By The San Francisco 49ers entered Thursday Night Football against division rivals the Seattle Seahawks needing a win after a stunning home loss to the Arizona Cardinals last time out.
And although there were some nervous moments, the 49ers were able to get back on track through their 36-24 victory at Lumen Field.
Having blown a 13-point lead against the Cardinals in Week 5, it seemed the 49ers were well on the way to banishing those demons as they raced into a 16-3 halftime lead before further extending that to 23-3.
But a 97-yard kickoff return touchdown from Seattle’s Laviska Shenault on the very next play cut that lead, while a one-yard touchdown run from Kenneth Walker made it a six-point game with just the fourth quarter remaining.
Unlike against Arizona, though, the 49ers did not wilt in the face of pressure. A nine-yard pass from Brock Purdy to George Kittle and a six-yard run from Kyle Juszczyk meant San Francisco remained in front of whatever comeback Seattle attempted to mount.
After disappointing losses to the Cardinals and Los Angeles Rams in recent weeks, head coach Kyle Shanahan said he had felt “sick” about those results.
But he said after Thursday’s victory that he was much more impressed with how his team bounced back against the Seahawks.
“We’ve been talking about how these two losses are a reminder of how the NFL works,” Shanahan told reporters. “I think we got a little spoiled in the way of just human nature, sometimes feeling too relaxed, and you can never feel too relaxed.
“I thought we played real well in the second half, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to win. That’s kind of how it works. We played well. They played well. They came back and made some plays, which made it tighter, and I was glad that our guys could fight through that, realize that games are really never over where you can just sit and chill in the fourth quarter. You’ve got to go beginning to the end, and we got that experience today.”
Purdy led the offense with a clean performance, completing 18 of his 28 throws for 255 yards and three touchdowns.
The 49ers’ running game appeared to take a blow midway through the second quarter when Jordan Mason – who was already standing in for Christian McCaffrey – left the game with a shoulder injury. Mason had rushed nine times for 73 yards at that point.
However, San Francisco didn’t miss a beat on the ground as rookie Isaac Guerendo stepped in, carrying the ball 10 times for 99 yards.
The defense, which was missing some key starters, also did an excellent job on Seattle’s offense, holding it to just 52 rushing yards and intercepting quarterback Geno Smith twice, including on the very first drive of the game.
It was a special game for 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel, who made NFL history during Thursday’s encounter.
The dual-threat offensive weapon, known for his receiving and rushing abilities, scored on a 76-yard touchdown catch midway through the second quarter. In doing so, he became the first wide receiver in NFL history with 20 touchdown receptions and 20 touchdown runs.
And afterwards, Samuel spoke about the importance of Thursday’s win as San Francisco improved to 3-3.
“It was definitely a must-win, but (I) kind of look at must-wins a little different,” Samuel, who finished with a game-high 102 receiving yards on three receptions as well as 15 rushing yards, told reporters.
“Must wins are like, if you lose, you’re done. So, at the end of the day, we treated it as a must-win for sure to get back on track.”
