The San Francisco 49ers suffered a tough 41-6 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday, ending their season prematurely in the NFC Divisional Round as they couldn’t get anything going on either side of the ball.
It was a game that the 49ers needed a fast start in, and that just didn’t happen. San Francisco gave up a touchdown on the opening kickoff and quickly fell behind 17-0 after one quarter before things got ugly by halftime.
Offensively, the 49ers were hoping for a much better day than the one they had two weeks prior against the Seahawks in Week 18, when they conjured up just 173 yards of total offense. They had 236 on Saturday, but averaged even fewer yards per play as they had zero explosive days after the play.
Speaking after the game, quarterback Brock Purdy lamented the offensive effort, acknowledging where the team fell short for the second time against the Seahawks.
“It’s no secret in terms of their style of play. It’s try to make the quarterback check it down and play deep to short,” Purdy said. “And then, within that, have a good pass rush. And that’s a good defense, man. Like, it’s a smart way to play. And bring some pressure and stuff also, and try to make them mess up. They did a good job with that. I do think there were still some (opportunities) for us to stay on the field and grit it out. Those are kind of the wins that we’ve done in the past, too. But tonight just wasn’t our night with that. It’s a tip of the cap to them, though.”
“[They have our number because] probably just what I just said, in terms of you really have to play smart football, check the ball down and stay on the field on third downs,” Purdy added. “And they’re a kind of defense, they’re not going to give up the big shot plays, or when you have one-on-one match-ups and you capitalize, you get all the yards off of it. They’re going to play soft zone and make you go through your read and check it down, and a gain of six, seven yards, and really play that the whole game. And so they’ve done a good job with that. I think for all of us, including myself, we’ve got to understand that when we’re going against these guys — and that’s why it’s crucial to capitalize on third downs and stay on the field.”
Purdy kept the 49ers alive in that game by extending plays and moving well in the pocket to avoid sacks. If there was one area he could’ve (and needed to) improve on, it was taking the checkdowns, which were open for a good part of the game.
With the 49ers just getting zero explosives and not even many of their regular intermediate beaters, they were going to have to move the ball taking short gain after short gain, which isn’t the best formula for success.
Taking the checkdowns more often probably doesn’t change the overall outcome of the game. But it’s a learning lesson for next year for Purdy, as he continues to try to navigate head coach Mike Macdonald’s defense.
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