The 5 Key Offseason Weaknesses the 49ers Overcame to Defeat Seattle in Week 1

49ers football is back, and here we go again.

Brock Purdy and the San Francisco 49ers snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, delivering a 17-13 loss to the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field. Like many of their recent clashes, neither team gave up easily, with both sides trading go-ahead scores until star 49ers DE Nick Bosa forced and recovered a fumble with less than a minute left. For San Francisco, this flipped the script on Seattle's recent blueprint for beating the red-and-gold: bend on defense until the Niners commit a costly error, overwhelm the special teams battle, and control the end of halves to go ahead late. With as many questions as the 49ers had going into this season, a Week 1 victory on the road against a divisional opponent provides a huge breath of relief.

But despite the win, the 49ers aren't the dominant NFC West powerhouse they've been the past few years. After an offseason full of drama, from San Francisco's veteran exodus to Jauan Jennings' mini-holdout, the Niners knew they'd have to completely remodel their approach. With a defense full of unproven youngsters, a receiving corps led by Ricky Pearsall and Jauan Jennings, and a newly-renovated special teams unit, the Niners had to prove a lot in order to walk out of Seattle with a victory.

So how did the 49ers address their biggest concerns this offseason? In no particular order, let's break down the 5 biggest issues the 49ers had to overcome to snag a Week 1 win:

1. Injuries

After a season doomed by injuries and exhaustion, the 49ers' biggest stars were finally healthy going into Week 1. Even with former Offensive Player of the Year Christian McCaffrey making a surprise appearance on the injury report this week, the 49ers rolled into Seattle with most of their stars active. That didn't stay the case for long. In the course of the game, San Francisco saw RT Trent Williams, LB Fred Warner, TE George Kittle, CMC, and Jauan Jennings leave with injuries. The good news? Of those five, three returned in short order, with Williams, Warner, and McCaffrey returning and playing the majority of snaps. Also of positive note, Kittle - who was ruled out of the game near the end of the first half - remained on the sidelines walking without much issue.

The bad news? Those five players represent some of the biggest contract extensions the 49ers have doled out in the past couple years, making up a large part of their veteran core. If they spend the season dogged by injuries, it'll take a superstar ascension from one or more of the rookie class to make up for that loss. With a 17-week schedule and Kittle and Jennings scheduled for MRIs, the Niners' injury outlook doesn't look much better than it did during last year's campaign.

If the Niners can rest up and keep their guys on the field for next week's game against the Saints, then they'll be moving in the right direction. But for now, that's still a big if.

2. Run Defense

Perhaps the biggest flaw in last year's collapse? The 49ers' run defense, which allowed the 4th-highest success rate on opponent's runs. The Niners invested heavily in their defense during this year's draft, but success is never guaranteed with the level of turnover they had. Thankfully, the Robert Saleh-led defense did more than enough to give San Francisco a shot to win today's game.

Despite Seattle chaining together successful runs early, the 49ers' defense adapted and allowed just 84 yards on 26 carries, or just 3.23 yards per carry. Seattle running backs Zach Charbonnet and Kenneth Walker led the way on an early touchdown drive, but no Seattle rusher broke a run longer than 9 yards. In the second half, the 49ers allowed only 34 yards on 10 rushes (3.4 YPC), despite never leading until just 1:50 remained. Every part of the new-look defense was humming against Seattle's offense, led by ex-49ers coordinator Klint Kubiak. Even against a coordinator that knew their strengths and weaknesses well, San Francisco's D showed that they're capable of making an impact early and often.

3. Special Teams

This offseason, the 49ers overhauled their special teams by hiring Brant Boyer, former Jets special teams coordinator. The hope was that with new eyes on the Niners' struggling special teams unit, an organizational mandate to reinforce the unit, and a true kicking competition in camp, the 49ers would be able to alleviate a weakness that's held the team back for over a decade.

The early returns: it's not any better.

The biggest and most obvious gaffes were centered around K Jake Moody, whose first quarter miss from 26 yards away kept the 49ers behind for nearly three quarters. And even though it likely wasn't because of him, his next attempt - resulting in a blocked FG - highlighted the chasm between San Francisco and Seattle's special teams units. Since the Harbaugh days, the Seahawks have tormented the Niners with timely and effective special teams plays, and today was no different.

To his credit, Moody made the most of his third attempt, lofting a 32-yard attempt through without much issue. But the lack of trust in his kicking leg was evident through much of the second half, when the normally conservative Kyle Shanahan went for it on two 4th downs with plenty of time left to go. Shanahan made it clear in his post-game presser that Moody will remain the kicker, but the 49ers' inability to maintain pressure against a sturdy Seattle defense was a huge factor in them nearly losing this game.

It's also important to note that the punt and kickoff units didn't match up tremendously against Seattle. While most of the attention will go on the field goal unit, the Seahawks once again had the field position advantage for most of the game. While San Francisco's punt return unit got stronger as the game went on, providing returns of 14 and 18 yards in the second half, Seattle's longest punt of the day nearly ended in disaster for the Niners, when former Kansas City WR Skyy Moore let the ball bounce off his hands and out of bounds for no return. Though disaster was averted, it was emblematic of another day in which the 49ers special teams weren't quite meshing.

Taking out the final kickoff of the first half, in which Seattle scored with two seconds left in the half and the 49ers promptly took a knee, here are the punt and kick-off results for each team:

4. Receiving Depth

Ricky Pearsall, have yourself a day.

With the Niners missing star wide receivers Brandon Aiyuk (injury) and Deebo Samuel (traded), sophomore WR Ricky Pearsall has the opportunity to elevate himself as a legitimate outside threat in the NFL. Today, he delivered, with 108 yards on 4 catches, including a late-game dime to set up the Niners' go-ahead touchdown.

With George Kittle and Jauan Jennings leaving the game due to injury, San Francisco's already-depleted receiving corps became wire-thin. But Pearsall's performance against a sturdy Seattle defense provides hope that they'll be able to weather the next few weeks until reinforcements arrived. Combined with McCaffrey, who hauled in 9 receptions for 73 yards, San Francisco's offense was able to remain mostly methodical as they controlled the ball for 37:58. Eight players ended up with catches today, including backup TE Jake Tonges, who corralled the game-winning touchdown pass late in the 4th quarter.

5. Finishing Games

Above everything else, today's game was yet another referendum on QB Brock Purdy, the newly-minted $53 million dollar man. Despite his early success in the NFL, many continue to doubt Purdy, and one of his biggest knocks has been his relative inability to come from behind. While it's true that when he puts the team ahead, they tend to stay there, he's also admitted that he can struggle to play the hero. The following stats highlight that Purdy's performance can struggle in pressure situations:

49ers trail: 213-322 (66.2%), 2,775 yards (8.6 YPA), 15 TD, 16 INT, 87.9 RTG
49ers tied: 146-220 (66.4%), 1,801 yards (8.2 YPA), 14 TD, 4 INT, 105.1 RTG
49ers lead: 363-527 (68.9%), 4,942 yards (9.4 YPA), 35 TD, 7 INT, 115.2 RTG

Today, though, Purdy came through when it mattered most. Despite two interceptions by trying to force the ball into windows that weren't there, Purdy overcame the loss of two wide receivers and marched the ball into Seattle territory and punched it in with an incredible throw to Jake Tonges. Perhaps it's just something about Seattle, but when the Niners found themselves in a position to win, both sides of the ball came together and stonewalled their hated rivals. A performance like this hints that the 49ers might once again be finding their groove, and if they do, the league should watch out.