It wasn’t pretty, but it counted, as the San Francisco 49ers picked up a 17-13 away win over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.
Quarterback Brock Purdy, fresh off a five-year, $265 million extension, had a lot to prove heading into Seattle — with mixed results. Mike Macdonald’s Seahawks defense was in full force, picking off Purdy twice; there was also a pair of missed field goals from Jake Moody that made San Francisco’s final drive critical. Purdy even had to play without one of his primary targets, veteran tight end George Kittle, who was ruled out in the first half with a hamstring injury.
Advertisement
But Purdy got it done in the end. With less than two minutes remaining in the game, down three points, on third-and-3, Purdy overcame the Seahawks’ pressure to scramble far out of the pocket. His throw to the end zone was risky, with cornerback Tariq Woolen hovering near Jake Tonges, Purdy’s target. But though Woolen got his fingers on it, Tonges came down with the ball.
On the drive before, Macdonald opted to go for a field goal on fourth-and-1. The Seahawks took a 13-10 lead with Jason Myers’ kick, and turned things over to the defense to get it done. But Purdy had a different idea.
After the 49ers took the lead, Seattle had about a minute and a half to reach the end zone. And here, Purdy got an assist from defensive end Nick Bosa, who shoved Abe Lucas right into quarterback Sam Darnold’s throwing arm, and smothered the ball after it popped out.
Purdy’s performance was far from perfect: He went 26-of-35 for 277 yards, with those two interceptions both coming in the second half after a slow start. After an early 49ers touchdown in the first quarter, the Seahawks also batted down multiple passes and kept Purdy from getting into the end zone until the very end of the game.
Advertisement
On the Seahawks’ side, it wasn’t exactly a dream debut for Darnold, who completed just under 70% of his passes but didn’t get a touchdown throw in the game. Seattle’s sole TD came in the second quarter, off a 1-yard Zach Charbonnet run.
San Francisco’s margin of victory should have been larger, if not for Moody’s two misses. The second miss was not Moody’s fault, with Julian Love poking through a hole in the offensive line to block the kick, but the first was a 27-yarder that doinked off the left goalpost. Overall, Moody’s no-good, very bad year from last season seems to be bleeding into this season: With the two misses and one made field goal on Sunday, Moody has now made only 12 of his last 23 attempts.
Advertisement
On paper, it’s a win for San Francisco; more importantly, it’s an road win against an NFC West rival. But without Kittle, and with a struggling Moody, there may be more gritty wins (or losses) in the team’s future.