49ers carve up Seahawks in 31-13 Thanksgiving night victory

There should be zero doubt about who is the favorite in the NFC West after the first meeting of the season between the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks, which ended in a 31-13 win for the 49ers at Lumen Field in Seattle on Thanksgiving night.

The 49ers dominated in the first half of the game, building a 24-3 halftime lead. They had to fight off a push from the Seahawks in the third quarter but re-gained control of the game in the fourth quarter and cruised to a win that put them two games up over the Seahawks in the NFC West.

49ers quarterback Brock Purdy threw for 209 yards with one touchdown and one interception in the win, while running back Christian McCaffrey ran for 114 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries. Quarterback Geno Smith threw for 180 yards and one interception on 18-of-27 passing for the Seahawks while getting sacked six times by the 49ers.

First Half

The 49ers began the game with possession and sliced through the Seahawks defense on their first drive, moving 71 yards in nine plays to take a 7-0 lead on a two-yard run by wide receiver Deebo Samuel. Christian McCaffrey got four touches on the drive, including a 27-yard run and a 14-yard catch, then Samuel strolled into the end zone untouched on the drive's final play for his third rushing touchdown of the season.

Momentum shifted back to the Seahawks on the ensuing kickoff when return man Dee Eskridge tore off a 66-yard return to give the Seahawks possession at the 49ers' 33-yard line. But the 49ers rose to the occasion on defense by holding the Seahawks to a field goal attempt, which was good from 51 yards for kicker Jason Myers to cut the lead to 7-3.

The 49ers drove 38 yards to the Seahawks' 30 on the next possession, but their drive stalled after a holding call and a six-yard loss on a 3rd-and-14 play pushed them out of field goal range. The Seahawks took over at their own 7-yard line but punted back to the 49ers after three plays.

After outgaining the Seahawks 148 to zero in the first quarter, the 49ers opened up a 14-3 lead early in the second quarter after a two-yard touchdown from McCaffrey. The 49ers took over at the Seahawks' 45-yard line after the previous punt, then moved into the end zone on eight plays, with the help of an illegal contact penalty on the Seahawks that gave the 49ers a first down on 3rd-and-7. The touchdown was the 15th of the season for McCaffrey.

The dominance continued for the 49ers on defense, starting with an interception by cornerback Ambry Thomas on the ensuing possession that gave the 49ers the ball at the Seahawks' 42-yard line. The 49ers were held to a punt after the interception but were able to down the ball at the two-yard line on the punt, then followed that up by forcing the third straight three-and-out from the Seahawks.

The 49ers took over on their own 42-yard line after the punt, then opened up a 21-3 lead after an eight-play, 58-yard drive that ended with the second touchdown run of the first half from McCaffrey. The drive was kept alive with first down completions on 3rd-and-9 and 3rd-and-6 plays, then McCaffrey turned a run that looked like it might be stopped in the backfield into a score from eight yards out to break the game wide open.

More disaster struck for the Seahawks after the teams exchanged three-and-outs. The 49ers punted to the Seahawks after the two-minute warning but took possession back at the Seahawks' 22 when a muffed punt by return man DeeJay Dallas was recovered by wide receiver Ronnie Bell. The 49ers turned the muff into a 32-yard field goal to take a 24-3 lead with 39 seconds to play.

The Seahawks finally found some movement on offense on the final possession of the first half as they moved 41 yards to get in position for a 53-yard field goal attempt from Myers as time expired in the second quarter. But Myers missed the kick, and Seahawks lineman Stone Forsythe was flagged for unnecessary roughness on the play when he helped body slam 49ers defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw. It was a fitting end to the first half to the Seahawks, who ran just 18 plays on offense while the 49ers ran 42. The 49ers outgained the Seahawks 225 to 56 in the first half while holding a 16 to 3 edge in first downs.

Second Half

The Seahawks marched into 49ers territory on their first drive of the second half but were forced to punt after a third-down sack from defensive end Nick Bosa on a 3rd-and-4 from the 35-yard line. The punt pinned the 49ers at their own 6-yard line, then the Seahawks found some life when an erratic throw from Purdy fell into the arms of linebacker Jordyn Brooks for an easy pick six to cut the lead to 24-10.

Momentum continued to build for the Seahawks after the touchdown as they held the 49ers to a three-and-out then moved inside the 49ers' 10-yard line on their best drive of the night. But a sack from defensive linemen Arik Armstead and Javon Hargrave on a 3rd-and-Goal from the 7-yard line forced the Seahawks to settle for a 30-yard field goal from Myers to cut the lead to 24-13.

The 49ers moved into Seahawks territory on the next possession and were set to go for a first down when facing a 4th-and-3 at the Seahawks' 37-yard line on the first play of the fourth quarter. But offensive lineman Jon Feliciano was called for a false start on the play, which forced the 49ers to punt back to the Seahawks. The Seahawks were stuffed again on the next possession when 49ers got another combined sack on third down, this one from Armstead and Bosa.

Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk had a quiet night for the 49ers through three quarters, but that changed on the next drive when he caught a clutch touchdown that stopped the Seahawks' comeback and put the 49ers up 31-13. The 49ers moved to the Seahawks' 28-yard line in five plays, then Purdy found Aiyuk on a 2nd-and-7 for his second catch of the night and fifth touchdown of the season, putting the game back out of reach with just under eight minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.

The Seahawks moved to the 49ers' 21-yard line on the next drive before facing a 4th-and-1 with just over four minutes left in the game. The 49ers' defense, led by Bosa, stopped running back Zach Charbonnet in the backfield on the play, forcing a turnover on downs. The 49ers were able to run out the clock and finish out the game on their next possession.

The 49ers improved their record to 8-3 on the season with the win, while the Seahawks fell to 6-5 with the loss.

Game Notes: McCaffrey's second touchdown of the game gave him a single-season franchise record for rushing touchdowns with 11. Six players held the previous mark of 10 (Joe Perry, 1953; J.D. Smith, 1959; Billy Kilmer, 1961; Ricky Watters, 1993; Derek Loville, 1995; Frank Gore, 2009)... This was the seventh Thanksgiving game in franchise history for the 49ers, who moved their overall record to 4-2-1 during the holiday. The 49ers were seven-point favorites over the Seahawks heading into the game... The Seahawks fell to 2-3 in Thanksgiving games, with their last win being a 19-3 victory over the 49ers in 2014... The Seahawks now lead the overall series with the 49ers 30-21. After being on the losing side in most of their games to the Seahawks from 2014 to 2021, the 49ers now have a four-game winning streak in the series... Next up for the 49ers is a long-awaited showdown with the current No. 1 seed in the NFC, the Philadelphia Eagles. The game takes place on Sunday, December 3 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia (4:25 p.m. ET/1:25 p.m. PT, FOX)... The Seahawks have another Thursday night game next week (November 30) against the Dallas Cowboys (8:15 p.m. ET, Prime Video). The 49ers and Seahawks will play again at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara on December 10.