2024 NFL Season, Week 6: What We Learned from 49ers' 36-24 win over Seahawks on Thursday night

San Francisco 49ers

3-3

AT

Seattle Seahawks

3-3

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• RE-WATCH: 49ers-Seahawks on NFL+
• READ: Niners’ Samuel becomes NFL’s first-ever WR in 20-20 TD club
• READ: RB Mason injures shoulder in 49ers’ victory
• READ: Niners stay ‘locked in’ to survive Seahawks rally
• READ: ‘Hawks D ‘has got to play better’ after third straight loss

1. 49ers avoid another double-digit blown lead. The 49ers took a 16-3 lead into halftime, drawing immediate flashbacks to last Sunday, when they blew a 13-point halftime lead to the Cardinals. Don’t forget the two-touchdown lead blown against the Rams, too. This has suddenly become the hot topic in the Bay Area, and it was tested again Thursday. The 49ers actually went up 23-3 with an impressive drive to start off the third quarter, but they gave up a 97-yard kick return TD — yet another back-breaking special teams play this season. And after a Niners punt, Seattle cut the lead to 23-17 with a 13-play, 94-yard TD drive and got the ball back with a chance to take the lead early in the fourth quarter. Kyle Shanahan lost a challenge, too, but apparently it was an error in the review process. Everything leaned Seattle’s direction after the 49ers had completely outplayed the Seahawks in the first half. This would have been their third double-digit blown lead of the season; no other NFL team has more than one this year, per NFL Research. But the Niners found a way to finish it off, thanks to massive plays from two rookies — an interception by Renardo Green and a 76-yard run by Isaac Guerendo. There were a few white-knuckle moments in the second half, but the 49ers avoided a disastrous defeat and pulled back to .500.
2. Seahawks lose physical battle, drop back to .500. Just as this was a big win for the 49ers, it was equally as tough a loss for the Seahawks, who have gone from unbeaten to 3-3 in the span of 11 brutal days. The Seahawks sent a message this week that they wanted to set a physical tone early and, by Mike Macdonald’s indication, run the ball. The problem was they couldn’t do either. The 49ers were well-prepared for the run, dominating up front and holding Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet to a combined 52 yards on 19 carries. On the other side of the ball, the Seahawks allowed the Christian McCaffrey-less 49ers to run for 228 yards. It was a game of give and take for the Seahawks, no better personified than Laviska Shenault Jr.’s night. On the one hand, Shenault’s 97-yard kick return woke the Seahawks up from the dead after San Francisco took a 23-3 lead. But Shenault’s early fumble — right after Deebo Samuel’s 76-yard TD — took the air out of the stadium and put the Seahawks in a 13-point hole. This was a valiant effort by the Seahawks late, but their early game plan fizzled out quickly and made the challenge too big to overcome. 
3. Niners started fixing red-zone woes, but injuries mounting. On their first two trips into the red zone Thursday, the 49ers settled for field goals, continuing a disappointing theme this season. Converting just one of six red-zone chances into touchdowns on Sunday dropped the 49ers’ conversion percentage to 40.9 percent — 29th in the NFL entering Week 6. That number went up to 44.4 percent after the 49ers converted their next three trips inside the 20, with two big TD throws to George Kittle and the icing-on-the-cake rushing TD for Kyle Juszczyk. It was part of an impressive offensive bounceback all around, especially considering that Jordan Mason (left shoulder) got hurt midway through the second quarter and left the game for good in the third quarter. Mason made his mark with 82 yards on 10 touches, and his backups stepped up. Isaac Guerendo stepped in for Mason and was quiet early, but he exploded for a game-sealing 76-yard run late. It wasn’t all pretty, but Brock Purdy threw for 255 yards and three scores and used his legs effectively. Kittle and Samuel, both of whom left the field temporarily with injuries, stepped up on a night when Brandon Aiyuk and Jauan Jennings were fairly quiet.
4. Seahawks need more from DK, Geno. There are plenty of fingers to point at other elements of the Seahawks, including a leaky defense. But if they’re going to get back on track and stay in this NFC West race, they’re going to need more from Geno Smith and DK Metcalf — more of what we saw during the 3-0 start. Smith had a big game in the loss to Detroit, but he just hasn’t looked right the past two games. Smith’s first pick was a bad overthrow amid pressure and cost the Seahawks points. His late interception was even more gutting. Metcalf, who lost fumbles in each of the past two games, couldn’t haul in a key third-down catch in the first quarter, and he wasn’t as physical as you’d like at the catch point on what could have been a huge TD hookup in the second quarter, with Seattle down 16-0. Then right before the half, Metcalf made what looked like a terrific TD catch, but his toe was on the line, forcing the Seahawks to settle for a field goal. Smith and Metcalf hooked up for what would have been a 52-yard TD bomb with 4:39 left, but it was wiped out by a crushing illegal-shift penalty. That entire drive was plagued by Seattle miscues and missed connections across the offense, even if it ultimately ended in a score. That wasn’t their fault. But Smith and Metcalf are this team’s big-play stars, and the ‘Hawks need them in peak form now more than ever.
5. Shorthanded 49ers defense came up big. The Niners were already without Charvarius Ward, their best cover corner, and they just placed safety Talanoa Hufanga on injured reserve. Hufanga’s replacement, Malik Mustapha, made his impact felt early, intercepting Geno Smith on the first drive and later adding a nice tackle for loss on Kenneth Walker III. But Mustapha left with an ankle injury, further thinning an already-decimated group. Still, the 49ers hung extremely tough, even as the Seahawks kept pushing them until the end. Renardo Green had a big stick on Walker to prevent a first down in the first half, and he had a massive play in the fourth quarter, intercepting Smith and running it back 20 yards. George Odum arrived just in time to break up a potential TD bomb to DK Metcalf in the first half. And yes, the old standbys were there, such as Nick Bosa with his constant pressure and Fred Warner, who blew up a screen to Walker, made 11 tackles and forced a fumble. But the 49ers don’t win this game without the big performances from players such as Mustapha, Green, Odum and Isaac Yiadom, who also had a good night in coverage.

Next Gen Stats Insight for 49ers-Seahawks (via NFL Pro): Nick Bosa generated 14 pressures across 49 pass rushes against the Seahawks, tied for the most pressures by a pass rusher in a game over the last four seasons (when Bosa also had 14 pressures against the Rams in Week 4, 2022).

NFL Research: With his 76-yard touchdown reception, Deebo Samuel became the first wide receiver in NFL history to join the “20-20 club” — 20 receiving TDs and 20 rushing TDs.