Instant analysis of 49ers’ 31-13 Thanksgiving night win over Seattle Seahawks
SEATTLE — No, the 49ers would not blow a 21-point halftime lead on Thanksgiving night to add to their historical woes here against the host Seahawks.
Instead, a 31-13 victory sent the 49ers (8-3) back to the Bay on a three-game win streak, which they’ll put on the line Dec. 3 in an NFC Championship Game rematch at the Philadelphia Eagles.
Afterward, in a scene reminiscent of NBC’s postgame nine years earlier when the Seahawks ate turkey at Levi’s Stadium, seven different 49ers huddled up for the on-field interview: Brock Purdy, Nick Bosa, Fred Warner, Charvarius Ward, Deebo Samuel and George Kittle, the latter of whom ran to the locker room with turkey on a silver platter.
Things were much more tense about an hour earlier on that field.
Purdy threw his first career pick-six to spark the Seahawks’ second-half comeback bid, and after a goal-line stand forced Seattle to settle for a field goal, the 49ers’ lead was down to 24-13.
Purdy’s eventual response: a 28-yard touchdown pass to Brandon AIyuk with 7:51 remaining, providing the dagger and improving the first-place Niners to 3-0 in NFC West play.
Sandwiched around that clutch score were defensive heroics by the 49ers, including a third-down sack split by Bosa and Arik Armstead. Then, on the series after Aiyuk’s score, Bosa and Warner stopped the Seahawks’ Zach Charbonnet on fourth-and-1 from the 49ers’ 21.
Not to be overlooked was a third-quarter goal-line stand that forced the Seahawks to settle for a 30-yard field goal. Those defensive stops came from Dre Greenlaw (first-down tackle), Ambry Thomas’ pass breakup in the end zone (officials missed his pass-interference tug) and a third-down sack by Armstead and Javon Hargrave.
The 49ers finished with six sacks and 12 hits on already wounded quarterback Geno Smith. Bosa had two sacks and five hits. Other sacks came from Hargrave (1 1/2), Armstead (one), Tashaun Gipson (one) and Kevin Givens (half). Smith finished 18-of-27 for 180 yards. Ward and Thomas made plays to deny touchdown strikes to D.K. Metcalf, Tyler Lockett and Jaxon Smith-Ngjiba.
The Seahawks (6-5) have lost three of their last four and play at the Dallas Cowboys before again facing the 49ers at Levi’s Stadium on Dec. 10.
Three touchdown runs in the first half — Samuel’s 2-yard scamper on the opening series, followed by two from McCaffrey — put the 49ers on the road to a rout. The 49ers also forced two first-half turnovers, a Thomas interception and Ronnie Bell’s fumble recovery of a muffed punt. The 49ers did not make much of those breaks, converting the two turnovers into nothing more than a Jake Moody field goal from 32 yards out.
Purdy, after posting a perfect 158.3 passer rating in Sunday’s 24-17 win over the Bucs, finished with a 86.7 rating by virtue of 21-of-30 passing for 209 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
McCaffrey’s two scoring runs gave him an NFL-leading 16 TDs this season, which already ties him for the fourth-most in a 49ers season, behind only Jerry Rice’s totals (23 in 1987; 17 in 1989 and ’95). McCaffrey finished with 114 rushing yards (19 carries), Elijah Mitchell chipped in with 39 yards (seven carries) and Samuel had 15 yards (four carries).
McCaffrey’s first score this game came on a 1-yard run to end a 45-yard drive. At that point, the 49ers had tallied 159 yards, and the Seahawks’ none. McCaffrey’s second touchdown run was an 8-yard scrambler up the middle in which he burst through six arm tackles, for a 21-3 lead 6 minutes before halftime. That drive stayed alive behind Purdy’s third-down completions to Kittle (11 yards) and Samuel (12 yards).
The game’s first turnover came when, with the 49ers up 14-3, Thomas intercepted Smith’s pass to Lockett near the sideline at the Seahawks’ 42. The Seahawks’ second turnover happened 1:47 before halftime when Bell recovered a muffed punt at the Seahawks’ 22-yard line.
For the seventh time in 11 games, the 49ers’ opening drive paid out with a touchdown, this score coming on Samuel’s 2-yard run to cap a 71-yard, five-minute march. Purdy opened with a 14-yard completion to McCaffrey, who later had a third-down conversion run followed by a 27-yard run to the Seahawks’ 17-yard line. Samuel’s first catch, a 10-yarder to the 3, set up his first run, the 7-0 ante. Also in the opening drive, Charlie Woerner made his first reception in two years, with a 9-yard effort near midfield.
The 7-0 lead almost evaporated immediately. Dee Eskridge returned the kick 66 yards, kept from going the distance by 49ers rookie Darrell Luter Jr. The Seahawks did get points, on a 51-yard field goal by Myers.
HEALTH CENTER
The 49ers’ biggest injury concern came when George Odom, a special-teams ace and their lone backup at safety, was ruled out after halftime with a biceps injury. Ji’Ayir Brown was making his starting debut in place of Talanoa Hufanga, who sustained a season-ending knee injury in Sunday’s win over the Bucs.
With 5 ½ minutes left in the third quarter, Ward left with cramps in his right leg, but he returned the next series.
When the defense was on the field, Purdy sat on the bench with his surgically repaired elbow wrapped in a massage/heating pad. Purdy was not injured and the pad was used to keep his arm warm, as was the case last Sunday.