Well, that was a close one.
You can exhale now 49ers fans. The game is over with the San Francisco 49ers surviving a second-half scare to defeat the Seattle Seahawks 36-24. It was a game they could not afford to lose, but they sure were close to doing so.
For the third time in four games, the 49ers began to crumble in the second half with a double-digit lead. The 49ers were leading 23-3 after their opening drive in the third quarter. It looked like they were going to coast to victory for once. The offense was playing solid so far. Deebo Samuel had an amazing 76-yard touchdown play. Jordan Mason was playing electric and Brock Purdy was fairly smooth.
The 49ers’ defense was making it a nightmare for quarterback Geno Smith. I’m sure Smith isn’t going to sleep tonight thanks to Nick Bosa haunting him from the moment he had his first dropback pass. Bosa played a huge role in rookie Malik Mustapha having an impressive interception to stop the Seahawks in their tracks.
Unfortunately, the 49ers would start to stumble in the second half. The 49ers gifted the Seahawks momentum following their opening third-quarter drive. They allowed a 97-yard kick return touchdown. As usual, the 49ers’ special teams is a weak link that hurts them more than helps them. Seattle ate that touchdown up, using it as fuel to muster motivation.
They would go on to score 14 unanswered points to make it a one-score game going into the fourth quarter. It was a 23-17 lead for the 49ers who were once again struggling to come away with touchdowns on their red zone trips. The offense was also crumbling in the second half. Penalties were occurring, poor play calling from Kyle Shanahan, and injuries were piling up. Mason hurt his shoulder and wouldn’t return in the second half after one carry. Mustapha hurt his ankle and wouldn’t return either.
Nothing was going right for the 49ers. Everything was trending toward another double-digit lead collapse. And then, momentum was sparked thanks to rookie cornerback Renardo Green. He intercepted Smith in the middle of the fourth quarter. Green undercut the pass to D.K. Metcalf beautifully and placed the 49ers in scoring position.
They would take advantage of it to boost their red zone efficiency numbers with a touchdown pass to George Kittle. He had a phenomenal game while dealing with an injury reeling in five catches for 58 yards and two touchdowns. That scoring drive set up by Green effectively put the 49ers in control the rest of the game with a 29-17 score.
Seattle would score a touchdown on the ensuing drive but burned a ton of clock to do so. They would cut the lead to 29-24 to give them a chance if they could force a three-and-out. But the 49ers were already boosted from their last touchdown drive. Nothing was going to deny them of winning this game. That was the mindset of rookie running back Isaac Guerendo.
Guerendo would ice the game for the 49ers by ripping off a 76-yard run from the 49ers’ 19-yard line. He was fantastic filling in for Mason and could be in line for a heavy workload with Mason’s status questionable. Kyle Juszczyk got the call for a fullback dive to score a touchdown, putting the game away at 36-24. Every game the 49ers have had a hero this season, but in this desperate win they got three of them in the form of their rookies.
Malik Mustapha, Green, and Guerendo all stepped up and had their moments in this game. Because of them, the 49ers are back on track and can hopefully kickstart some momentum. They are going to need it as their next opponent will be their riveting rematch of the Super Bowl against the Kansas City Chiefs.
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