Purdy leads 49ers past Seahawks on late field goal
SEATTLE (Interstat) — Eddy Pineiro kicked a 44-yard field goal with 1:56 remaining, and San Francisco defeated Seattle 32-29 in a National Football League game at Lumen Field on Sunday. Brock Purdy completed 19 of 29 passes for 189 yards and two touchdowns and ran five times for 6 yards for the 49ers, who improved to 5-0. Sam Darnold completed 18 of 29 passes for 195 yards and one touchdown and ran once for 5 yards for the Seahawks, who fell to 3-2. Attendance was 68,664.
The 49ers opened the scoring on their first possession when Purdy found Mike Evans for a 2-yard touchdown, and Pineiro added the extra point. Seattle answered later in the first quarter when Emanuel Wilson scored on a 2-yard run and Jason Myers made the extra point. Myers then made a 49-yard field goal in the second quarter to give Seattle a brief lead. San Francisco regained the advantage when Christian McCaffrey scored on an 11-yard run, and Pineiro’s extra point made it 14-10. Myers connected from 50 yards just before halftime to cut the margin to 14-13.
Seattle kept pressure on with Myers’ 43-yard field goal in the third quarter. Darnold then found Jaxon Smith-Njigba for a 16-yard touchdown, and Myers’ extra point pushed the Seahawks ahead. Myers added a 48-yard field goal later in the third, giving Seattle a 26-21 lead. San Francisco responded in the fourth when Purdy hit Brandin Cooks for a 7-yard touchdown. Purdy then connected with Evans for a successful two-point conversion, putting the 49ers ahead 29-26.
Myers tied the game at 29 with a 40-yard field goal with 6:55 remaining. San Francisco then moved into position for the winning kick. Pineiro converted from 44 yards with 1:56 left, and the 49ers’ defense kept Seattle from answering. The late drive capped a steady performance by Purdy, who spread the ball to Evans, McCaffrey, George Kittle, Deebo Samuel Sr. and Cooks.
The first half was tight, with neither team leading by more than four points until late in the second quarter. San Francisco’s offense moved efficiently when Purdy found Evans on the opening drive and McCaffrey on the ground later. Seattle relied on Myers’ leg and Wilson’s short scoring run to stay within striking distance. The Seahawks took advantage of their chances in the third quarter, turning a field goal and a quick touchdown pass into momentum. The 49ers answered with a composed fourth-quarter drive that ended with Cooks’ touchdown and Purdy’s two-point pass to Evans. San Francisco’s defense held Seattle to field goals on several drives.
Evans finished with seven receptions for 113 yards and a touchdown. McCaffrey ran 11 times for 68 yards and a touchdown and caught three passes for 15 yards. Kittle had five catches for 24 yards. Samuel had two carries for 4 yards, two receptions for 21 yards and two kick returns for 50 yards. Cooks caught one pass for 7 yards and a touchdown. Kaelon Black added six carries for 16 yards. Jacob Cowing had one reception for 9 yards, one kick return for 23 yards and one punt return for no gain. Luke Farrell made one tackle.
Defensively for San Francisco, Fred Warner recorded 10 tackles. Jaden Dugger had nine tackles and one sack. Malik Mustapha and Ji’Ayir Brown each made seven tackles. Gracen Halton had three tackles and one sack. Keion White and Sebastian Valdez each had three tackles and one sack. Osa Odighizuwa added two tackles and one sack. Dre Greenlaw made three tackles. The 49ers limited Seattle enough in the closing minutes to preserve the win.
Darnold’s top target was Smith-Njigba, who caught five passes for 102 yards and a touchdown, ran once for 16 yards and made one tackle. Wilson carried 20 times for 61 yards and a touchdown and caught two passes for 11 yards. George Holani had four carries for 7 yards and four receptions for 24 yards. Rashid Shaheed caught two passes for 23 yards and returned three kickoffs for 86 yards. AJ Barner had three receptions for 20 yards. Cooper Kupp caught two passes for 15 yards. Velus Jones Jr. returned two kickoffs for 40 yards and made two tackles.
Seattle’s defense got a strong push from Ernest Jones IV, who had nine tackles and one sack, and Byron Murphy II, who had six tackles and two sacks. Julian Love made six tackles. Drake Thomas had five tackles. Josh Jobe, Uchenna Nwosu, Nick Emmanwori and Ty Okada each had four tackles. Avery Smith made three tackles. Patrick O’Connell, Derick Hall, Charles Cross, Leonard Williams, Brady Russell, Brandon Pili and Tyrice Knight each had one tackle. Nehemiah Pritchett intercepted one pass. Michael Dickson punted twice for 83 yards. Elijah Arroyo and Eric Saubert also contributed tackles. DeMarcus Lawrence and Jarran Reed were listed without a tackle.
Jason Myers made all five of his field-goal attempts for Seattle, including kicks from 49, 50, 43, 48 and 40 yards. His consistency kept the Seahawks close throughout. The 49ers’ winning drive came after Seattle had tied the game, and Pineiro’s 44-yard kick proved to be the difference. San Francisco improved to 5-0 and remained unbeaten, while Seattle fell to 3-2 after a narrow home loss.
San Francisco’s next game is against Washington. Seattle will travel to Denver. The 49ers and Seahawks are scheduled to meet again in San Francisco later in the season. San Francisco will look to remain unbeaten, while Seattle will try to bounce back from the narrow loss. Seattle will then host Kansas City the following week.
Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Seattle 40, San Francisco 23. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Seattle with an 81 percent probability to win. San Francisco had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of +3. The total score of 61 went under the over/under line of 46.5.