Week 12 - Facing off with their hated rivals from the pacific northwest for the first time this season, the (7-3) San Francisco 49ers would look to continue their recent success against the (6-4) Seattle Seahawks in a Thursday night showdown on Thanksgiving. Rallying around the gridiron together instead of the dinner table, there would be no such thing as sharing between these two bitter foes come kickoff. Looking to distance themselves from Seattle in the NFC Western Division standings, San Francisco, donning their throwback white uniforms, would try to make it four straight wins over Pete Carroll's Seahawks following a sweep in all three meetings a season ago, including a playoff win in the NFC's Wild Card round.
Things would get off to a great start for quarterback Brock Purdy, the reigning NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his Week 11 performance against Tampa Bay, and the 49ers who opened the game with the ball and marched it 71-yards on 11-plays, ending in a 2-yard touchdown run by Deebo Samuel. Although the Seahawks would answer on their ensuing possession with a field goal thanks to a 64-yard kick return by D'Wayne Eskridge, the Seattle offense was virtually shutout by the 49er defense throughout the first half. San Francisco jumped out to a 14-3 lead to start the second quarter when running back and scoring machine Christian McCaffrey punched in a 1-yard rushing touchdown, kickstarting a busy night for the all-time record holder for the most consecutive games with a touchdown. The San Francisco defense would put their first stamp on the game by forcing the first turnover of the night when cornerback Ambry Thomas jumped in front of Geno Smith's pass intended for receiver Tyler Lockett. The 49ers would not be able to do anything with the takeaway and were instead held to a three and out punt, but they would redeem themselves one possession later.
McCaffrey would continue to make history and etch his name into the record books, this time setting a 49ers franchise single-season record with his 11th rushing touchdown on the season after an 8-yard score. Previously, six players shared the team record of 10 rushing touchdowns in a season: Frank Gore (2009), Derek Loville (1995), Ricky Waters (1993), Billy Kilmer (1961), J.D. Smith (1959) and Joe Perry (1953). McCaffrey's second touchdown of the night would also give him 16 total TD's on the year, the most by a running back in a single season in franchise history. The 49ers would add to their lead again with a Jake Moody field goal thanks to another Seattle turnover, this time forced by San Francisco's special-teams unit, capitalizing on a muffed punt that resulted in a fumble recovery by the Niners and special-teams stud Oren Burks. Unfortunately, Burks who would be injured on the play with what was later confirmed to be a torn biceps that will require surgery and likely cause him to miss the rest of the season. Seattle would attempt to inch closer before the end of the half with a 53-yard field goal attempt by kicker Jason Myers who missed wide right as time expired.
In no way did the 49ers play a perfect game in any facet, but the defense came pretty darn close as Seattle's offense was held out of the end zone all night long. The Seahawks did receive a sliver of hope early in the second half when their defense forced a turnover. Following a punt by Seattle on the opening-drive to start the second half, Purdy and the 49ers found themselves pinned deep inside their own territory at the 4 yard line. After an incomplete pass on first down, Purdy was picked off for his first career pick-six after an errant pass skipped off the hands of McCaffrey and into a defender as linebacker Jordyn Brooks recorded his first career interception and took it in for an easy score. Appearing to take their foot off the gas pedal, the 49ers were forced to punt on each of their next two possessions, but Seattle would only manage a field goal out of it, cutting San Francisco's lead to 24-13. Allowing Seattle to hang around until midway into the fourth quarter, the 49ers would end any chance of a rally by the Seahawks as Purdy barreled down and put the game out of reach with an absolute dime of a touchdown pass to receiver Brandon Aiyuk who made the grab in between four defenders for the 28-yard score.
Trailing 31-13 with under 8-minutes remaining, Seattle's last-ditch effort at a comeback would end on a turnover on downs as the Niners shutdown the Seahawks offense on three consecutive plays when they needed only 1-yard. From there, San Francisco was able to milk the clock on a pair of big first down plays by backup running back Elijah Mitchell and receiver Ray-Ray McCloud who sealed the win with a dagger 23-yard reception on 3rd and 3 after the two-minute warning, as the 49ers celebrated at midfield with a Thanksgiving feast supplied by the NBC crew. San Francisco's defense tallied a season-high six sacks on the night, creating pressure virtually all night long and making things difficult for Seattle QB Geno Smith who was questionable throughout the week to even start in Thursday's game with a bruised triceps suffered in the Seahawks' Week 11 loss to the Los Angeles Rams a week earlier. 49ers QB Brock Purdy won't be taking home NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors for a second consecutive week, but he did manage to record a solid road outing under the bright lights in a hostile environment, completing 21 of 30 passes for 209 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception, compared to Geno Smith's 180 yards passing, 0 touchdowns and 1 interception on 18 of 27 passes.
Niners running back Christian McCaffrey was once again the team's bell cow on offense, rushing for 114 yards and 2 TD's on 19 carries to go along with another 25 yards receiving on 5 receptions. Deebo Samuel led all receivers with 7 receptions for a game-high 79 receiving yards and a rushing touchdown. Right behind him was Brandon Aiyuk who hauled in two receptions for 50 yards and a score, giving him 5 touchdowns on the season, making him the first 49ers receiver to achieve 5+ TDs in each of his first four NFL seasons. Aiyuk joined Hall of Famers Jerry Rice and Terrell Owens as the only 49ers wide receivers in the past 40 seasons to have five or more receiving TDs in four straight seasons. Back to the defense, defensive-end Nick Bosa recorded another pair of sacks in the win, giving him three straight games with 1.5+ sacks, the longest streak for a 49er since 2012 (Aldon Smith, 4). Enjoying their latest acquisition, the San Francisco defense has now feasted on the opposing quarterbacks to the tune of 15 sacks in their last 3 games since acquiring defensive-end Chase Young at the trade deadline from Washington. The 49ers have now won four straight against their rivals from up north dating back to last season, outscoring them by a combined score of 120-56.
Week 13 Preview: Pulling 2 full games ahead of Seattle in the division standings and into the NFC's No. 2 spot after their win coupled with a Detroit loss earlier on Thanksgiving morning to open the busy slate of games, the 49ers will have a chance to pull closer to the NFC's top seed in their next bout. With a few extra days of rest following the Thursday night game and the holiday, the (8-3) 49ers will now direct their attention to the (10-1) Philadelphia Eagles in one of the most highly anticipated match-ups on the NFL's 2023 calendar. In what will be a rematch of last year's NFC Championship, the meeting will signify a chance at redemption for one Brock Purdy, as the 49ers QB suffered a complete tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing arm on San Francisco's first drive, kicking him out of the game and into a six month recovery that required surgery. The 49ers eventually lost 31-7 to the Eagles who punched their ticket to the Super Bowl where they would go on to lose to the Kansas City Chiefs, 38-35. Proving to be a force again this year and likely to be in the thick of it again come playoff time, the Eagles exacted revenge against the Chiefs just a week ago on the road at Arrowhead, and are coming off a thrilling 37-34 overtime win against the Buffalo Bills at home in the rain. Philly QB Jalen Hurts threw for 200 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception in the win, adding another 65 yards and 2 touchdowns on the ground, including the walk-off score in OT. Hopefully both the football and weather gods are on the side of San Francisco this time around in what should be a tough blow for blow match-up between NFC heavyweights.
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