SEATTLE – George Kittle last was seen running off the Seahawks’ Lumen Field with a juicy turkey atop a silver platter, having commandeered the prized trappings from the 49ers’ postgame celebration on Thanksgiving night.
“I actually got in the locker room and I will say the turkey did get eaten,” Kittle recalled Tuesday in advance of the 49ers’ return Thursday night. “It was pretty incredible. But they took that platter back.”
Two years ago, the 49ers flew home wearing red T-shirts emblazoned with the words “Conquered The West,” having clinched the division title with four games to go. Go back to 2019 and they came away with the NFC playoffs’ No. 1 seed, on a late December night when “Big Play Dre” Greenlaw made a heroic goal-line stop.
All of which is to say that when the Kyle Shanahan-coached 49ers need a big win in Seattle, they’ve gotten one, all due respect to the Seahawks’ eight-game home rule over the 49ers from 2012-18.
The 49ers (2-3) and the Seahawks (3-2) each are trying to avoid a third straight defeat when they meet for the 5:15 p.m. kickoff (Prime Video). To remind veterans and to educate newcomers of the “incredibly difficult environment” that awaits in Seattle, Shanahan showed them video Tuesday of past visits, according to Kittle.
“It’s one of my favorite places to play because of the crowd,” Kittle added. “One, it’s a night game. Two, it’s an incredibly loud field. Three, they hate us, and so it’s extra loud and I absolutely love that. It’s one of the best environments in football, especially for the 49ers.”
Here are five ways toward another victorious visit:
Seattle Seahawks’ D.K. Metcalf (14) makes a touchdown catch in front of San Francisco 49ers’ Charvarius Ward (7) in the second quarter of their NFC wild-card playoff game at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2023. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
1. TIGHT PASS COVERAGE
No quarterback is throwing more than Seattle’s Geno Smith (1,466 yards; five touchdowns among 199 passes), and he is targeting possibly the NFL’s best receiving trio: D.K. Metcalf (28 catches, 421 yards, two touchdowns), Tyler Lockett (22-274-0) and Jaxon Smith-Njigba (29-257-1).
“They’ve got some talent over there. Geno can stretch the field and they can get hot,” Shanahan said.
It’s not just whether Charvarius Ward can shake off an early-season slump and a bruised knee to again blanket Metcalf in Ward’s favorite matchup every season. Whether Smith targets Ward, Deommodore Lenoir, Isaac Yiadom or Renardo Green, the 49ers secondary can’t afford miscommunication in one of the most raucous environments in sports.
“We’re losing games so nobody is thrilled with how we’re playing. It’s just been different,” Ward said. “We have to get back to the level we were at last year making plays on the ball and forcing turnovers. No DB has a pick within the first five games yet, so we have to start making plays.”
The 49ers’ safeties have not served well as a last line of defense, either. With 2022 All-Pro Talanoa Hufanga (wrist) sidelined a month or more, look for rookie Malik Mustapha to pair with Ji’Ayir Brown, making for an aggressive tandem that has combined for just one interception and 11 starts in their neophyte careers.
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy throws to wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk for a 28-yard touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks, Thursday, Nov. 23, 2023, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)
2. PURDY EFFICIENCY
Only one of Brock Purdy’s 942 career passes have been intercepted and returned for a touchdown, and it so happened to come here last Thanksgiving by Jordyn Brooks in the third quarter of that 31-13 win.
Purdy is coming off a two-interception game, with both passes deflected into jump-ball thefts. Last October, Purdy followed up his first two-interception game (at Minnesota) with another the next game (vs. Cincinnati) to extend the 49ers’ losing streak to three.
Thus, Purdy’s precision must revert to his earlier form, after completing less than 56% of his passes in each of the past two games. He’ll have to do so against a Seahawks defense overseen by first-year coach Mike Macdonald, who previously coordinated the Baltimore Ravens’ defense that intercepted Purdy four times in their Christmas rout at Levi’s Stadium.
Purdy is 2-0 in Seattle. He played through fractured ribs in November 2022 to win his first career road start, and he shook off that pick-six to prevail last year. Those experiences aside, “this is a new year, it’s a new team for both sides, and we’ve just got to go in, execute, and be dialed in at every moment,” Purdy sayd.
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – NOVEMBER 23: Fred Warner #54 of the San Francisco 49ers tackles Zach Charbonnet #26 of the Seattle Seahawks during the second quarter at Lumen Field on November 23, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
3. RALLY TO TACKLE
As pass-happy as the Seahawks and 49ers have been through five games, this rivalry is often dictated by physical affairs that must be complemented with hard-charging running backs.
“They’ve kind of gotten away from the run but we expect that to change this week,” Nick Bosa said. “We’re going to have to earn (pass-rushing opportunities) because I’m sure they’re not too happy with how last game went in terms of how many times they gave their top back the ball. We’re expecting to get a heavy dose of that to start.”
The Seahawks’ Kenneth Walker III should be fresh after getting just five carries (19 yards) in Sunday’s upset loss to the New York Giants. Smith ran four times for 72 yards, and the 49ers are wary of such plays Bosa described as college-like, run-pass options.
Walker’s ability to break tackles is foremost on the 49ers’ radar, especially after they yielded 169 yards combined Sunday to James Conner and Kyler Murray in the Cardinals’ 24-23 comeback. “You watch the tape and he’s doing stuff you don’t see from a lot of guys in terms of breaking tackles, running away from guys, seeing the holes,” linebacker Fred Warner said. “I played against him the last couple of years and I’ve seen it and felt it in real life. We’re all going to have to be aware of that and gang-tackle and swarm him all day long.”
San Francisco 49ers running back Jordan Mason runs against the Seattle Seahawks during the second half of an NFL football game in Seattle, Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
4. RUN HARD, TOO
Holding onto the ball must be Jordan Mason’s priority as he bulls his way into defenders. On his 105th carry this season, the first lost fumble of his career ended up in the Cardinals’ hands for their winning drive.
Mason also botched two exchanges the previous game, so there will be an onus on ball security from a 536-yard runner whose style reminds left tackle Trent Williams (and others) of former Seahawks legend Marshawn Lynch.
Mason could and should be spelled on occasion by Deebo Samuel, who’s averaged just 2.4 yards rushing; Samuel has scored on 1-of-15 carries and 0-of-17 receptions. “Deebo’s too good to not eventually have a big (game),” Shanahan said.
San Francisco 49ers’ George Kittle (85) is tackled by Arizona Cardinals’ Dadrion Taylor-Demerson (42) while attempting to get a first down in the fourth quarter of their NFL game at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. The Arizona Cardinals defeated the San Francisco 49ers 24-23. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
5. SCORE MORE
Sunday’s loss marked only the sixth time in Shanahan’s eight seasons the 49ers failed to score after halftime, excluding their 2022 season’s NFC Championship Game folly in Philadelphia. The 49ers (2-3) are still scoring the NFL’s 10th-most points at 25.2 per game. When scoring under that average, they’re 0-3.
The 49ers must improve upon last weekend’s season-worst red zone efficiency, when they converted only 1-of-6 situations into a touchdown. Their 40.9% conversion rate on the season ranks 29th, a far cry from last season’s league-leading 67.2%.
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The Seahawks, after improving to 3-0 with a 24-3 home rout of Miami, have allowed the NFL’s most points the past two weeks with losses at Detroit (42-29) and Sunday against the New York Giants (29-20).
If the 49ers must settle for field goals, that job shifts from Jake Moody (high-ankle sprain) to the newly signed Matthew Wright, who auditioned Monday and re-signed Tuesday; Wright spent five days on the 49ers’ practice squad before last season’s opener.
Wright auditioned Monday with four other kickers after he flew in from Tampa, Fla., where evacuations were underway ahead of Hurricane Milton. “If the workout was a couple of days later, I probably wouldn’t have made it,” Wright said of his path back to the 49ers.