San Francisco 49ers vs. Seattle Seahawks – NFL LIVE: Play-by-play action
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San Francisco 49ers 21-13 Seattle Seahawks: ‘Mr. Irrelevant ‘Brock Purdy leads the Niners to another win as they clinch the NFC West division title, while their arch-rivals’ playoff hopes take a hit
Rookie Brock Purdy hit a pair of touchdown passes to George Kittle, and the San Francisco 49ers won their first NFC West title since 2019, beating the Seattle Seahawks 21-13 on Thursday.
Despite using their third starting quarterback this season, the 49ers (10-4) continued to show they could be the class of the NFC along with Philadelphia. San Francisco won its seventh straight time, using its stifling defense to frustrate Seattle and commit countless errors.
The Niners got a handful of big plays from their rookie quarterback. Playing on the road for the first time in his career, Purdy connected on his first 11 pass attempts, including a 28-yard TD to Kittle in the first quarter as Purdy executed two fakes before opening wide to his tight end.
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy runs against Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle Quinton Jefferson
Seattle Seahawks tight end Will Dissly (89) is tackled by San Francisco 49ers safety Tashaun Gipson Sr.
Purdy and Kittle connected again early in the second half when Seattle’s defense blew a coverage and left Kittle open for a 54-yard touchdown run and a 21-3 San Francisco lead. Purdy finished 17 of 26 for 217 yards, joining Aaron Rodgers as the only quarterbacks since at least 1950 to have a passer rating of at least 115 in each of their first two starts.
Kittle had four receptions for 93 yards and Christian McCaffrey rushed for 108 yards, including a 1-yard TD run in the final minute of the first half following a Seattle turnover.
Seattle (7-7) lost for the fourth time in five games and took another blow to its playoff hopes. Geno Smith threw for 238 yards and Seattle’s first offensive TD this season against the 49ers, but he was under constant pressure.
Yler Kroft #81 of the San Francisco 49ers makes a catch against the Seattle Seahawks
Seattle came within a score late in the fourth quarter after Robbie Gould missed a 43-yard field goal and the Seahawks drove 67 yards in 1:25. Smith hit Noah Fant for a 10-yard touchdown run with 3:35 remaining. But Purdy converted a 3rd-and-1 with a scramble before the 2-minute warning, and Jordan Mason sealed the win with a 55-yard run with 1:02 remaining.
Smith was sacked three times and hit nine times. When he did have time to shoot, the windows open to his pass catchers were small. Seattle had a 20+ yard play.
And Seattle didn’t capitalize on a 49ers error late in the first half.
Seattle scored its first offensive points in two games against the 49ers midway through the second quarter on a Jason Myers 38-yard field goal. Seattle’s only points in the first meeting in Week 2 came on a blocked field goal returned for a touchdown.
But the Seahawks followed up with a couple of critical mistakes. Quandre Diggs dropped a potential interception that would have given Seattle the ball on San Francisco’s side of the field. And Travis Homer unleashed a big hit by Dre Greenlaw at the Seattle 41-yard line with 1:08 left in the second quarter. The fumble was returned 35 yards by Charvarius Ward, and two plays later, McCaffrey scored to give the 49ers a 14-3 lead.
San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (23) runs the ball against the Seattle Seahawks