The 49ers did not record another blowout victory, but they were in control throughout their 28-16 win over the Seahawks on Sunday at Levi’s Stadium, their second win over Seattle in three weeks.
The victory all but clinches the NFC West for San Francisco, which is now four games ahead of Seattle and the Los Angeles Rams in the division. A loss by the Packers on Monday night would guarantee a playoff spot for the 49ers with a month left in the regular season.
Brock Purdy completed 19-of-27 passes for 368 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Deebo Samuel had seven catches for 149 yards and a score, also finding the end zone on a 1-yard rush while Brandon Aiyuk had 126 yards on six receptions.
Christian McCaffrey ran 16 times for 145 yards, including a 72-yarder on the first snap of the game, but finished without a touchdown for just the second time since joining the 49ers last October.
Here’s what the Niners had to say after the win:
On the win:
Getting a win. I thought there were some things that were a little sloppy, just a little inconsistent throughout the day but guys made a ton of plays, got enough points and the two turnovers … Wasn’t perfect football by any means, but the goal is to get a win and we found a way to do it.
On if he’s tempted to run left always:
No, it’s not always like that because sometimes I don’t know whether it’s going to bounce or cut back, so sometimes when we go to the right, it cuts back to the left, too.
On big plays:
We’ve got so many guys who can get such big plays on little plays. We went for a big play early in the game, tried to get George and BA down the middle and the two hook defenders were deep and the safety. It was one of my favorite plays by Brock on the day because he just went to a checkdown which was the right answer and Deebo is a five-yard checkdown and he got 30 on it.
On big plays:
Got a lot of explosive guys and when you’re not just one-dimensional in that way, you hope it’s a matter of time, just how it plays out.
On Deebo Samuel
I thought he was looking really good those first couple of weeks. Didn’t have all the stats to show it, but there was just the way the ball went. But he was really ready to go and then he had a huge setback with his injuries, which took him a while to get back from and when he did, it still took some time to get back in football shape. Started a few weeks ago — you could see it and I think he’s at the top of his game right now.
On Wishnowsky’s fake punt:
I don’t know if he thought it was gonna get blocked or if he bobbled the snap there or he just had a glitch, but it was a good one because when he paused and saw the edge, it was obviously a clean look and he didn’t hesitate for it. I was just told he hit over 20 miles per hour on it, so that’s pretty cool.
On Aiyuk reaching 1,000 yards:
I think BA has come a long way in terms of (how) he gets so amped up for the games and sometimes he won’t get a ball for a little bit and then he gets a lead and sometimes it happens early but just BA this year, it doesn’t matter what, he plays the same way down in and down out.
On Ji’Ayir Brown:
He got his opportunity. As we stated a month ago, he’s been ready for his opportunity, the way he’s been handling everything, and that’s why just the more experience he gets, the better he gets.
On whether he’s faster this year:
I wouldn’t say I’m faster, it’s just like when I’m in the open field, I think I just got another gear that people haven’t seen.
On deep balls:
As we worked that play at practice, that was like the last option to be thrown and so, Brock just being the quarterback he is, whenever he sees something, he’s going to let it go. As you can see, I really wasn’t running like 100 miles per hour, but once I looked back and seen Brock getting ready to cock and throw it, I knew I had to speed up.
On sharing moments at games with his young son:
It means everything. Ever since I had him, I can say the level of play and the focus and determination I have for this game has went to another level because not only am I playing for me, I’m playing for my family.
On whether there’s friendly competition with Aiyuk:
It ain’t no friendly competition at all. At the end of the day, we want to see it and we just push each other to be better day in and day out.
On the scuffle with Metcalfe:
Yeah, I don’t know what happened, man. I told him he tackles really well and for some reason he didn’t like that and I guess what happened happened. It’s unfortunate, man, he gotta learn to keep his composure but happy we came out with the dub.
On Deebo Samuel:
The level he’s playing right now is unbelievable and we need it from him. I mean he’s such a big-time game changer playmaker for us.
On the defense:
It didn’t feel like our best day but at the end of the day, we did what was required to win the game.
On whether this was a grimy win:
I think there were some moments out there where Seattle could have come back into the game at any point. They had things going for them and we had guys go down in crucial moments of the game, loosing Mooney on that first drive was big. And guys stepping up at times that we needed them to.
On running behind Trent Williams:
It’s a lot of fun.
On his long run
Amazing blocking. I gotta score there, but that was a great job by those guys up front all day.
On his long run and Mason’s score:
If you don’t want to get taken out after a long one, you got to score. They’re trying to save your breath and make sure you’re good to go, so I get it, but yeah.
On Purdy
He’s the same guy every day. He’s a silent assassin but, you know, competitive. And yeah, he’s growing, but he’s also playing at such a high level all the time that if he just continues to be him, we’re in the right spot.
On the offense breaking long plays:
It’s a testament to the coaches. Those guys work so hard to dial the plays up every week, you know, kind of keeping it fresh. We learn new playbooks every single week and it’s challenging but you got a group of guys who are bought in, obviously have a great playcaller who notices our tendencies and fixes those and runs plays off of what we’ve run in the past.
On the big-play ability:
I’m a part of a special group, you know. Any one of our guys, any one of our eligibles, man, you get the ball in your hands and then they go do the rest.
On Deebo:
I feel like he’s just more intent with the little things. And then obviously like his effort and stuff when he’s not getting the ball, carrying out fakes and stuff to open up Christian or play-action pass, he’s doing it right.
On whether he’s more comfortable with deep balls:
I feel like we’ve always had shots within plays. The defense gives us a look and we take it. So, was I afraid to go deep or anything like that last year, I don’t think so. This year, I feel like just more aware of what our offense is and where guys are supposed to be and if a defense gives us a look, I’m more ready for it.
On expecting big plays:
We have playmakers across the board. So if you throw outside zone to Christian, he can take it 70. You can throw a checkdown to Deebo Samuel and he’ll take it 50. So that’s how we do look at it. We have guys across the board that can make anything happen at any time.
On the deep ball to Deebo:
He wasn’t necessarily like the No. 1 guy in the route was actually drawn, but the way Jamal Adames came down, I was like this could be a big one. So I let it rip and let Deebo get under it.
On whether they’re trying to get the No. 1 seed:
If we handle business and take it one week at a time, obviously who doesn’t want to play as the first seed with home-field advantage and all that kind of stuff?
On whether he’s a silent assassin as McCaffrey said:
I’m sort of gonna not answer that. I respect that. Thank you, Christian, but yeah, appreciate it.
