The No. 1 seed in the NFC and the West division title were on the line Saturday.
It was a game that looked like a competition between men and boys.
The Seattle Seahawks dominated on both lines of scrimmage, played a near-impeccable defensive game, and did just enough on offense to beat the 49ers 13-3 at Levi’s Stadium.
Seattle had more than twice as many yards as the 49ers in the contest, and while the 49ers’ defense found a way to make some deep-in-their-territory stops, the Niners’ offense capped their only good offensive drive of the game with a back-breaking interception where running back Christian McCaffrey had a pass bounce off his hands and right to Seattle linebacker Drake Thomas at the Seattle 3-yard line.
The loss means the Niners will play a wild-card weekend playoff game next week and are unlikely to play another home game this season unless they somehow bounce back and reach Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara on Feb. 8.
Here were the studs and duds from the 49ers’ brutal, likely season-defining loss.
STUDS 💪
Upton Stout – NB
» The Niners would have been blown out in this game without Stout, who made a fourth-down stop in the end zone on the Seahawks’ first drive, another on a third-down to set up a missed Seattle field goal, and another to prevent a touchdown on third down ahead of a made Seattle field goal.
Sam Okuayinonu – DE
» The Niners’ defensive line had some push in this game, and no one had more than the steady Okuayinonu.
Deommodore Lenoir – CB
» While his cornerback counterpart had an awful game, Lenoir bounced back from a bad performance against the Bears with a solid performance in both the pass and run games.
DUDS 📉
Renardo Green – CB
» About as bad a cornerback game as you’ll ever see. Green was a pass interference machine when he played on press, and gave far too much space to the elite Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Seattle made an entire pass offense out of attacking him, and he did nothing to dissuade them from that notion.
Dee Winters – LB
» Winters had opportunity after opportunity to make plays for the Niners’ defense, desperate for someone to do just that. He repeatedly failed. In coverage, he was betwixt, against the run, he was a step or two behind.
Tatum Bethune – LB
» Washed out repeatedly in the run game and a sitting duck in the pass game, Bethune wasn’t in position to make big plays, but his inability to win created many explosive plays.
Ji’Ayir Brown – S
» Decided to break contain while lined up as a defensive end on a third-and-2 from the 49ers’ 27-yard line in the first quarter. That was a mistake worth seven points.
Jordan Elliott – DT
» After back-to-back nice games, Elliott was back to being gap-unsound and driven back repeatedly — Seahawks rookie left guard Grey Zabel had a field day against 92, who is merely the poster child for the entire 49ers’ defensive tackle group Saturday.
Jason Pinnock – DB
» The Niners tried big nickel again. It went exceptionally poorly, again.
The Entire Niners’ Offensive Line
» Seattle’s defense is as good as it gets, but Purdy was under constant duress, and that left the Niners’ wide receivers — who cannot separate — no time to find space.
Also, they couldn’t run the ball.
It wasn’t just substitute left tackle Austen Pleasants, it was Dom Puni, Jake Brendel, the lot. It was a straight butt-kicking on national television.
Garrett Wallow – LB
» A sitting duck.
Brock Purdy – QB
» It’s hard to make plays when no one is open — the Seahawks sold out against George Kittle and Christian McCaffrey, daring the Niners’ wide receivers to win one-on-one on the outside. They failed, but so did Purdy, who simply did not make good enough throws when the opportunities to convert were there.
