Oct. 11 (UPI) — Brock Purdy connected with George Kittle on two touchdown passes, while Deebo Samuel totaled 117 yards from scrimmage and a score to propel a win over the Seattle Seahawks and push the San Francisco 49ers back to .500.
Purdy completed 18 of 28 passes for 255 yards and three scores in the 36-24 win Thursday at Lumen Field in Seattle. Samuel caught three passes for 102 yards, including a 76-yard touchdown grab. Kittle hauled in five catches for 58 yards, including his two second-half scores.
“I feel like we did take a step in the right direction, for sure,” Purdy told reporters. “We are always going to have stuff that we are going to be hard on ourselves [about] and need to grow and get better at, but I really think that we all, as a team, came together and found a way.”
The 49ers out-gained the Seahawks 483 to 358 in total yards, including a 228 to 52 margin on the ground. They also had a six-minute edge in time of possession and won the turnover battle 3-0.
DEEBO SAMUEL BREAKS AWAY FOR THE 76-YARD TD.#SFvsSEA on Prime Video
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Kicker Matthew Wright made a 25-yard field goal on the game’s opening drive and the 49ers never looked back. Purdy and Samuel connected on their 76-yard score 1:30 into the second quarter. Wright then made two more second-quarter field goals and the 49ers led 16-3 at halftime.
Purdy engineered a nine-play, 70-yard touchdown drive out of the locker room. He hit Kittle with a 10-yard toss to end that possession.
The Seahawks found the end zone for the first time just seconds later, when Laviska Shenault Jr. returned the resulting kickoff for a 97-yard score.
LAVISKA SHENAULT RETURNS THE KICKOFF 97 YARDS.#SFvsSEA on Prime Video
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Running back Kenneth Walker went on to end a 13-play, 94-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run, cutting the Seahawks deficit to six points at the end of the third quarter.
Geno Smith and the Seahawks went on to get an opportunity to make the score even closer early in the fourth, but the veteran quarterback threw an interception to cornerback Renardo Green with less than eight minutes remaining.
Purdy threw his second touchdown pass to Kittle less than three minutes later and the 49ers took a 29-17 advantage with 6:20 remaining.
Smith then threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Lockett with less than two minutes remaining. Rookie running back Isaac Guerendo responded with a 76-yard run on the first play of the next drive. Fullback Kyle Juszczyk ran for a 6-yard score two plays later to effectively seal the victory.
Smith and the Seahawks reached the 49ers 39-yard line on their final drive, which ended with an incompletion into the end zone on fourth down.
Smith completed 30 of 52 passes for 312 yards, a score and two interceptions in the loss. Walker logged 69 yards from scrimmage and a score on 22 touches for the Seahawks.
Running back Jordan Mason, who totaled 82 yards from scrimmage on 10 touches, sustained a shoulder injury in the win. Coach Kyle Shanahan said he was still available “in case of emergency.” Guerendo totaled 99 yards on 10 carries.
Renardo Green jumps the route for the PICK.#SFvsSEA on Prime Video
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“Our goal was to be locked in, no matter what the score was, and I thought our guys played like that,” Shanahan said of Thursday’s effort.
The 49ers (3-3) will host the Kansas City Chiefs (5-0) on Oct. 20 in Santa Clara, Calif. The Seahawks (3-3) will face the Atlanta Falcons (3-2) on Oct. 20 in Atlanta.
