Three 49ers Takeaways from Thursday Night Football
The San Francisco 49ers made their way back into the win column after beating the Seattle Seahawks 36-24 at Seattle in Week Six’s Thursday Night Football Matchup. It was a great bounceback for the 49ers after losing a heartbreaker in Week Five to the Arizona Cardinals. Now sitting at 3-3, they are on top of the NFC West Standings, and they get a couple extra days of rest before getting prepared for their Week Seven matchup against the Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs. Here are the top three takeaways from the 49ers win.
1. Protecting the Lead
Leading up to the 49ers Week Six matchup against the Seahawks, there was a lot of talk and worry about their late-game woes. Two out of their three losses came after they were leading in the fourth quarter. There was a moment during the Thursday Night game where it felt like it was going to happen again. The 49ers came out of halftime and scored a touchdown with a pass from Brock Purdy to George Kittle, making the score 23-3 to the visitors. Immediately after that, Seahawk return man Laviska Shenault took the kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown. After getting stopped on offense, the 49ers defense gave up a long Seahawk drive that ended with a touchdown run from running back Kenneth Walker III, making the score 23-17. The Seahawks made another defensive stop and looked to finally take the lead in the game, but quarterback Geno Smith threw an interception to rookie Renardo Green. That led to another touchdown from Purdy to Kittle, making it 29-17. On the next drive, Smith found Tyler Lockett for a touchdown, making it 29-42 with less than two minutes to play. The 49ers responded with a Kyle Jusczczyk rushing touchdown after a 76-yard run from rookie running back Isaac Guerendo. The game was done 36-24 after that. It still wasn’t pretty to close out the game, but it is a step in the right direction on both offense and defense to finish with a big lead.
2. Red Zone Woes No Mo’
Another big criticism the 49ers have had to start the season has been their bad red zone offense. They were near dead last in red zone conversion percentage after the first five games, and those woes looked to continue after they had to settle for red zone field goals in the first half. Their only touchdown came from a 76-yard touchdown pass from Purdy to Deebo Samuel. Whether it was bad play calling by Coach Kyle Shanahan, missed assignments on the offensive line, or receivers just not getting open, the 49ers were just not getting it done in the red zone. That narrative seemingly flipped in the second half when we saw the 49ers score three touchdowns in three red zone trips, helping prevent a late Seahawk surge. Two touchdown passes from Purdy to Kittle and one rushing touchdown from Juszczyk had the players jumping into the Lumen field stands to give their wives hugs. Hopefully, this was the kickstart the team needed to get over that red zone hump.
3. Next Man Up
The 49ers have been dealing with injuries on both sides of the ball all season, and this game was no different. They’ve been without star running back Christian McCaffrey all year. They were missing defensive backs Talanoa Hufanga and Charvarius Ward for this game. Kicker Jake Moody was out with a high-ankle sprain. Jordan Mason left the game early with a shoulder injury. Despite all of that, it was next man up mentality from the team. Rookie Malik Mustapha had an interception. Rookie Renardo Green had a crunch-time interception. Rookie Isaac Guerendo had a game-sealing 76-yard run and probably should’ve scored. Replacement kicker Matthew Wright had a perfect game in field goal attempts. Football is a physical game and playing as much football as the 49er players have played in the past few seasons with deep playoff runs, that pressure on your body eventually catches up to you. The rookies and backup really stepped up on Thursday Night and pushed the team to victory. They’ll have some extra time to get rested before facing the Chiefs in Week Seven, but all 53 players need to remain ready for when their number is called for the rest of the season.
