punts on the next three possessions. Late in the first quarter, Jaxon Smith-Njigba ran by Lenoir for a 38-yard gain. JSN made Malik Mustapha miss on a screen pass for 16 yards. Seattle wouldn’t gain another yard on the drive. Jason Myers’ 49-yard field goal made it 10-7 for Seattle.
After the offense punted, Fred Warner used his patented peanut punch to jar the ball loose from Emmanuel Wilson. Malik Mustapha pounced on the ball, giving the 49ers possession on Seattle’s 11-yard line. Christian McCaffrey scored on the next play, and the Niners were up 14-10.
The next drive would prove costly for the 49ers. Dre Greenlaw hit Sam Darnold out of bounds, then headbutted a Seahawks player to compound the mistake.
Gracen Halton picked up his first career sack. Osa Odighizuwa had his first sack as a member of the Niners. The defense stood tall and held Seattle to a field goal, making it 14-13.
The 49ers had an opportunity to score before the half. Brock Purdy found Mike Evans for a 23-yard gain. But on 3rd-and-12, Purdy was sacked, taking the team out of Eddy Pineiro’s range.
Corliss Waitman’s punt was downed at the one. Waitman had been excellent up until this point. Trying to run out the clock, George Holani couldn’t hold onto the ball in the end zone. Halton made a miraculous forced fumble. He not only reached back but also had the awareness to find the ball. His fumble recovery and touchdown gave the Niners a 21-13 lead.
Renardo Green undercut an Elijah Arroyo route to intercept his second pass of the day. That must have felt great for a player who was benched in the same stadium less than a year ago.
Unfortuantely, the offense didn’t do anything with it. To make matters worse, Pineiro pulled the kick wide left. And just like that, Seattle had the ball as if nothing happened.
The Seahawks picked up a couple of first downs, but Keion White’s tackle for loss helped stall the drive. Myers kicked a 43-yard field goal to make it 21-16.
Purdy was a little off leading up to this play, but he made a poor read on 3rd and 7. He threw the ball late and behind Jacob Cowing, and the Seahawks cornerback took advantage for an interception.
JSN made Warner and Mustapha miss in the open field on 3rd and three en route to a touchdown, giving Seattle a 23-21 lead.
Deebo Samuel hurt his hamstring at the start of the next drive. As he went down, Samuel did not hold on to the ball. That gave Seattle another short field. To their credit, the defense did not falter. Myers kicked another field goal, this one from 48 yards out. That gave the Seahawks a 26-21 lead.
Mike Evans caught a 15-yard pass on 1st and 20. Later in the drive, he caught a nine-yard pass on 2nd and 5, then picked up 23 yards on 3rd and 10. Then, on 2nd and 21, he caught a 28-yarder. Evans kept the 49ers’ offense on the field single-handedly.
Brandin Cooks scored a touchdown, but Mike MacDonald called a timeout. After the timeout, Purdy scrambled and found Cooks in the end zone to make it 27-26. Evans was interfered with on the two-point conversion. The Niners had another shot and went right back to Evans. He caught this one, giving the 49ers a 29-26 lead.
Purdy went 7-for-8 on the drive for 89 yards, with Evans doing most of the work. He bounced back after the turnover and didn’t shy away from being aggressive.
Could the defense hold? They had all day, but they also needed to prevent Seattle from scoring with just under 11 minutes remaining.
Rahshid Shaheed picked up 22 yards to put Seattle in field goal range. But Keion White had a stop and picked up the fifth sack of the day for the defense. Myers added another field goal to tie the game 29-29.
Christian McCaffrey picked up 8 and 13 yards to begin the drive. He made a defender miss in the backfield to stay out of a negative play. Kaelon Black gained 11 yards on the next play. The 49ers were in field goal range with a little more than four minutes remaining.
Kaelon Black lost a yard on 3rd and 1 after Byron Murphy blew the play up by beating Connor Colby. Pineiro’s 44-yard field goal attempt was good with two minutes to play, to give the Niners a 32-29 lead.
It looked like Jordan James drew a holding penalty on the ensuing kickoff to back up Seattle on the 15-yard line. But Smit-Njigba picked up 35 yards on the first play from scrimmage to give Seattle the ball at midfield. On 3rd and 10, JSN beat Jack Jones, but inexplicably dropped the ball.
The game came down to a 4th and 10. Cooper Kupp made Upton Stout miss, but was called out of bounds shy of the first-down marker.
Ballgame. 49ers win-32-29.
For the third time, the 49ers are 5-0. The other two years were in 2019 and 2023.
