We witnessed a wild one in Seattle. The San Francisco 49ers' Week 5 win over the Seahawks was the game of the year.
You'd think a 61-point contest would feature two offenses that drove downfield against each other. Neither quarterback threw for more than 200 yards. Despite all of the scoring, only two of those drives traveled over 45 yards.
Kyle Shanahan improved to 47-8 after winning the turnover battle. The 49ers needed all four of those turnovers to outlast their rivals on the road. The victory required every hand on deck, as attrition and ejections took a toll on the road team.
Here are the winners and losers who tell the story of the 49ers' action-packed, rollercoaster win that kept them undefeated.
You could only marvel at what Mike Evans did against a secondary thought to be among the best in the NFL.
No one has had any doubt this season about who Brock Purdy wants to throw the ball to. That didn't change on Sunday.
Evans had more targets than the rest of the receivers combined. On late downs, Purdy targeted him 57.1% of the time. In the red zone, Evans got 40% of the targets.
Evans finished with seven receptions on 10 targets for 113 yards. Last year, the 49ers struggled to attack the intermediate portion of the field against the Seahawks. This go-round, Evans' average depth of target was 15.8 yards. They trusted him to get open downfield, and Evans rewarded Purdy time and time again.
Seattle looked shell-shocked that Evans was capable of making the plays he did on a 12-play drive that gave the 49ers the lead into the fourth quarter. Evans kicked off with a first-down reception that beat Seattle's boundary cornerback. A 15-yarder after taking a shot to the ribs on 1st and 20 erased a Brandin Cooks penalty. The drive looked like it would stall after a four-yard loss on second down.
But on third and 10, Evans, who Tom Brady criticized for releasing outside on an in-breaking route, was too big for the defender and picked up 23 yards. Evans tortured Jobe one final time, catching a 28-yard sideline pass on 2nd and 21.
It was the most impactful drive by a skill player under Kyle Shanahan that I can remember.
Renardo Green's first interception came on a 51-yard punt that was fair caught at the 11. Waitman's next punt was fair caught, and the ensuing drive went three-and-out. Waitman's third and fourth punts were fair caught inside the 10. Gracen Halton doesn't score a touchdown without the punter pinning a kick inside the five.
There were a couple of special teams blunders, but the punt team was excellent.
The 49ers are built to defend and stop the pass. The defense is at its best when Keion White is on the field, lining up and down the line of scrimmage.
Against Seattle's offensive line, White had a 21.4% pressure rate. He had six pressures in the game, four against different players.
White had a pair of run stops and a couple of tackles for loss. He overwhelmed the Seahawks upfront. Through five games, he looks like a supercharged version of what Charles Omenihu gave the Niners in 2023.
Without Dre Greenlaw, Garret Wallow was the logical replacement. After all, Wallow rotated with Greenlaw throughout the season. If Week 5 taught us anything, it's that Dugger shouldn't come off the field. No player grew up and rose to the occasion as Dugger did against the Seahawks.
Dugger already had a tackle for loss while flashing before Greenlaw's ejection. So maybe Raheem Morris sensed Dugger could match Seattle's physicality.
Dugger finished with seven solo tackles, pressured Sam Darnold twice, and minimized the damage in coverage on three targets; he made Darnold look in different directions multiple times and, above all, looked like he belonged on the field in a playoff atmosphere away from home playing a position he hardly reps during the week.
Green intercepted Darnold on the same sideline where he was yanked in a playoff last year. His second interception was a carbon copy of the one Purdy threw last season to Jake Tonges against the Seahawks on a similar route.
Green had another pass breakup. On four targets, one completion was allowed for a grand total of one yard. The 49ers haven't capitalized on quarterback mistakes. The cornerbacks haven't been in positions to "bait" them. Green
Purdy had the second-longest average time to throw (3.2 seconds) among any quarterback in the NFL this week. He also had the eighth-slowest average time to pressure (2.69 seconds). There were plenty of dropbacks when Purdy had all day to scan the field. There were times when he was sped up and left the pocket prematurely. He was pressured on 38.2% of his dropbacks. For context, Darnold was pressured on 51.4% of his dropbacks.
I don't think Shanahan thought he'd have as much success running the ball, which is why they didn't. Christian McCaffrey averaged 3.27 yards before contact. Shanahan would've run the ball 50 times if he knew his offensive line would generate the movement they did in the second half.
Byron Murphy is a special player. He's going to get his. He took advantage of Connor Colby. But the offensive line held Leonard Williams and Demarcus Robinson in check and prevented them from disrupting the offense.
Aside from Colby, Dominick Puni allowed two pressures on 34 pass-blocking snaps, while Jake Brendel, Colton McKivitz, and Trent Williams each had one. Per Sumer Sports, McKivitz led the way with five impact plays. Colby had four, Brendel had 3, Puni had 2, and Williams had one.
Greenlaw lasted 25 snaps before his emotions got the best of him. A late hit on Darnold cost the defense 15 yards. It was bad enough that the penalty occurred on Seattle's sideline. Instead of leaving the sideline and going back to the huddle, Greenlaw looked like he was hunting for trouble. He found some when he came face to face with Ernest Jones. After headbutting Jones, who didn't have his helmet on, Greenlaw was ejected.
Dre put Dugger in a tough spot. We saw Luke Gifford play in 5-man fronts for the first time all season because Dugger filled in for Greenlaw. The domino effect from the ejection could've been disastrous. There's a script where Gifford gets attacked in coverage, and Dugger looks like most rookies in a road environment.
Dugger playing well doesn't absolve Greenlaw of his actions.
The fear is that Samuel's hamstring injury could be serious, since he was ruled out right away. The fumble may have been a product of the shock of the injury. Nonetheless, it's his second in as many weeks. The 49ers weren't as fortunate to recover this one.
Cowing's fumble was less about ball security and more about decision-making. He needs to feel the gunners or see them out of his peripheral vision. His muffed punt should've been a fair catch.
Lenoir and Stout combined to allow eight targets to be completed for eight receptions and 125 yards. Jaxon Smith-Njigba continues to dominate this matchup. He caught all three receptions for 63 yards and a touchdown — the screen was technically Lenoir's "man." Lenoir gave up an out route for a first down to Cooper Kupp on third down in the low red zone. He did not seem confident.
Stout also missed a tackle.
Was 2025 a mirage?
Pineiro missed another kick on Sunday. He's 31st in the NFL in field-goal percentage and 28th in extra-point percentage this season. This team has Super Bowl aspirations. Games are going to come down to the wire, especially in the postseason. The last thing you want is to trot out a kicker who makes only 2 of 3.
I'm torn about Purdy's performance. I thought you could pin at least one sack and a couple of the pressures on the quarterback. He sprayed the ball and missed a couple of receivers. He was late and inaccurate on a throw to Jacob Cowing because he didn't read the coverage correctly.
Purdy finished 21st in success rate for Week 5 and 19th in EPA per play. So, including the Mike Evans drive, he was still statistically below average. For three quarters, Brock seemed content to throw underneath. Despite nearly 60% of his throws coming underneath 10 yards, Purdy's on-target percentage was good for 24th this week, sandwiched between Jalen Hurts and Daniel Jones. Purdy was only 2-for-6 for five yards against the blitz.
But he made plays out of structure that kept drives alive, starting with the first, when he found Evans along the sideline before connecting in the end zone. It would've been easy for Purdy to tuck his tail and be conservative after his interception. Instead, he remained the aggressor.
After the game, Seahawks head coach Mike MacDonald said, "Their quarterback is a really good player. He saw a lot of plays off schedule today. Just a tough guy to get on the ground. He has a sixth sense on knowing where everybody is at."
Down five on 2nd and goal, Purdy didn't release the touchdown pass to Brandin Cooks until after six seconds.
A sack. A forced fumble. A fumble recovery for a touchdown. Two tackles for loss. Two other pressures. A pressure rate (20%) good for the eighth-best among the defensive interior in Week 5.
He did that all in 32 snaps.
Halton looks like a keeper. You can't take him out of the starting lineup given how he's played.
Height didn't have any sacks and only had two pressures, but he managed a higher win rate than White. Height was directly responsible for a pair of incompletions. Height is this close to sacking the quarterback in back-to-back weeks now. He really comes on when he can pin his ears back.
James was a pleasant surprise as a returner. He averaged 30.8 yards on four returns. He had a 39-yarder that looked like he pin-balled for an extra 10 yards. If Deebo is out and Cowing's usage on offense increases, James is the primary kick returner. If he runs the way he did on Sunday, that's great news for the Niners.
James also forced a holding call on a kickoff, backing Seattle up on their final drive.
The safety duo was targeted six times and allowed six yards in coverage. Each of them broke up a pass. They also combined for six impact plays — which helps overlook Mustapha's two missed tackles. Mustapha is an enforcer. He shook JSN up after a big hit. He also recovered the fumble Warner forced.
Brown had a huge stop on third down. He's been quietly good most of the season, with most of his plays flying under the radar.
