Deebo Samuel was quick to answer when asked what was going well for the San Francisco 49ers. “Brock Purdy,” Samuel said.
Purdy threw for 255 yards and three touchdowns, and the 49ers never fell behind in their 36-24 win against the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday night.
Samuel had a 76-yard catch-and-run touchdown and finished the game with three catches for 102 yards. The defending NFC champions (3-3) are now tied with Seattle (3-3) for first place in the NFC West after a shaky start to the season.
George Kittle contributed with five catches for 58 yards and two touchdowns. He and Kyle Juszczyk celebrated their scores by jumping into the stands to hug their wives, who were sitting in the front row.
Matthew Wright, who joined the 49ers earlier this week to replace injured kicker Jake Moody, successfully made three field goals in the first half from distances of 25, 41, and 35 yards.
“When everyone’s on point and we’re doing our thing, we’re a hard team to beat,” Purdy said.
Geno Smith threw for 312 yards and one touchdown but was intercepted twice, and the Seahawks have now lost three straight games after starting the season 3-0 under new coach Mike Macdonald.
“We’re just not doing the things that good football teams do to win football games, and so we’re going to attack it. We’re going to take a breather here and really go back and dissect the heck out of this thing,” Macdonald explained.
Just four days after losing to Arizona despite having a 23-10 halftime lead, San Francisco held off a second-half challenge from Seattle, which received a boost from Laviska Shenault Jr.’s 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the third quarter.
After the 49ers punted, Smith led a 94-yard drive, and Kenneth Walker III scored from 1 yard out to bring Seattle closer at 23-17.
However, Smith threw his second interception, this time caught by Renardo Green, which set up Kittle’s second touchdown of the game and gave the 49ers a 29-17 lead.
Smith then connected with Tyler Lockett for a 9-yard touchdown pass with 1:44 left, making the score 29-24. San Francisco quickly answered with Isaac Guerendo’s 76-yard run, leading to Juszczyk’s 6-yard touchdown run, which was a much-needed finish for a team that has had trouble closing out games.
“We talk about it all the time, and it’s something we’ve had to get better at this season,” Purdy said. “Coach always says, no matter what the score is, our offense should be able to put up points when our team needs it.”
Seattle continued to struggle with their run game, finishing with 20 carries for just 52 yards, with Walker getting 32 of those yards.
Smith was intercepted on Seattle’s first drive. The Seahawks were on the San Francisco 25 when rookie safety Malik Mustapha caught a pass intended for Lockett.
Jordan Mason had a strong start for San Francisco with a 38-yard run on their first drive, but it ended with Wright making a 25-yard field goal.
In the early second quarter, Samuel caught a pass from Purdy, shook off a defender, and ran 76 yards for a touchdown, putting the 49ers ahead 10-0. Samuel made history as the first receiver in the NFL to have 20 or more rushing touchdowns and 20 or more receiving scores.
Darrell Luter Jr. caused a fumble on the Seahawks’ kickoff return, and Tatum Bethune recovered it on the Seattle 29-yard line.
Wright finished that drive with a 41-yard field goal. Wright’s third field goal extended the 49ers’ lead to 16-0 late in the second quarter.
With a pass interference call helping them, putting the ball on the 2-yard line, Smith threw three incomplete passes before the Seahawks had to settle for Jason Myers’ 20-yard field goal as the first half ended.
Purdy connected with Kittle for a 10-yard touchdown to kick off the second half, bringing the score to 23-3.
“He’s a baller,” Purdy said about Kittle. “Obviously when you get the ball in his hands he can do what he can. He can break tackles. Just explosive for a tight end.”
Mason, who left the game in the second quarter due to a shoulder injury, returned later and finished with 73 yards on nine carries for the 49ers while stepping in for the injured Christian McCaffrey.
Seahawks safety Rayshawn Jenkins said he’s not frustrated—yet.
“We have the right guys in the room to get the job done. We just really have to be real and accountable. And as long as we do that, we should be OK,” Jenkins said. “But it has to happen sooner than later.”
