2022 What We Learned from 49ers' win over Seahawks
The 49ers came from behind to beat the Seahawks on Sunday to clinch the NFC West. Here are some things we learned.
1- For the 49ers, who won the NFC West, Brock Purdy passes yet another test
One of the best play-callers in the NFL when in peak form is Kyle Shanahan. Purdy appears to be the real deal based on what we've observed over the last 11 days. These are not incompatible. Yes, the majority of Purdy's passes were made to wide-open receivers, but he is still accurate, even in difficult situations. That's what matters, and it's what enabled San Francisco to win the NFC West on Thursday night. Purdy got out to a fast start, completing his first 11 passes (with another erased by penalty during that streak).
The touchdown pass to George Kittle was a Purdy gem, fake two screens before launching the ball on a delay route to the waiting tight end, who completed the 28-yard score on his own. A number of Purdy's passes were intercepted in the first half, including one late in the second quarter that he threw right into the Seahawks' Quandre Diggs' chest. However, Purdy got back on course, handled a couple challenging situations (perhaps where some rookie quarterbacks could start to melt a little bit), and played another solid game overall. He has completed approximately 67% of his passes while throwing for six touchdowns and one interception through three (almost full) games.
2- Not all of the Seahawks' woes can be attributed on Geno Smith
There were many factors at play in Smith's game against the 49ers, and let's face it: These problems had been simmering for some time. Although the Seahawks' defense mostly succeeded in keeping them in the game, the offense only managed to kick two field goals. The offensive line of the Seahawks allowed nine QB hits and three sacks, which should have been more. Although he had to leave the field with a limp at one point, Kenneth Walker gave the backfield a little energy but it was obvious he wasn't totally healthy.
The mistake made by Travis Homer was fatal. DK Metcalf only made seven catches and was assessed penalties of 15 and 10 yards. Smith didn't play his best, as has been the case lately. But he was by no means the cause of Seattle's defeat. He took some direct hits on the 49ers while still trying to persuade his teammates to make a last-ditch defense, which they eventually did. You can tell how much Smith's teammates appreciate him by the way the Seahawks sideline reacted when Talanoa Hufanga of the 49ers struck Smith out of bounds. If the Seahawks want to secure a wild-card place, they now need to assist him a little bit more.
3- The 49ers see a significant improvement when George Kittle is healthy
Kittle's absence from the 49ers game in the first meeting between the two teams was fortunate for Seattle, but Thursday was his comeback. In order to help the 49ers open up the game, Kittle stung the Seahawks for two big scores of 28 and 54 yards, all of which he was wide open for. His four receptions for 93 yards at the end of the contest marked his highest yardage total since Week 7. Kittle's health is virtually always in question.
Since his undergraduate days, he has been severely beaten and plays a tough kind of football. However, Kittle is almost as excellent as any tight end in the game, possibly better than Travis Kelce, when he is available and operating at close to full capacity. Kittle is a complete player and a fantastic fit for this style because he is excellent at blocking as well. Even though Purdy does very well, the important point is that the two look excellent together and that Kittle makes the 49ers a much more dangerous squad overall.
4- The Seahawks will regret their early lost chances
Despite being outplayed early on, the Seahawks only found themselves behind 7-3 by the end of the second quarter. At that point, a nasty combination of plays made Seattle's chances of mounting a comeback even more difficult. The first was Diggs' intercepted pass that he failed to catch even though there was space for him to go for a return. The second occurred five plays later when Seahawks running back Travis Homer fumbled close to midfield. The 49ers recovered the ball and scored a touchdown after recovering the ball.
When the 49ers gained their opening possession of the second half and immediately advanced down the field with it, that loomed enormous. What might have been a tight game quickly became an 18-point deficit for the home squad. And if Deommodore Lenoir's attempted pick-six on the following series hadn't been wiped off the board, things might have been worse.
5- Calls for roughing-the-passer are still having difficulties
Tom Brady was tackled by Grady Jarrett. Derek Carr was tackled by Chris Jones. Justin Herbert was tackled by Jaelen Phillips. For extremely dubious roughing calls, everyone was eliminated. These factors played a part in this becoming a contentious topic at the most recent owners' meeting, where it was discussed whether or not roughing the passer should be subject to review. The most recent contentious incident occurred on Thursday when Geno Smith was fired by Nick Bosa. and was then assessed a 15-yard penalty for what seemed to be simple football play.
The officials' explanation that Bosa knocked Smith to the ground may be acceptable, but you could see Bosa release his left arm as he was falling. What else is there for Bosa to do in that circumstance? However, it's important to note that overall, fewer roughing calls have been made this season compared to last. In the first 208 games of this season, 72 of them were called (one every 2.9 games) through Week 14. In 278 games last season, there were 154 roughing calls in total, or one every 1.8 games. As a result, they are less common but occasionally still cause controversy, and we've had enough significant ones that the regulation may eventually alter.
Next Gen stat of the game:
On his second wide-open touchdown catch of the day on Thursday, George Kittle had 8.8 yards of separation as the pass came in on his 54-yard TD score (5-plus yards of separation). Kittle gained 23 of those yards after the catch, exceeding expectations by 11 yards. Only 14.7% of the time did the play result in a touchdown.
NFL Research:
Thursday marked Christian McCaffrey's third straight game with a touchdown, the first time he's accomplished it since his injury-shortened 2020 season, when he scored two TDs in each of his three games.