49ers Complete Sweep of rival Seahawks

Week 14 - A week after showing that they can beat just about anybody after handing the Philadelphia Eagles a 23-point beatdown in Philly, the (9-3) San Francisco 49ers turned their attention to the rival (6-6) Seahawks whom they've beaten in four straight meetings dating back to last season and as recent as Thanksgiving night. Returning home to Levi's Stadium, Brock Purdy and the 49ers would look to make it five straight wins over the Seahawks on Sunday, who've been on a bit of a tailspin having lost three straight games and could ill-afford another loss within the division as their chances of making the playoffs continue to plummet. Hoping for a saving grace, backup quarterback Drew Lock would make his first start in a Seahawks uniform in place of Geno Smith who was ruled out with a groin injury just hours before kickoff. 

Seeing his first NFL action since 2021 while a member of the Denver Broncos, Lock would keep Seattle in the game virtually all afternoon long before succumbing late to the stout Niner defense that tagged him for two interceptions and brought him down for four sacks on the day. While the defense of San Francisco came thru late in the game to shutout the Seattle offense in the fourth quarter, it was the offense that stole the show in the first quarter. On the first play from scrimmage, 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey charged for a 72-yard run that immediately put the San Francisco offense on the door step before Jordan Mason walked in a touchdown from 3-yards out one play later. Taking a much different approach, Seattle would answer back on their ensuing drive with a 10-play, 70-yard drive capped off by a 31-yard touchdown pass to receiver D.K. Metcalf as Lock threaded the needle with a pass that zipped by the outstretched arms of San Francisco's Ambry Thomas. With two receptions for 52-yards on Seattle's opening-drive, Metcalf would be held catch-less the rest of the way despite the Niners' top cornerback Charvarius Ward being sidelined with a groin injury just a few plays into the game. 

After their blazing start on their first drive, the 49er offense began to lull as they were held to back to back three and out punts before finally showing life again. But just when the offense was starting to march, a bit of miscommunication by Purdy and receiver Brandon Aiyuk began to transpire as the two were not on the same page which led to an interception on a tipped-pass. Trailing 10-7, San Francisco got a big play from their most versatile weapon on offense in receiver Deebo Samuel who hauled in a 54-yard reception over the top for the go-ahead touchdown. With a 14-10 lead at the half, the 49ers added another Deebo Samuel touchdown to the scoreboard, this time on a 1-yard carry. Refusing to go down quietly, Seattle answered with a touchdown of their own after a pair of big plays through the air by running back Kenneth Walker III and tight-end Noah Fant who marched 53-yards on two plays before Lock hit his other tight-end Colby Parkinson for a 25-yard touchdown pass on the same exact play Brock Purdy and the 49ers successfully ran against the Seahawks in Seattle a season ago. 

With the game much closer than 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan would've liked, San Francisco opened the fourth quarter with another quick score that put the game out of reach for good. Needing only three plays, Purdy got his own tight-end involved with a 44-yard touchdown grab that gave the 49ers a 28-16 lead. Rookie cornerback Ji'Ayir Brown would record his second career interception on Seattle's ensuing drive, but just when it appeared that the 49ers would turn the turnover into points, Brandon Aiyuk was stripped from behind after collecting 30-yards on a play that would've put his team in the red zone. It would be no harm, no foul for the Niners as Seattle was held to a punt. Putting the finishing touches on the afternoon would be All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner who came down with the Niners' second interception of the contest on a Drew Lock heave on 4th and 13 that led to a little fisticuffs between Warner and Seattle's D.K. Metcalf who was shutout in the second half. Metcalf and 49ers corner Deommodore Lenoir were both ejected for for unsportsmanlike conduct.  

49ers QB Brock Purdy would record a career-high in passing yards in the win with 368 to go along with his 2 touchdowns and 1 interception. Running back Christian McCaffrey rushed for 145 yards on 16 carries, while Deebo Samuel (7 receptions, 149 receiving yards and 2 total touchdowns) and Brandon Aiyuk who surpassed the 1,000 receiving yards mark for the season (6 receptions, 126 receiving yards) led all players through the air. As for San Francisco's defense which has generated 29 sacks in their last 5 games played (1st in the NFL), which is seven more than the next-closest team, defensive-end Nick Bosa was the cause of 1.5 of those four sacks on Sunday which moved him to 3rd all-time in 49ers franchise history with 52.5 career sacks. While Drew Lock threw for a respectable 269 yards, 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions in a losing effort, and showed that he can be a capable backup when needed, even against the formidable 49er defense, it wasn't enough to prevent San Francisco from pulling off a season sweep of the Seahawks for a second straight season. 

Week 15 Preview: With their fifth straight win coupled with a loss from the Green Bay Packers on Monday night, the (10-3) 49ers became the first team in the NFL this season to clinch a playoff berth with four games remaining on the regular season schedule. Next on their list will be the (3-10) Arizona Cardinals whom the 49ers defeated at home back on October 1, but are coming off the Bye Week and an impressive 24-10 road win before that over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Tempers flared at the end of the game the last time these two teams met between 49ers safety Talanoa Hufanga and Cards running back James Connor, as both players needed to be separated following San Francisco's 35-16 win. With quarterback Kyler Murray back under center, the 49ers will face Murray for the first time this season and for the first time since Week 5 of the 2021 regular season as he's dealt with multiple injuries including a torn ACL during Week 14 of the 2022 NFL season. In the running for the 1st overall pick, only the (1-12) Carolina Panthers have a worse record than Arizona, with the New England Patriots also sitting at 3-10 on the year. As for San Francisco, the 49ers will need to keep their foot on the gas if they want to maintain the NFC's No. 1 overall seed as they can control their own destiny and currently hold a tie-breaker over the Eagles & Cowboys who both also sit at 10-3 on the season, but both have a division loss under their belt. 

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49ers Lose Kittle & Garoppolo in Loss to Seattle

Week 8 - Coming off an impressive two-game winning-streak and playing their most inspiring football yet this year, the San Francisco 49ers (4-3) appeared to finally begin hitting their stride following the sluggish 2-3 start that had many pundits declaring their season as good as over. But the one thing that has deprived the Niners in the first half of the season -- injuries, would rear its ugly head once again. Entering their meeting with the first-place Seattle Seahawks (5-1), the 49ers looked to continue their winning ways against their division rivals as they took a trip to CenturyLink Field for the first time since the thrilling Week 17 victory that secured both a division title and the number one overall seed in the NFC just a season ago. And with Niners QB Jimmy Garoppolo boasting a record of 5-0 on the road versus NFC West opponents throughout his career, San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan had to have liked his quarterback's chances of improving that record heading into Sunday's game, but things would take a turn as his depleted team suffered yet another blow on the injury front. 

Prior to the trio of injuries that would deplete the Niners offense even further, San Francisco came out swinging on defense and appeared to be thirsty for blood as they forced the Seattle offense to punt on each of their first two possessions. But an interception by Garoppolo on a pass behind his intended target, would setup their opponent and give Seattle new life on offense. The Seahawks would use that new life and turn it into a 46-yard touchdown by receiver D.K. Metcalf. The early score on the final play of the first quarter would be just the start to a busy afternoon by the second-year receiver that has quickly become one of Russell Wilson's favorite and most reliable targets this season. After a missed point-after by Seattle, the 49ers responded with a touchdown-scoring drive of their own that spanned 14-plays and over eight minutes long as rookie running back JaMycal Hasty scored his first career touchdown from 1-yard out to give his team a 7-6 lead. Not to be outdone, Wilson and the Seattle offense would march down the field and score on a second Metcalf touchdown in consecutive drives. With San Francisco trailing 13-7 at the half, the 49ers would find themselves in hot water and history against them as Seattle entered the game having won 59 out of their last 60 home games when leading by 4 or more points at the half. A stat that would not bode well for any visiting team, much less for a 49ers team that has struggled so mightily over the years at CenturyLink Field. 

Receiving the ball at the half and hoping to get off to a better start than they did in the first, the Niners would witness things go from bad to worse as they were held to a consecutive three and outs and were forced to punt as Seattle began to have their way. Scoring on a 2-yard touchdown by rookie running back DeeJay Dallas, the first of his career, Seattle would string together 17 unanswered-points as 49ers return man Dante Pettis fumbled on the ensuing kick return. Adding insult to injury, Jimmy Garoppolo would fall victim to a high-ankle sprain that would force him to leave the game, the same injury that caused him to miss two and a half weeks earlier in the year. One drive later, the 49ers would lose their Pro-Bowl tight-end George Kittle to a foot injury. With both Garoppolo and Kittle sidelined and off to the locker room, the 49ers would string together three consecutive touchdown-scoring drives in the fourth quarter with backup QB Nick Mullens under center. The first of which on a 1-yard score by running back Jerick McKinnon and the next two on touchdown passes from Mullens to Ross Dwelley and Brandon Aiyuk, respectively. Unfortunately, an unsuccessful on-side kick would allow Seattle to setup shop and score one final touchdown to put the game out of reach as the 49ers dug too big a hole to climb out of and lost 37-27. 

Russell Wilson who has been the league MVP up to this point and entered Sunday's game with 22 passing touchdowns on the year, tied for the most all-time through the first six games (Peyton Manning - 2013), added four more TD's and 261 yards in the win. Meanwhile, Garoppolo finished with zero touchdowns, one interception and 84 yards passing, to Mullens' pair of touchdowns and 238 yards in only one quarter. Seattle's D.K. Metcalf led all receivers with 12 receptions, 161 yards and 2 touchdowns. 49ers rookie receiver Brandon Aiyuk logged another nice game after hauling in 8 catches for 91 yards receiving and a touchdown. Neither team got much from their run game as DeeJay Dallas led all rushers with 41 yards and one touchdown on 18 carries. San Francisco saw JaMycal Hasty tote the ball 12 times for 29 yards and a touchdown and got another 20 yards on three carries from Tevin Coleman who returned from a 5-game absence due to a knee injury before having to depart Sunday's game with another knee injury. 

Week 9 Preview - The 49ers will have a shortened week to get things back on track as they return home to welcome the Green Bay Packers to Levi's Stadium on Thursday Night Football. A rematch of last year's NFC Championship, this one will feature a totally different 49ers team as they continue to deal with the injury bug after recently learning that both Kittle and Garoppolo will be out indefinitely. But that won't stop Aaron Rodgers and company from attempting to avenge two blowout losses at Levi's a season ago, including one that allowed San Francisco to punch their ticket to last year's Super Bowl. Having started the season 4-0, the Packers find themselves at 5-2 following losses in two of their last three games, including a loss at home to the lowly division rival Minnesota Vikings. For San Francisco, backup QB Nick Mullens will be thrusted into the starting role and will one again be given a chance to shine and prove himself in Jimmy G's absence. Something he did quite well in Weeks 2 and 3 and again in the fourth quarter on Sunday when the Garoppolo injury had occurred. 

UPDATE: Due to Covid-19 protocols, the 49ers will be without wide-receiver Kendrick Bourne in their Thursday Night game against Green Bay, as Bourne was initially reported to have tested positive for the Corona Virus. Teammates Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk and Trent Williams were also ruled out after coming into close contact with Bourne around the time of his positive test. However, it was later discovered that Bourne's positive test was a false positive, meaning he didn't actually contract the virus. Unfortunately, he along with Samuel, Aiyuk and Williams will still be ruled out with little to no time to prep for gameday, meaning San Francisco will be even more shorthanded come kickoff. 

Noteworthy - The lone transaction made by the 49ers before the November 3rd trade deadline, was a deal that sent linebacker Kwon Alexander and his expensive contract to the New Orleans Saints in exchange for linebacker Kiko Alonso and a conditional fifth-round pick. While the often injured Alexander served as the emotional leader and provided an energy boost to the 49ers defense during the team's Super Bowl run a season ago, his hefty contract and unreliable health were enough to will Niners GM John Lynch to ship him off once they were able to find a trade partner as the Saints take the remainder of his four-year, $54 Million dollar contract off of San Francisco's hands. Having missed the last three games, the 26-year old Alexander is nursing a high ankle sprain that New Orleans is confident he'll be able to recover from relatively quickly as they battle it out in the NFC South with their rival and Alexander's former team -- the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

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