SANTA CLARA – Here is how the 49ers (14-4) graded in Saturday’s 41-23 wild-card playoff win over the Seattle Seahawks (9-9):
PASS OFFENSE: A
Brock Purdy stepped it up big time after halftime when he completed 9-of-11 passes for 185 yards with two touchdowns. That added to his incredible mystique through seven games since replacing an injured Jimmy Garoppolo. Purdy finished with 18-of-30 for 332 yards with three touchdown passes, as well as the go-ahead, 1-yard touchdown run. He had A LOT of help from his friends, most notably Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk and running backs Christian McCaffrey and Brandon Aiyuk. Samuel’s 74-yard, catch-and-run touchdown (with Aiyuk assisting via a block) made it a 38-17 ballgame, and Samuel finished with 133 yards (six catches, nine targets). Aiyuk added 73 yards on three catches, and he dropped Purdy’s potential fourth touchdown pass after a lengthy scramble in which Purdy absorbed a big, dangerous hit to his still-tender ribs. The offensive line – Trent Williams, Aaron Banks, Jake Brendel, Spencer Burford, Daniel Brunskill, Mike McGlinchey – fended off a Seattle front that wasn’t particularly feisty as Purdy got sacked once.
RUN OFFENSE: A
Christian McCaffrey ripped off a 68-yard run on this first playoff touch since his 2017 rookie season, when the Carolina Panthers got bounced by the New Orleans Saints. Trent Williams helped open that chasm for McCaffrey’s first run on a 15-carry, 119-yard day (plus two catches for 17 yards and a touchdown). Elijah Mitchell gained just 2 yards on nine carries, and the Seahawks’ run defense proved surprisingly difficult on carries up the middle. Deebo Samuel (three carries, 32 yards) had a 22-yard, first-series run bolstered by the blocking of Williams, Kyle Juszczyk, George Kittle and Brandon Aiyuk. The fanciest run: Purdy’s 13-yard scramble into Seahawks’ territory, complete with a high-step move that he’s previously shown. “The high-step just sort of comes in the moment,” Purdy said. “It’s not, ‘Dude, I’m going to high step this linebacker.’ I try to get him to stop a little bit so I can get a couple of more yards.” He had four carries for 16 yards.
PASS DEFENSE: B-
This is not a historically great defense if it continues to yield a big play, such as D.K. Metcalf’s 50-yarder against Charvarius Ward for the first of Metcalf’s two touchdowns. But it’s an extremely strong defense that can go down as one of the 49ers’ all-time best with three more wins. And it took a defensive play to recapture the mojo, as Kyle Shanahan said, about Charles Omenihu’s red-zone strip sack of Geno Smith, with Nick Bosa pouncing on the fumble to preserve a just-reclaimed lead. Omenihu had two sacks, and Arik Armstead came through on the first series with one on third-and-2. Deommodore Lenoir’s fourth-quarter interception boosts his stock going forth, even if he’ll still be quarterback’s No. 1 target like he was in Saturday’s first half.
RUN DEFENSE: A
Rookie Kenneth Walker III got 9 yards on the game’s first snap, and he had 54 yards by halftime. But the Seahawks shifted to a pass-oriented attack and Walker got just two carries after halftime and finished with 63 yards. Dre Greenlaw overcame a quadriceps issue and finished with a team-high 11 tackles. Five players made a tackle for loss: Bosa, Omenihu, Armstead, Tashaun Gipson Sr. and Javon Kinlaw, who was thrilled to win his NFL playoff debut.
SPECIAL TEAMS: A-
Remarkable Robbie Gould made all four of his field-goal attempts (34 yards, 33, 46, 31) and is 25-of-25 in his playoff career. Mitch Wishnowsky made the most of his only punt, as it soared 57 yards before Danny Gray made a tackle at the 16-yard line. One cause for concern were the Seahawks’ kick returns. Then again, the 49ers rallied to make some big tackles later, by Janoris Jenkins, Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles, Oren Burks and Charlie Woerner.
COACHING: A
Kyle Shanahan notched his fifth career playoff win, and he did so by delivering the right message, not just on play calls but halftime advice. Said Purdy: “Coming into halftime, Kyle was straight up and like, ‘Hey, man, the plays were there. The opportunities were there. We have to keep it simple and get it to the guys.’ We knew our plan for the second half, we executed everything and we finished off drives, where we didn’t stall and overthink things.” DeMeco Ryans could have a busy week ahead, and he can begin interviewing Tuesday for head-coaching posts with the Denver Broncos, the Arizona Cardinals, the Houston Texans and, perhaps, the Carolina Panthers.
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