SEATTLE — “I saw him throw it up. I wasn’t sure if he was throwing it away.”
That was Jake Tonges’ impression as Brock Purdy, with a defender bearing down on him, flung the ball toward the end zone late in the fourth quarter Sunday.
In fact, that was everyone’s initial thought — Kyle Shanahan, the defensive players standing on the sideline, the players on the field who glanced up as the ball left the quarterback’s hands.
The San Francisco 49ers, after all, were on the Seattle Seahawks’ 4-yard line with about 1:37 remaining, it was third down, and they were down only 3 points.
By that point in the contest, however, it was clearly time to take chances and not rely on Jake Moody and the wobbly kicking game.
Purdy’s pass wasn’t a live-another-down toss out of bounds. It was risky, at least a little reckless, and it seemed headed straight into the hands of 6-foot-4 cornerback Riq Woolen for what would have been Purdy’s third interception.
That’s when Tonges, who had one passing target and zero receptions in the regular season since entering the NFL in 2022, went from substitute to star. After slipping and gathering himself in the end zone, he drove back to the ball and snatched it from Woolen’s grasp for what became the decisive score in the 49ers’ 17-13 win.
For Tonges, the play unspooled in slow motion.
“I caught it and looked down at my feet to make sure I was in bounds,” he said. “And I kind of looked around for some flags. And it was silent, you know, because we’re on the road. I think it was Russell Gage — someone was like, ‘You scored! You scored!’”
The touchdown didn’t come on as lofty a stage as the 49ers’ most famous play — the 6-yard throw from Joe Montana to Dwight Clark in the 1981 NFC Championship Game, better known as The Catch.
But it had several similarities: a quarterback fleeing to his right and getting dropped by a defensive lineman just as he got rid of the ball; a 6-4 pass catcher re-entering the frame to pluck the ball from a cornerback; a defensive player preserving the victory on the ensuing drive.
Back in January 1982, it was a trio of defenders, beginning with cornerback Eric Wright, who made a touchdown-saving tackle on the Dallas Cowboys’ final drive. Later, defensive end Lawrence Pillers sacked Danny White and forced a fumble that fellow defensive end Jim Stuckey recovered.
Sunday, defensive end Nick Bosa did it all by himself, causing a Sam Darnold fumble by forcing right tackle Abraham Lucas into the quarterback and then pouncing on the loose ball.
The 49ers entered Week 1 with a rebuilt roster, especially on defense, and two new coordinators. But the new-look Niners suffered from the same issues that consistently sank them in 2024.
The first was injuries. Tight end George Kittle, who had scored on San Francisco’s opening drive, left in the first half with a hamstring strain. Receiver Jauan Jennings was sidelined in the second with a shoulder issue. Several others — Fred Warner, Trent Williams, Dominick Puni and Sam Okuayinonu — had to leave at various stages but later returned to the game.
Jake Tonges celebrates his game-winning touchdown. (Steven Bisig / Imagn Images)
At one point, San Francisco faced a crucial fourth-and-2 from the Seattle 14 with rookie Connor Colby at right guard, Tonges and Luke Farrell at tight end and Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Russell Gage at receiver. After the game, Shanahan said the 49ers were still in contact with receiver Kendrick Bourne, who remains a free agent after being released by the New England Patriots in August.
“I know he hasn’t signed with (a team), so I know it’s a possibility that we can still get him,” he said. “I know we’re still trying. Hopefully, that can work out.”
The 49ers opted to go for it on that fourth-down snap — they converted it with a Purdy-to-Christian McCaffrey pass — because of issues with their kicking game. Moody’s point-blank attempt in the second quarter crashed off the left upright. A 36-yard attempt in the third quarter was blocked when the Seahawks collapsed the left side of the 49ers’ protection, particularly offensive lineman Matt Hennessy.
Shanahan said afterward there was “no question” in his mind Moody will continue as the 49ers’ kicker, though he later acknowledged that was his snap reaction and that he might think about the situation on the flight back to San Jose. Veteran Greg Joseph, who competed with Moody at the start of training camp, remains available.
A year ago, the combination of injuries and special teams blunders was fatal to the 49ers, especially in tight contests. Sunday, newcomers and first-time starters helped make sure the new season didn’t begin with the same theme.
Linebacker Dee Winters and safety Marques Sigle finished tied with Bosa for second among the 49ers with six tackles (Warner was first with eight), with Winters recording two behind the line of scrimmage and Sigle recovering a fumble. On offense, the team leaned heavily on McCaffrey — 32 touches, 142 combined yards — but also got big contributions from Ricky Pearsall, who was making just his fifth NFL start, and Tonges, who filled in for Kittle.
Pearsall finished with a team-high 108 yards, 45 of them on a double-move catch down the sideline in the fourth quarter that set up Tonges’ go-ahead touchdown. Tonges, meanwhile, caught all three of his targets, including a diving 9-yard grab that came three plays before his touchdown.
“He’s made of the right stuff,” McCaffrey said of Tonges. “He practices really hard. His attention to detail is great. He’s willing to block. He does all those things right.”
One more similarity to The Catch: For years, Cowboys defenders insisted Montana was merely trying to throw the ball away and got bailed out by Clark. Like Montana, Purdy said he was looking for his ultimate target as soon as the play began to break down.
“I know it was a close call,” he said. “But he used his length and came down with it and, yeah, here we are.”
(Top photo: Steven Bisig / Imagn Images)
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