SANTA CLARA – Just under three minutes remained in the 49ers’ 28-16 victory Sunday when a melee broke out, befitting of their rivalry with the frustrated and overwhelmed Seattle Seahawks.
Linebacker Fred Warner had made an acrobatic interception, Seahawks receiver D.K. Metcalf repeatedly grabbed Warner’s facemask in response, and cornerback Deommodore Lenoir rushed to the scene with a haymaker.
Well, at least no security chief on the sideline was involved in this scuffle, unlike last Sunday’s fracas in Philadelphia that got 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw ejected and the Eagles’ bodyguard bounced. After this game’s fight to the finish, Metcalf and Lenoir got booted for their actions.
Say this about the first-place 49ers, they sure know how to get under opponents’ skin while clocking them into submission. The 49ers (10-3) stretched their NFC West lead to four games, with four regular-season games remaining. Their cadre of offensive stars pumped out hefty numbers along the way in this one.
“We’ve got so many guys who can get such big plays on little plays,” coach Kyle Shanahan said.
Such as:
— Deebo Samuel scored two touchdowns and 149 receiving yards, after last Sunday’s touchdown hat trick. Best year ever? “It’s been very good. It’s not done yet. Lot more football to play,” Shanahan said. “We’ll see at the end of the year. Deebo came into the season ready to go.”
— NFL rushing leader Christian McCaffrey produced his fifth 100-yard rushing game this season, with a 72-yard run on the game’s first snap highlighting his 145-yard output.
— Brandon Aiyuk had his fifth 100-yard receiving game this season (126 yards, six catches). That put him over the 1,000-yard mark in back-to-back seasons.
— George Kittle scored on a 44-yard catch-and-run to make it a two-score lead in the fourth quarter.
— Last but not least, Brock Purdy added to his MVP candidacy with a career-high 368 passing yards, two touchdowns and a 19-of-27 passing line for a 70.4% completion rate and 122.1 passer rating. This is his seventh game in a row reaching the 70% mark, tying Drew Brees and Sam Bradford for the second-longest streak in NFL history, one shy of Joe Montana’s record in 1989.
The 49ers’ win streak reached five, matching their season-opening spree. They next play at the last-place Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, while the Seahawks (6-7) look to snap a four-game skid next Monday night when they host the Eagles.
Along the way, four defenders sustain injuries: cornerback Charvarius Ward (groin); defensive tackle Javon Hargrave (hamstring), and, linebackers Dre Greenlaw (hip) and Oren Burks (knee). Greenlaw returned in the fourth quarter, while the others remained out.
Ward’s first-series exit threatened to truly hinder the secondary, and Seahawks wide receiver D.K. Metcalf had a 31-yard touchdown catch against Ambry Thomas shortly after Ward’s exit.
“To lose him early in game was stressful, especially when they hit a go-route for the touchdown. That was about it after that,” Shanahan said.
The 49ers’ defense still had plenty of playmakers. Nick Bosa’s ninth sack of the season, Ji’Ayir Brown’s second interception in as many home games, and other contributions were enough to ensure Drew Lock would not win as the Seahawks’ starter in place of Geno Smith, a game-time scratch because of a groin injury.
A back-and-forth affair wasn’t exactly expected, but that’s what ensued, only 17 days after the 49ers’ 31-13 win in Seattle on Thanksgiving.
Back-to-back plays in the fourth quarter tucked in the 49ers’ win: Kittle’s third touchdown in five games, then Brown’s interception of a deep shot by Lock.
Samuel’s second touchdown put the 49ers up 21-10 late in the third quarter, and it came on a 1-yard run after his 13-yard reception on third-and-6. Purdy livened up a midgame lull by opening the drive with a 45-yard arrow to Aiyuk.
The Seahawks answered with a quick touchdown drive, with Lock’s lookie-loo fake screen yielding a 25-yard touchdown catch by Colby Parkinson, 24 seconds before halftime. Chase Young’s sack on Seattle’s two-point conversion attempt kept the 49ers’ lead at 21-16.
Such a tight affair seemed incomprehensible the way this started.
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On the first snap, McCaffrey took a toss left, then cut back inside, raced 72 yards toward the goal line, and was denied a touchdown by linebacker Boye Mafe. Jordan Mason stepped in for McCaffrey on the next snap, then cut back to follow center Jake Brendel’s block across the goal line for a 3-yard touchdown run and a 7-0 lead only 57 seconds into the game.
The Seahawks answered that grand opening with a touchdown drive of their own, capped by Metcalf’s 31-yard grab against Thomas at the goal line only 2:16 into the game after Ward went down.
The 49ers regained the lead, 14-10, when Samuel zipped past safety Jamal Adams and hauled in a 54-yard touchdown reception 8:18 before halftime. It was the counterstrike Purdy needed, after being sacked two plays earlier and intercepted the previous series on a pass that deflected off Aiyuk’s hands.
Lock completed 22-of-31 for 269 yards in place of Smith, who quarterbacked the Seahawks’ previous four losses to the 49ers. Purdy improved to 4-0 against the Seahawks.
The Seahawks managed 70 rushing yards, but that included back-to-back 23-yard runs from Zach Charbonnet.
“There were some things that were a little sloppy and we were inconsistent. But we made a ton of plays,” Shanahan said. “It wasn’t the perfect football game but the goal was to get a win and we did it.”
