The 49ers took Seattle’s best punch in the first half and were able to withstand it, thanks to a strong effort over the final two quarters that allowed San Francisco to run away with the 41-23 victory and advance to the divisional round.
The postseason lights didn’t seem to bother rookie Brock Purdy, who finished with 332 yards and four total touchdowns in the win. He became the first rookie quarterback in the Super Bowl era to throw and run for a touchdown in his first career playoff start. Furthermore, he’s the first rookie quarterback with four total touchdowns in a postseason game.
Despite being one of the biggest underdogs on the Super Wild Card Weekend slate, the Seahawks entered Levi’s Stadium and gave the Niners a run for their money in the first half. After a sluggish start, Geno Smith and the offense put together back-to-back touchdown drives and netted a 56-yard field goal to find themselves up 17-16 entering the locker room at halftime. However, Seattle was unable to sustain that level of play in the second half and the Niners flipped the switch.
San Francisco put together three straight touchdown drives to open up the second half, which broke the game wide open. The big swing came after a 13-play, 75-yard touchdown drive by the 49ers as they retook the lead. For the moment, it seemed like Smith and the Seahawks were going to answer with a scoring drive of their own, but Smith fumbled the ball inside the red zone and was recovered by Nick Bosa. That led to another touchdown drive by the 49ers and effectively sent Seattle packing. Smith finished 25 of 35 for 253 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
From here, the 49ers will see how the rest of Super Wild Card Weekend unfolds. The only team they are not eligible to play would be the Giants, who are visiting the Vikings on Sunday afternoon. If Minnesota wins, it would travel to Santa Clara to and face San Francisco in the divisional round. If New York pulls off the upset, the Niners would host the winner of the Buccaneers-Cowboys on Monday night.