Michael Baca’s takeaways:
- Niners’ third-string TE snags game-winning score. George Kittle‘s second-quarter exit brought forth an uphill climb for the 49ers offense, but the glaring absence only created room for the game’s fourth-quarter hero. On third-and-3 from the Seattle 4-yard line and down three points, Brock Purdy flushed out to his right and floated a ball into the end zone off his back foot. The pass was seemingly asking to be picked, but it was third-string tight end Jake Tonges who came down with it, muscling it away from Tariq Woolen, who seemed to be eyeing an interception instead of an effective pass break-up. Tonges had zero career receptions entering 2025 and his third catch on Sunday stole a victory in Seattle. Of course, none of this would’ve been possible without the great play from a Niners defense that suffocated the Seahawks all afternoon (230 yards allowed) despite a calamitous stretch that saw bad San Francisco mistakes after Kittle left the game.
- Darnold’s Seahawks debut ends brutally. Following the Niners’ go-ahead touchdown, there was ample opportunity for the Seahawks to have a game-winning drive of their own. Facing a four-point deficit with 94 seconds left and one timeout remaining, Sam Darnold keyed in on Jaxon Smith-Njigba to flip the field on a 40-yard pass along the sideline. That put Seattle in scoring position with more than a minute left to play and the timeout in its back pocket. But the mere pressure Nick Bosa created on the right side caused Darnold to fumble as he was winding up to throw, with the tip of the ball getting dislodged out of his hand thanks to right tackle Abraham Lucas‘ back. It was a brutal way to lose for Darnold, who was looking to shake off a bad outing in his final performance for the Vikings and start his time with the Seahawks on the right foot. There was little opportunity for Darnold and Co. to do that, however, having possessed the ball for an astounding 22:02 in the game and snapped just 50 offensive plays. Darnold finished with an efficient day passing (16 of 23 for 150 yards) but it was a gloomy end for Seattle’s season opener.
- San Francisco’s pass-catching corps limps out of Week 1. Everything was going swimmingly for San Francisco until the injury exit of George Kittle, who found the end zone on the first possession. The 49ers proceeded to struggle mightily for a stretch of possessions that included two missed field goals (one blocked) and two bad interceptions from Brock Purdy in the second half. Ricky Pearsall, who led the team in receiving on Sunday (four receptions, 108 yards), came up clutch on the game-winning drive, hauling in a 45-yarder to help set up Jake Tonges’ game-winning catch. Outside of that, there was not much elsewhere Purdy could go despite Kyle Shanahan doing his best to draw up ways for Christian McCaffrey (142 scrimmage yards) to get the rock. There’s no question Purdy was struggling to find open targets downfield and that led him to force throws. He was also pressured at an alarming rate. Jauan Jennings exited the game in the second half with a shoulder injury in addition to Kittle’s hamstring ailment. For a pass-catching corps that was already thin entering the 2025 season, Purdy’s targets are limping out of Week 1.
Next Gen Stats Insight for 49ers-Seahawks (via NFL Pro): Brock Purdy was pressured on 57.9% of his drop backs in the 49ers’ Week 1 win over the Seahawks, the highest-pressure rate he’s faced in a single game in his career. When under pressure, Purdy completed 13 of his 20 attempts for 126 yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions while taking one sack.
NFL Research: Christian McCaffrey had his 31st career game with 50-plus rushing and 50-plus receiving yards, the second-most such games in NFL history (behind Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk: 41). No other player has 25-plus such games in his career.
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