San Francisco 49ers @ Seattle Seahawks
Final Score: 49ers 32, Seahawks 29
Writer: Pranav Babarjung
This close NFC West rival matchup was decided by which team could better capitalize on the other’s mistakes. Brock Purdy took his first sacks of the season and Gracen Halton was the stuff of Sam Darnold’s nightmares. It was a relatively sloppy game on both sides, with 4 turnovers by Seattle and 3 by SF, and the 9ers came out with the win. Bang Bang.
Three Up
- Mike Evans – Mike Evans broke 100 yards for the first time on his new team and was the most impactful offensive player for the 9ers.
- Jaxon Smith-Njigba – A low reception day still resulted in a great fantasy performance for the reigning OPOY.
- Jason Myers – He’s for sure already rostered but this guy is just automatic.
Two Down
- George Holani – Holani fumbled twice, recovering it once and handing the 9ers a touchdown on the other.
- Deebo Samuel – Samuel left the game with a hamstring injury and did not return. I’m not a doctor but it looked pretty bad.
San Francisco 49ers
Quarterback
Brock Purdy: 19/29, 189 Yards, 2 TDs, 2-PT Conversion, INT | 5 Carries, 6 Yards
Purdy had an alright performance in the face of a terrifying Mike Macdonald defense, which made him take his first sacks (3) of the season. He didn’t do anything too outstanding in this game, but kept some plays alive by moving out of the pocket and audibled to set up the Christian McCaffrey rushing TD. He underthrew Jacob Cowing to give up the interception. Both TDs were short goal line passes to veteran wideouts.
Running Back
Christian McCaffrey: 11 Carries, 68 Yards, TD | 3 Targets, 3 Receptions, 15 Yards
McCaffrey had a solid outing, getting there with the early rushing touchdown. His usage (and I’d argue explosiveness) is a far cry from last year, but he still sees all the valuable touches in this backfield.
Kaelon Black: 6 Carries, 16 Yards
When Black gets the ball, he runs with fervor. If McCaffrey goes down, he’ll become a must-start option.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Mike Evans: 10 Targets, 7 Receptions, 113 Yards, TD, 2-PT Conversion
Number 5 (still feels weird) had his first blowup game on his new team with over 100 Yards and a score, all while playing through broken ribs. But this receiving room needed him. He caught the TD on a short 2-yard route on the first drive, and added the two-point conversion on Brandin Cooks’s score in the fourth. Who even is Trevon Diggs? As great as this all was, I’m not sure how long he can keep playing through this injury. After every play where he took a hit or came down hard, he ran to the sideline in clear pain.
George Kittle: 6 Targets, 5 Receptions, 24 Yards
Although this was a slow day for Kittle, his bounce back from his Achilles injury is definitely a marvel. The second-leading receiver only had 24 Yards on a day with several short fields.
Deebo Samuel: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 21 Yards | 2 Carries, 4 Yards, Fumble (LOST)
An already obliterated wide receiver room seemingly took another hit as Deebo fell to the ground with a hamstring injury in the third quarter, fumbling in the process.
Jacob Cowing: 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 9 Yards, Fumble (LOST)
Cowing muffed a punt in the first quarter out of respect for Sam Darnold’s first interception. He was also the intended target on Purdy’s interception.
Brandin Cooks: 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 7 Yards, TD
The veteran only joined last week, but his first logged reception as a 9er was a short TD.
Luke Farrell: 1 Target, 0 Receptions
Seattle Seahawks
Quarterback
Sam Darnold: 18/29, 195 Yards, TD, 2 INTs | 1 Carry, 5 Yards
Darnold had a bad fantasy performance and played a key role in Seattle’s loss. He threw an interception (aimed at JSN) at the Seattle 18-yard line on their first drive of the game, which resulted in a touchdown. He threw another pick on the first drive back from the half, this time intended for Elijah Arroyo, so maybe it’s a warm-up issue? A large part of this poor performance can be chalked up to the SF D-line breathing down his neck for most of the game. He was sacked FIVE times and took EIGHT hits.
Running Back
Emanuel Wilson: 20 Carries, 61 Yards, TD, Fumble (LOST) | 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 11 Yards
Wilson was inefficient, but came away with the touchdown on the short field set up by the Cowing muffed punt. With Jadarian Price on IR and Zach Charbonnet still recovering, he is the back to have despite a fumble of his own.
George Holani: 4 Carries, 7 Yards, 2 Fumbles (1 LOST) | 4 Targets, 4 Receptions, 24 Yards
Oh boy. 2 Fumbles (one recovered by teammate Eric Saubert) on just four carries is certainly something. I saw slander posts about this guy DURING the game. They didn’t even wait until after. He was still the receiving back out of these two, but uh, maybe watch out as you walk around Seattle.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Jaxon Smith-Njigba: 8 Targets, 5 Receptions, 102 Yards, TD | 1 Rush, 16 Yards
This guy just gets it done, man. He did hurt his ankle in this game, but came back with it taped up and still produced. He cut inside to make a man miss on his 16-yard TD grab. In the two-minute drill, the game plan seems to be to spam JSN and hope for the best. It was the same plan against Washington a couple of weeks ago when Seattle was down late into the game. The thing is, it almost worked. On third down, he dropped an admittedly difficult pass that hit him in the hands that would have moved the chains and at least set up a game-tying field goal. Overall a solid day, but his ankle status should be monitored.
Rashid Shaheed: 4 Targets, 2 Receptions, 23 Yards
Huh, both teams had their second-leading pass-catcher with only ~20 Yards while the leader went for over 100. This guy is more bust than boom, it seems.
AJ Barner: 5 Targets, 3 Receptions, 20 Yards
Cooper Kupp: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 15 Yards
Kupp was inches away from keeping the game alive, but came up just short even after breaking a tackle for a couple extra yards on the last play of the game.
Elijah Arroyo: 1 Target, 0 Receptions