Seahawks

Whatever was going through Jimmie Ward's mind right before halftime, it was the wrong thought. Ward, a San Francisco 49ers' defensive back, had one of the ...

Purdy's three second-half touchdowns energized the Niners' offense as the defense stifled the Seahawks.

[DK Metcalf](https://www.espn.com/nfl/player/_/id/4047650/dk-metcalf) in the second quarter for a 50-yard touchdown that gave Seattle a lead. The 49ers finished the game with 181 yards after the catch, their third most in a game this season. That made for a tough matchup against a 49ers offense that has led the NFL in YAC for the past six seasons, and it went about as poorly for Seattle as you'd expect. Pivotal play: Late in the third quarter, the Seahawks were driving for what might have been the go-ahead touchdown or at least a field goal to cut the 49ers' lead to three points. They weren't even supposed to be in the playoffs in the first place after trading quarterback But the 49ers just sent them into the offseason with another reminder that the Seahawks will need to take a big step forward before they can catch back up to the new bully on the NFC West block. They've got a promising young core and a boatload of 2023 draft capital, including the fifth overall pick via the Wilson trade. So much for the inclement weather that might have been an equalizer for Seattle by slowing down the 49ers and their run-after-the-catch playmakers. But he made his first attempt count on the second possession, racing 68 yards off the left side for the third-longest rush of his career. The NFC wild-card win was the 11th in a row for the 49ers, who will face an opponent to be determined in next weekend's divisional round. So much for the Seahawks getting Purdy to buckle under the pressure of his first playoff start. Whatever was affecting Purdy early vanished with a quick stop in the locker room at halftime.

The voices of Seattle Sports weigh in on the Seahawks' 41-23 loss to the 49ers that ends their season in the wild card round of the playoffs.

There was simply no margin for error, and a 49ers team that led the NFL with a plus-13 turnover margin this season came away with the biggest one of the game. the 49ers became the 49ers in the second half. The bottom line is that the 49ers are just a better team right now and that’s what we saw in the second half of this game. Everything they struggled with in the first two matchups against the 49ers was handled well. That proved to be the decisive blow in a quarter where they only touched the ball once. Rookie running back Kenneth Walker III was healthy for the first time against the 49ers this season, and he made an immediate impact in the first half with the Seahawks carving out 82 yards rushing on 20 carries. The Hawks were projected by just about everybody in the football world to be a 4-6 win team that was taking a step back before moving forward. But for the first time in a long while, Seattle is entering the offseason with the capital to close the gap. Yes, this Niners team makes it difficult by pressuring you in every phase of the game. Two turnovers and a brutal pair of penalties that led to a crucial three-and-out. This is a team that struggled with tackling and play from the front seven through a good portion of the season, and that weakness showed up again in their Wild Card loss. Over the coming months there will be plenty of talk to be had and important decisions to be made.

The San Francisco 49ers defeated the Seattle Seahawks, 41-23, on Saturday to kick off Super Wild Card Weekend and advance to the NFC Divisional Round.

[Charles Cross](https://www.nfl.com/players/charles-cross-2/)and [Abraham Lucas](https://www.nfl.com/players/abraham-lucas/)played well against a fierce 49ers pass rush. On the opening defensive possession of the second half, defensive end [Charles Omenihu](https://www.nfl.com/players/charles-omenihu/) [forced a fumble](https://www.nfl.com/videos/nick-bosa-recovers-charles-omenihu-s-crucial-strip-sack-deep-in-49ers-territory). [Nick Bosa](https://www.nfl.com/players/nick-bosa/)recovered, and the route was on. When he got a shot, he took it, hitting [DK Metcalf](https://www.nfl.com/players/d-k-metcalf/)in stride on a [50-yard touchdown](https://www.nfl.com/videos/can-t-miss-play-geno-smith-drops-50-yard-td-dime-into-dk-metcalf-s-bucket)that gave Seattle a first-half lead. [Jimmie Ward](https://www.nfl.com/players/jimmie-ward/)on a scrambling Geno Smith to close the half gave Seattle a free three points, and the Niners trailed at halftime. Not a bad start for the [262nd pick in the draft](https://www.nfl.com/news/mr-irrelevant-49ers-select-iowa-st-qb-brock-purdy-to-end-2022-nfl-draft). The NFL isn't a place for consolation prizes, but the Seahawks even making the tournament in a year that was supposed to be a rebuild, with so many young players playing key roles, is a credit to Pete Carroll's crew. [Christian McCaffrey](https://www.nfl.com/players/christian-mccaffrey/)once again proved his worth, scampering for 119 yards on 15 carries, including a massive [68-yard gallop](https://www.nfl.com/videos/can-t-miss-play-christian-mccaffrey-enters-hyperspeed-on-longest-run-of-playoff-)in the first half, and adding a TD catch. [Geno Smith](https://www.nfl.com/players/geno-smith/)played solid vs. The second-half struggles on both sides of the ball sunk Seattle, but Smith played well enough on balance to show why the Seahawks [want to keep him in 2023](https://www.nfl.com/news/seahawks-qb-geno-smith-expected-to-return-in-2023). The star wideout blew the game open with a [74-yard fourth-quarter TD](https://www.nfl.com/videos/can-t-miss-play-deebo-samuel-uses-all-of-his-turbo-on-74-yard-td-catch-and-run)in which he screamed down the field for 67 yards after the catch. Purdy showed improvisation when the play breaks down that [Jimmy Garoppolo](https://www.nfl.com/players/jimmy-garoppolo/)simply doesn't.

But something flipped at halftime, and in the second half Purdy completed 9 of 11 passes for 185 yards and two touchdowns and his passer rating was a perfect ...

On offense, the 49ers scored 41 points which is extremely impressive, and in the second half definitely looked like a unit that can carry the 49ers to a Super Bowl victory. Then the Seahawks punched them in the mouth. Today it looked like the 49ers expected the Seahawks to fold immediately. Then Metcalf beat him for a 50-yard touchdown catch, and Ward played passively the rest of the game. Then Samuel turned it up, and in the second half he caught a pass in the flat and exploded through the Seahawks defense for a 74-yard touchdown. And when he was on the field, the Seahawks largely neutralized him, as he finished the game with no sacks or quarterback hits, although he did recover a fumble which Charles Omenihu forced. Frankly, the 49ers defense hasn't played well in about a month, and today they showed upcoming opponents lots of ways to attack them. Deommodore Lenoir came into the game with a target on his back, but he played surprisingly well -- he intercepted a pass and broke up another. Christian McCaffrey caught a touchdown pass in the red zone and broke off a beautiful 68-yard run. Deebo Samuel looked sluggish the first half until a Seahawks defender yanked his ankle after a play and seemingly tried to injure him. But something flipped at halftime, and in the second half Purdy completed 9 of 11 passes for 185 yards and two touchdowns and his passer rating was a perfect 158.3. He seemed nervous early as he missed his first pass wildly and finished the first half with 9 completions on 19 passes and a passer rating of 91.3.

The 49ers' wild-card playoff win over coach Pete Carroll and the Seahawks was impressive in more ways than one.

The Seahawks won comfortably, 26-6. In 2014, Seattle again faced New Orleans, this time in the NFC Divisional Round. Once the dust settled, Seattle walked away with a 31-17 win. Despite unnecessarily being down to start the third quarter, San Francisco remained poised for the rest of the game, scoring 25 total points to Seattle's six -- which came in the waning moments of the fourth quarter. However, on first-and-10, Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith got free from San Francisco's defense and slid to end the play. Jason Myers then successfully kicked a go-ahead, 56-yard field goal to push Seattle ahead 17-16.