The 49ers might have the Seahawks’ number, but that doesn’t mean the process of picking up another win has to be normal.
No, if anything, a matchup like this demands weirdness.
And credit to the Niners for finding a way amid all the peculiarity.
Here are the studs and duds of Thursday’s short-rest and short-on-normality 36-24 win over the ‘Hawks:
STUDS
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Deebo Samuel • WR
The Niners moved Samuel around, and he made things happen. So long as Christian McCaffrey is sidelined, this is the role Samuel needs to play for the Niners. He finished with seven touches for 117 yards, with a 76-yard touchdown.
Renardo Green • CB
The rookie corner not only turned in a rock-solid game on the outside, but he also had a game-winning interception. It might be a stretch to say that the Niners were better off without Charvarius Ward (knee injury), but this team is certainly better with Green on the field. He and Malik Mustapha (ankle injury chased him in the first half) were immense.
Geroge Kittle • TE
Here’s the 49ers’ red-zone offense: throw to George.
And, to be honest, it isn’t a half-bad offense.
Kittle now has 10 catches for 65 yards and five touchdowns in the red zone this season. That leads everyone in the NFL.
Brock Purdy promised to be more aggressive near the goal line. Just putting it on Kittle works for me, him, the tight end, and the 49ers.
Just feed him until you can no longer.
Isaac Guerendo • RB
The Niners’ rookie running back wasn’t ready for the spotlight, but he received it anyway on Thursday when starting back Jordan Mason left the contest with a shoulder injury.
And while the early returns for Guerendo were hit-and-miss, you could see his confidence growing with every snap.
So when the Niners really needed him at his best, he came through with a 76-yard run that — if not for a strange decision to slide in-bounds before the end zone — should have sealed the game for the 49ers.
There was never a question about Guerendo’s talent. There is one player in the league as big and fast as him: DK Metcalf. The question with the former wide receiver was whether he could execute his new position’s basics. The Niners made the bet he could. He paid off that bet on Thursday.
Nick Bosa • DE
Another week, another dominant performance. I don’t care what the stat sheet says — he was a force.
Ok, I looked at the stat sheet, he had 14 pressures. That’s pretty good, no?
Kyle Shanahan • HC
Yes, the Niners kicked a bunch of short field goals, again. That’s not laudable — it’s dangerous.
But credit where it’s due: Shanahan went back to basics this week, using Deebo Samuel all over the field and putting Brock Purdy under center to put defenders in conflict with play-action off the team’s once-quintessential outside zone run.
It was classic Niners, and it worked.
Even if, far too often, it only resulted in 3.
DUDS
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Aaron Banks • LG
Again, there were simply too many missed blocks. Even giving him deference, as he was dealing with calf cramps, I’m not sure the Niners can justify putting Banks back in the starting lineup.
It’s the little things, too, like on a snap where Banks false started, wasn’t flagged, but still stood around and didn’t block anyone. Stuff like that can’t happen.
Isaac Yiadom • CB
The Niners were down at cornerback with Ward sidelined, but at a certain point, they’re asking for trouble by continuing to play Yiadom, who simply cannot stay with any receiver with footspeed. According to my notes, that’s roughly all of them.
49ers special teams
The new kicker, Matt Wright, was great. So was punter Mitch Wishnowsky.
But guess what: the 49ers’ special teams were still a mess, because they gave life to a dead-to-rights team with a 97-yard kick return touchdown — Seattle’s first touchdown.
Can this team play one complete special teams game?
(Sources say “no.”)
The refs and Amazon
Whether it was picking up a flag after Brandon Aiyuk was unquestionably interferred with on a pass or missing a botched fourth-quarter punt by the Seahawks, even when every person at home could see it hit the Seattle returner, it was hardly a good game for Craig Wrolstad’s refereeing crew. The latter play cost the Niners 70 yards of field position in a six-point game. Unacceptable stuff.
The NFL has blamed Amazon for the error, saying they didn’t receive the same video we received on our televisions.
But given how lifeless and uninformative that broadcast was, I won’t complain about that deflection.