Brock Purdy leads 2 late scoring drives to deliver a 32-29 win for the 49ers over the Seahawks
Brock Purdy engineered two scoring drives in the fourth quarter and the San Francisco 49ers rallied to beat the Seattle Seahawks 32-29 on a 43-yard field goal by Eddy Pineiro with 1:56 to play
SEATTLE -- When the game was on the line and San Francisco's struggling offense needed to move the ball, Mike Evans stepped up and showed why the 49ers went after him so hard this offseason.
Purdy found Evans repeatedly on the go-ahead touchdown drive and then led the Niners down the field again for a 43-yard field goal by Eddy Pineiro with 1:56 to play that gave San Francisco a 32-29 win over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday in a playoff rematch.
The win for the 49ers (5-0) offered a small bit of payback for their two late-season losses to Seattle (3-2) last season, including a 41-6 defeat in the divisional round of the playoffs with a short-handed roster.
San Francisco was healthier on defense for the first meeting this season, and also had Evans after signing him in March. That was a big reason why Purdy was able to deliver late for the undefeated Niners.
“He's a game changer,” Purdy said. “True X receiver that if you get the right look and stuff and you give him a chance, he can make defenses pay. I thought today he did a great job with that, going up and getting the ball multiple times and just using his length and everything to create some separation. So as a quarterback, any time I have an (opportunity) to go to him, it always feels good.”
The game featured an NFL season-high seven combined turnovers, an ejection of 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw and no touchdown drives of more than 25 yards before San Francisco took over trailing 26-21 late in the third quarter.
“That’s what we expected, honestly,” Niners linebacker Fred Warner said. “It was going to be a heavyweight bout. Seattle, they’re the guys who won it all last year and they’re ones that you have to go through.”
Purdy and Evans responded with an impressive drive against the vaunted Seahawks defense, connecting four times for 75 yards with the biggest play coming on a 28-yard pass to Evans after an intentional grounding penalty left the Niners in a precarious second-and-21 situation.
“I do feel like I’m one of the best receivers in the game,” Evans said. “I got a big frame, so if you throw it around me, I’m going to do my best to try to make those contested grabs.”
That helped set up Purdy's 7-yard touchdown pass to newcomer Brandin Cooks, and San Francisco took a 29-26 lead following a 2-point conversion to Evans.
Sam Darnold responded by leading Seattle on a game-tying field goal drive before Purdy and the 49ers moved the ball 43 yards for Pineiro's go-ahead kick.
The Seahawks had one last chance, but Jaxon Smith-Njigba dropped a third-down pass from the 50 at the San Francisco 25, and Cooper Kupp was stopped 1 yard short of the first down by Malik Mustapha on fourth down.
“We had an opportunity to go down there and win the game,” Smith-Njigba said. “I have to reel those ones in. I know that.”
Purdy finished 19 of 29 for 189 yards with two touchdowns and one interception, with almost all of his production coming in the fourth quarter.
“That’s one of the best defenses in the league,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “There were some ups and downs, by no means was everything perfect. But I thought he was really good in the fourth quarter.”
The 49ers failed to score a touchdown in their final two games against Seattle last season. They got into the end zone three times in the first half to take a 21-13 lead but it was the defense that did much of the work.
They scored on drives of 11 yards and 18 yards after turnovers by Seattle and extended the lead to 21-13 when the Seahawks' decision to use timeouts on defense to get the ball back late in the half backfired. The Seahawks took over on their 4 with 18 seconds left and San Francisco holding three timeouts. Gracen Halton then stripped George Halani on the first play and recovered the fumble in the end zone for a touchdown.
“We want to stay aggressive,” coach Mike Macdonald said. “We got to be able to execute our run game and hold onto the football.”
The Seahawks took advantage of turnovers by San Francisco to take the lead in the second half. They turned an interception by Nehemiah Pritchett into a 23-yard drive capped by Darnold's 16-yard pass to Smith-Njigba for a 23-21 lead. Deebo Samuel then lost a fumble on the next possession to set up another field goal to make it a five-point game.
Greenlaw was ejected after head-butting Seattle’s Ernest Jones IV after he delivered a late hit on the Seahawks sideline. The infraction came in the second quarter when Darnold scrambled and was hit late by Greenlaw after going out of bounds. Greenlaw was flagged for a personal foul.
Several Seahawks defenders immediately confronted Greenlaw after the hit and Greenlaw responded by head-butting Jones, who wasn’t wearing a helmet. Jones was bleeding after the hit and Greenlaw was ejected. Greenlaw has been ejected at least two other times in his career.
49ers: Samuel injured his hamstring on the play where he fumbled and didn't return.
49ers: Host Washington on Monday, Oct. 19.
Seahawks: Visit Denver on Thursday night.
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