49ers dominate Seahawks in second half to win 41-23 in Wild Card Weekend
Jan 14, 2023, 6:54 PM
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 14: Brock Purdy #13 of the San Francisco 49ers celebrates with Aaron Banks #65 after throwing a touchdown pass against the Seattle Seahawks during the fourth quarter in the NFC Wild Card playoff game at Levi's Stadium on January 14, 2023 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
(Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
The San Francisco 49ers overcame a first half deficit to trash the Seattle Seahawks in the second half. Going on a 25-6 run in the second half, the 49ers stomped their rivals, 41-23, advancing to the divisional round of the NFC playoffs.
In a tale of two halves, the 49ers did not play well in first one. They had their moments, but overall, it was a half to forget.
Settling for field goals on two drives, the 49ers struggled to keep their foot on the pedal at the halfway point in the second quarter. Eventually that caught up to them.
Down 13 to 7, quarterback Geno Smith found wide receiver D.K. Metcalf streaking down the field. Metcalf beat 49ers’ cornerback Charvarius Ward, catching the ball as he raced to the endzone for the 50-yard score.
14-13 and the 49ers trailed.
San Francisco rallied on their last possession off the half, going down the field in eight plays for 49 yards. But again they were halted, with the drive stalling out after QB Brock Purdy took a sack. San Francisco settled for three points, making score 16-14 with 13 seconds in the first half remaining.
Then the 49ers made two stupid plays in a row.
First, they squib-kicked, giving Seattle the ball at their own 38-yard-line. The next play, Smith scrambled for a first down, sliding to the ground before safety Jimmie Ward came in with a late hit on the QB. A 15-yard penalty that put the Seahawks within field-goal range.
Jason Myers stepped up and nailed the kick with the clock expiring, 17-16 in favor of the visitors at half.
Then the 49ers, and Purdy, came to life.
Possessing the ball to start the second half, Purdy and the offense marched down the field in 13 plays to retake the lead, taking up 7:45 in possession. The mood around the team shifted open that drive as well, after WR Deebo Samuel got his leg yanked by safety Johnathan Abram after a play in the red-zone.
On the ground in pain, fellow wideout Brandon Aiyuk come to Samuel’s defense. Then the whole team got on Seattle, causing a shuffle inside the hashes. From then on, the game changed. San Francisco scored, via a Purdy QB sneak, a few plays later, giving them a 23-17 lead.
“I don’t know what he was trying to achieve by doing that, but it wasn’t the smartest move, for sure,” linebacker Fred Warner said postgame about the stunt on Samuel.
The 49ers defense took the situation personally, coming up with the momentum-swinging play of the game.
Getting driven down the field methodically once more, Seattle were called for ineligible man downfield after WR Tyler Lockett made a catch. Slightly backed up, the Seahawks then went to Metcalf again, this time denied by Ward’s stellar outside coverage. The next play, defensive end Charles Omenihu came to play.
Rushing off the left side, the DE got his right arm on Smith and the football, forcing a fumble that fellow pass rusher Nick Bosa saw and jumped on. A potential score by the visitors, turns into a turnover for the home side. Omenihu finished with two sacks, but all that matters to him is a dub.
“Stats don’t matter. The only stat that matters is whether you get a win or loss at the end of the day,” Omenihu said postgame.
Brock Purdy took over from there.
Going down the field in two and a half minutes, Purdy capped off the next drive with a seven-yard pass to running back Elijah Mitchell. Fired up by the play, Purdy let out all the emotions, pumping his chest in triumph as his team went up by two scores. San Francisco then went for a two-point conversion, finding tight end George Kittle to make it a 14-point game, 31-17.
From Mr. Irrelevant to Mr. Playmaker
BROCK PURDY SZN pic.twitter.com/A9ahkW7dfI
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) January 14, 2023
Forcing Seattle to punt on the next possession, San Francisco secured the nail in the coffin when Purdy found Samuel for a. massive TD. Rolling to his left on play-action, Purdy hit his wideout crossing over the middle. Using key blocks from Aiyuk, Samuel raced past Seahawks to find the endzone from 74 yards out.
38-17 and that did it in Santa Clara.
Seattle scored a consolation TD in the fourth quarter, while Purdy almost got his fourth passing score of the day, but Aiyuk dropped it. Nevertheless, a win is a win and that’s all that matters in the playoffs.
“Everyone in the playoffs is a good team…You gotta go out there and play really good football. That’s what’s so tough about the NFL,” head coach Kyle Shanahan said Saturday.
Purdy had himself a day, becoming the first rookie QB to score four total TDs in a playoff game. He finished the day with 332 passing yards, three passing TDs, 1 rushing TD and a 131.5 QB rating.
A rough start in the first half, Purdy turned it around and showed the NFL masses why he is undated in the regular season.
The first rookie QB with 4 total TDs in a playoff game: @BrockPurdy13
(h/t @NFLResearch) pic.twitter.com/owg3z4hy17
— NFL (@NFL) January 15, 2023
Brock Purdy's 332 yards passing are the most for a #49ers QB in the postseason since Joe Montana's 357 yards against the Bengals in Super Bowl XXIII.
— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoNBCS) January 15, 2023
“He is who he is…he’s been in the biggest of moments,” Warner said about his rookie QB.
The 49ers will now await the results of the rest of NFC playoffs, either playing the Minnesota Vikings, or the winer of Tampa Bay/Dallas on Monday Night Football.
