Three things we learned from the Seahawks’ loss to the rival 49ers

SEATTLE – The San Francisco 49ers rode the right arm of rookie QB Brock Purdy to secure the NFC West division title with a 21-13 victory over the Seahawks on Thursday night at Lumen Field, pushing Seattle further out of the NFC playoff picture.

The 49ers (10-4) have won seven in a row and completed a season sweep of the Seahawks for the first time since 2011.

The Seahawks (7-7) have lost three straight at home and four of five overall.

Three immediate impressions from the game:

Purdy good

In Christian McCaffrey’s first game against the Seahawks as a 49er, Seattle’s defense did an admirable job of limiting the star running back. The Stanford product averaged 4.2 yards (108 yards on 26 carries), a notable improvement for a Seahawks defense that has been abysmal against the run over the past month.

And yet, McCaffrey still finished with 138 all-purpose yards, and the ultimate story of this game is the Seahawks defense’s inability to slow down Purdy, the rookie seventh-round pick making his first NFL road start.

Purdy was the difference.

Purdy threw his first touchdown pass in the first quarter on a well-designed double-pump trick to a wide open George Kittle.

He threw another touchdown pass early in the third quarter, again to a wide open Kittle on a busted play by the Seahawks defense. That pushed the 49ers’ lead to 21-3, and with the way San Francisco’s defense was playing it felt like the game was all but over at that point.

Purdy finished 17 for 26 for 217 yards with two touchdowns and a passer rating of 117.0.

Kittle had another big game against the Seahawks, posting four catches for 93 yards and those two touchdowns.

Already playing without veteran nose tackle Al Woods, the Seahawks lost defensive tackle Bryan Mone in the first half to a knee injury. Middle linebacker Jordyn Brooks left the game in the second half with a neck injury.

Even with their third-string quarterback, and even without their star receiver, Deebo Samuel, the 49ers largely did whatever they wanted much of the game. They finished with 381 yards of total offense – and they were able to run out the clock on the ground, finishing with 170 yards rushing.

Momentum swings

After a brutal first quarter, and four straight punts to start the game, the Seahawks were able to put a successful drive together in the second quarter, marching 62 yards on 12 plays and resulting in the first of two Jason Myers field goals to cut the deficit to 7-3.

It felt like the Seahawks were right back in it.

And it really felt like momentum was really about to turn in the Seahawks’ favor a few plays late when Purdy floated a pass across the middle of the field – right to Seahawks safety Quandre Diggs. Except, the ball bounced off Diggs’ chest, falling incomplete, a key missed opportunity.

In the moment, the opportunity missed didn’t feel quite as significant as it would a minute later. The incomplete pass did result in a third-down stop, forcing the 49ers to punt and giving the Seahawks possession with 47 seconds left in the half and a chance to drive and take the lead.

But what happened next was the turning point in the game.

On third down, Geno Smith dumped off a pass to Travis Homer, who was fighting for a first down when he was hit by Jimmie Ward and Dre Greenlaw, losing the ball. Charvarius Ward recovered for the 49ers and returned it 40 yards to the Seattle 6-yard line.

Two plays later, McCaffrey scored on a 1-yard touchdown run to give the Niners a 14-3 lead at halftime.

Homer’s fumble was the only turnover of the game.

Decent bounce-back from Smith

Smith was under duress all night from the NFL’s No. 1-ranked defense, sacked three times and hit nine times.

Rookie left tackle Charles Cross had a difficult assignment against Nick Bosa, who finished with a sack and three QB hits.

After a lackluster performance in Sunday’s loss to Carolina, Smith was better. At one point he completed 15 consecutive passes, and he drove the Seahawks for a touchdown late, finding Noah Fant in the end zone on a 10-yard TD to get the Seahawks within 21-13.

The return of Kenneth Walker III from an ankle injury was a good sign for the Seahawks, but they still haven’t replicated his midseason magic. He finished with 47 yards on 12 carries (plus four catches for 32 yards), and the Seahawks managed just 70 yards rushing – their fifth straight game being held under 100 yards on the ground.

The Seahawks finished with 277 yards of total offense but were just 4 for 13 on third down.