Week 5 - No love would be lost between two hated NFC West foes as the (4-0) San Francisco 49ers and (3-1) Seattle Seahawks added the latest chapter to their heated rivalry with a thriller that came down to the wire. Going into their week 5 match-up with the reigning champion Seahawks, the one knock on the Niners among critics in and around the league was that they had yet to face a true road challenge despite claiming a dominant win on the other side of the globe in Australia against a heavy Super Bowl favorite Rams team. Despite the naysayers, they would take that challenge head on in this one with revenge on their mind after being trounced by Seattle back in January by a final score of 41-6. That loss would end San Francisco's season and propel the Seahawks into the NFC Championship where they would go on to advance to the Super Bowl.
With zero touchdowns scored in their last two meetings against Seattle's vaunted defense, Brock Purdy and company refused to make it a threepeat by scoring the game's first touchdown early on thanks to the first of many big plays by the San Francisco defense. After a three and out punt by the 49er offense on the game's opening possession, San Francisco's Renardo Green intercepted Sam Darnold to set his team up inside the red zone. After a big third down conversion to receiver Mike Evans, quarterback Brock Purdy would award Evans one play later with a 2-yard strike for a touchdown. Playing with two broken ribs suffered in week 3, Evans would make his stamp on the game all afternoon long with big plays. Forcing a three and out punt on Seattle's ensuing possession, the 49ers had their opponent right where they wanted them until a major gaffe by return man Jacob Cowing who failed to signal for a fair-catch and was blown up on the play, resulting in a fumble recovery by Seattle. And as expected, the Seahawks would take advantage of the mistake with a game-tying touchdown several plays later.
As Seattle took a 10-7 lead to open the second quarter, the 49er defense forced a turnover of their own and pounced on Emanuel Wilson's fumble created by Fred Warner. Christian McCaffrey would cash in on the takeaway one play later with an 11-yard rushing touchdown. With San Francisco leading the game 14-13 following another Jason Myers field goal, it appeared both teams would be heading into the half with a 1-point game. However, Seattle had other plans and instead of milking the clock, they ran a play with 18-seconds remaining and paid the price as rookie defensive-lineman Gracen Halton who had himself a game, stripped backup running back George Holani of the ball and recovered the fumble inside the end zone for a touchdown. The play would spell disaster for Seattle and spring San Francisco ahead with an 8-point lead at halftime. With another half of football to go, there would be plenty of fireworks in the first half alone, including a scuffle that broke out along the Seattle sideline following a late-hit penalty called on 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw who pushed Darnold out of bounds. Greenlaw would be surrounded by a number of Seahawks including linebacker Ernest Jones IV who got in the face of Greenlaw and baited him into throwing a headbutt which Greenlaw would be ejected for.
With another half of football to be played and already so much having taken place, the 49ers would open the second half the same way they did the first -- with Renardo Green intercepting Sam Darnold for the second time on the afternoon. In an attempt to add to their lead, the 49ers would suffer a missed field goal as Eddy Pineiro failed to connect on his 52-yard attempt. Seattle would inch closer with a successful field goal on the other end and would eventually take the lead as Brock Purdy threw a rare interception, only his second of the season. The 49ers would pay for their mistake several plays later as Darnold hit Jaxson Smith-Njigba who made a dash for the go-ahead 16-yard touchdown, despite having suffered an ankle injury earlier. San Francisco's string of unfortunate events would continue just two plays into their ensuing drive when Deebo Samuel took a hand-off and went down with a non-contact injury, fumbling the ball in the process. Seattle would again benefit from the costly turnover with a field goal to add to their lead, 26-21.
Trailing by five entering the fourth quarter, it was there where Kyle Shanahan's offense would orchestrate the longest drive of the game for either team, marching 95-yards on 18-plays and eating up seven minutes off the clock. Capping off the long methodical drive, Brock Purdy hit his newest target in receiver Brandin Cooks for the 7-yard touchdown to jump back ahead. Electing to go for two, Purdy connected in the end zone with Mike Evans who hauled in the successful two-point conversion to give his team a 29-26 lead. Seattle would eventually tie the game one possession later with Jason Myers remaining perfect with his fifth field goal on the day. Having dealt with some ups and downs in the early part of the season, Niners kicker Eddy Pineiro would answer the call near the two-minute warning, drilling a go-ahead 44-yard field goal to put his team back on top in the final minutes. Forcing Seattle to make a last-ditch effort and pull off a comeback, the Seahawks got a big gain on first down on a 35-yard pass from Darnold to JSN, setting them up at midfield. But after three consecutive incompletions, the Seattle offense stared down a 4th and 10 call that would literally come down to inches as receiver Cooper Kupp shook off a tackle and made a diving attempt to convert the first down before being pushed out of bounds and marked just shy of the marker. The play would go to review but the call would stand as San Francisco held on for the 32-29 win in dramatic fashion.
49ers QB Brock Purdy who had been kept on his feet thru the first four weeks without taking a single sack, was brought down three times on Sunday, but came thru in the end when his team needed him most, throwing for 189 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception in the win. What would become known as the Mike Evans show, the banged-up receiver hauled in a game-high 7 receptions for 113 yards and a touchdown. Meanwhile, San Francisco's defense answered the call with 5 sacks on the afternoon, a bounce back performance from their quiet 0 sack performance against Denver the week prior. Sam Darnold threw for 195 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions for Seattle, with JSN being the only Seahawks receiver to tally more than 25 yards receiving, totaling 102 and a touchdown. After a combined 26-points scored in their three games played against Seattle a season ago, San Francisco was able to explode for 32-points Sunday despite being without several of their top players on the defensive-line and in the receiving department. The game would prove to be a gritty bout that was far from pretty for either team as a combined seven turnovers were committed.
The 49ers improved to 5-0 on the season and have now claimed wins in the NFC Western Division over all three teams, an exceptional start for a team that is still banged up when looking at their depth-chart. San Francisco became just the second team in NFL history to start a season 5-0 with three wins coming against teams that had 12 or more wins the previous year (Rams, Broncos, Seahawks).
Week 6 Preview: The (5-0) 49ers will return home in Week 6, playing host to the (1-3-1) Washington Commanders on Monday Night Football. Coming off a rare tie against the New York Giants after a complete debacle in overtime where Washington failed to get the snap off in an attempt to setup a potential game-winning field goal, the Commanders may be playing for head coach Dan Quinn's job on Monday. Though they've already experienced a rollercoaster season up to this point that featured a gruesome elbow injury suffered by franchise quarterback Jayden Daniels in Week 2 and an upset win over Seattle in Week 3 with their backup quarterback, the Commander are not to be taken lightly. Meanwhile, the 49ers will be taking the field without both Deebo Samuel who is expected to miss several weeks with a hamstring injury and Dre Greenlaw who is serving a one game suspension without pay for his actions in the scuffle with Seattle's bench. San Francisco will attempt to keep their unbeaten streak alive and continue to mount a lead in the NFC Western Division standings after Seattle, Los Angeles and Arizona all walked away from Week 5 with losses added to their respective records.
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