49ers at Seattle Seahawks

On opening Sunday the 49ers escaped Lumen Field 17-13, won on a deflected 4-yard touchdown pass from Brock Purdy to third-string tight end Jake Tonges with 1:34 to play. Purdy went 26-of-35 for 277 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions; Nick Bosa sealed it with a strip-sack of Sam Darnold on the next series. Christian McCaffrey, in his first regular-season action since November 2023, touched the ball 31 times for 142 scrimmage yards (22 carries, 69 yards; 9 catches, 73 yards). Jason Myers' second-half field goals of 48 and 37 yards gave Seattle its only lead of the day.[1][2][3]

Three weeks ago, Jake Tonges was a roster bubble case. Sunday afternoon, with 1:34 left and the season's first scoreboard ready to flip a coin between optimism and another bad-luck Sunday, he came down with a Purdy throw that was halfway to a throwaway and put it on the board. 'I saw him throw it up. I wasn't sure if he was throwing it away or whatever,' Tonges said after.

He caught it. The 49ers won 17-13. That is the season opener: a roster-bubble tight end on the receiving end of a deflection, the kind of break a 6-11 team did not catch a year ago. Brock Purdy threw two picks and the offense never quite found its footing, but for once the late breaks went the right way, and Nick Bosa's strip-sack three plays later was the kind of closer the 2024 49ers would have watched slip away. 'There was a lot of adversity in that game,' Kyle Shanahan said.

One game, one win. Theory and weather report intact.

49ers 17, Seahawks 13. Final margin: +4.

• Passing: Purdy 26-of-35 for 277, 2 TD, 2 INT. Darnold 16-of-23 for 150.
• Ground game: McCaffrey 22 carries for 69, plus 9 catches for 73 (31 touches, 142 scrimmage yards).
• Charbonnet 1-yard rush tied it 7-7 in the second quarter.
• Myers field goals: 48 (end of 1H, 10-7 SEA), 37 (3:24 left, gave SEA 13-10 lead).
• Game-winner: Purdy to Tonges, 4 yards, deflected, 1:34 to play.
• Closer: Bosa strip-sack of Darnold on the next possession.
• San Francisco improves to 1-0; Seattle 0-1.

A 17-13 escape at Lumen Field. The 49ers got out of Week 1 with a win that did not stop feeling like it might slip until the fourth quarter.

How it unfolded

Purdy hit George Kittle on a 5-yard touchdown to cap a 14-play, 95-yard opener and put San Francisco up 7-0. Seattle tied it on a Zach Charbonnet 1-yard rush early in the second quarter. Jason Myers' 48-yarder at the half flipped it to 10-7. Myers added a 37-yarder with 3:24 left to make it 13-10. San Francisco needed a drive and got one, finishing on a 4-yard Purdy throw to Jake Tonges that was deflected at the line and came down in the third-string tight end's hands with 1:34 to play.

The turning point

Nick Bosa's strip-sack of Sam Darnold on Seattle's next possession ended it. Kyle Shanahan, who watched this team blow late leads through most of 2024, summed it up: 'I'm just so happy with our team. There was a lot of adversity in that game.'

By the numbers

Purdy: 26-of-35 for 277, 2 TDs, 2 INTs. McCaffrey, in his first real action since November 2023: 22 carries for 69 yards, 9 catches for 73, 31 total touches for 142 scrimmage yards. Darnold, in his first start as Seattle's QB1, went 16-of-23 for 150.

Personnel watch

Tonges, a roster-bubble tight end who entered the game with zero career receptions, finished with three catches and the game-winner. With Brandon Aiyuk and Demarcus Robinson out, Ricky Pearsall absorbed the receiver snaps. Bosa, the first sack on Darnold of the new Seattle era, finished it.

What it means

A 17-13 road win in Seattle is not a referendum on anything. It is a Week 1 escape, with the late breaks finally landing the right way, and a quiet reminder that the front seven Robert Saleh inherited is going to decide a lot of these games.