The San Francisco 49ers are 1-0. And it wasn't because they played a crisp, efficient game against the Seattle Seahawks. There were many mistakes and red zone woes. A few mistakes came on defense, but it was mostly the offense and special teams.
Seattle is never an easy place to win, especially when the Seahawks have a good defense. But the 49ers came from behind a won a tough division game. Here are my rapid reactions to San Francisco's 17-13 win. These are my live thoughts as the game unfolded.
- Nice job by the 49ers defense to get off the field on the first drive. Nick Bosa hit Sam Darnold on third down. That needs to happen a lot.
- One punt return. One penalty. Not the best start by the 49ers' special teams. Thanks, Ji'Ayir Brown.
- Brock Purdy to Ricky Pearsall. We'll hear that a lot this season.
There is that Purdy to Pearsall connection.#49ers #SFvsSEA #FTTB pic.twitter.com/yDV11a1BE2
— 49ers Webzone (@49erswebzone) September 7, 2025
- What the heck was that jump pass, Purdy? Don't do that again.
- George Kittle is pretty good. Touchdown for the Seahawks killer, who had three big catches on that touchdown drive.
There's Kittle. In the end zone 😤
📺: FOX
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) September 7, 2025
NFL+ // https://t.co/KTh0i4oaLh pic.twitter.com/BzYOg5f80b
- Purdy was 6-7 on that 95-yard opening drive. He looks good early on.
- Outside of Purdy's 12 rushing yards on the opening drive, the 49ers only picked up seven yards on five carries.
- Upton Stout got beaten for 21 yards on the second drive. We can expect plenty of rookie mistakes this season.
- Fred Warner is down. The 49ers can't afford to lose him.
- It doesn't look as bad as last season, but the 49ers' defense is struggling to stop the run early in this game.
- Not a good drive by Stout. This time, he's called for a pass interference. And he likely didn't have to grab the receiver. The pass looked uncatchable.
Every time he goes in there hey go straight at him. https://t.co/QHYtUztYUq
— John Chapman (@JL_Chapman) September 7, 2025
- The crowd in Seattle is at least half 49ers fans, yet Seahawks fans are noticeably louder. And they say they don't pump noise into that stadium.
- So far, special teams don't look any better for San Francisco.
Brant Boyer's #49ers' ST unit looks an awful lot like Hightower and Schneider's ST units after 1 half:
2 penalties
— Larry Krueger (@sportslarryk) September 7, 2025
return man fumbled
kicker is imploding, missing gimme kicks
- Bryce Huff just had his first QB pressure as a member of the 49ers.
- Looks like Warner is ok. He's punishing ball carriers out there.
#49ers Fred Warner still dropping hitsticks with a busted nose 😤 pic.twitter.com/MHgifKoRNZ
— ???????????????????????????????????????????? (@TheSFNiners) September 7, 2025
- Robert Saleh has been more aggressive than he was in the past.
- Nice run stop by Kalia Davis.
- Aside from the second drive of the game, the 49ers' defense has been excellent.
- Kittle is currently out of the game. That's not good. He owns the Seahawks.
#49ers TE George Kittle is not back in the game. He's standing on the sideline with his helmet in his hand and a cap on.
— Nick Wagoner (@nwagoner) September 7, 2025
- Skyy Moore almost muffed that second-quarter punt. That's not how you want to begin with your new team.
- The 49ers are struggling to run the ball up the middle.
- Good things happen when you go deep to Kyle Juszczyk.
Kyle Juszczyk ????pic.twitter.com/jnpuX2QXus
— OurSF49ers (@OurSf49ers) September 7, 2025
- Third and Jauan (Jennings) is back.
- Kittle is out for the game with a hamstring injury. That is a big blow to overcome.
49ers injury update: TE George Kittle is out for the game.
— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoNBCS) September 7, 2025
- That was a pathetic end to a solid drive late in the first half.
- The offensive line has not played well, by the way.
- Jake Moody may have to stay in Seattle. What a horrible miss.
Jake Moody missed a 27 yard FG! Unreal pic.twitter.com/rUC13OuEKE
— OurSF49ers (@OurSf49ers) September 7, 2025
- 49ers went from potentially going up by seven heading into the half, with a chance to build off that in the second half, to trailing by three.
- It's nice having Christian McCaffrey back. He's a difference-maker.
Christian McCaffrey putting in work! pic.twitter.com/RIWAGmp9Q2
— OurSF49ers (@OurSf49ers) September 7, 2025
- Bad throw by Purdy, and it's picked off. That was another throw off his back foot. He's been doing that a lot today, mostly because of the offensive line.
- The run defense has been much better since early in the game.
- Kyle Shanahan has his run game rolling in the second half.
- Luke Farrell with a nice catch on fourth down. He took a big hit, but held on for the first down.
- Unbelievable. What a mess of a special teams unit.
- Dee Winters is having a strong game.
- Tempers are flaring. And if I had a helmet, I'd throw mine, too.
"Two thrown helmets and a lot of ticked off looking players" Pam Oliver on the 49ers sideline
— 49ersHive (@49ersHive) September 7, 2025
- Marques Sigle with a huge fumble recovery to give the 49ers life. Sam Okuayinonu caused the fumble.
Marques Sigle recovers a fumble in his NFL debut 🥳pic.twitter.com/FuABXPNzru
— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) September 7, 2025
- Great catch by Pearsall.
Purdy and Pearsall are cooking 🔥 pic.twitter.com/1bfo3cT2Xl
— OurSF49ers (@OurSf49ers) September 7, 2025
- Now Jennings is out of the game? Ugh!
- Those runs up the middle in the red zone aren't working.
- Moody made that one. It's all tied up.
- Playing without Kittle and Jennings has been a challenge, especially in the red zone.
- Another bad decision by Purdy. There was no reason to force that throw. There were four defenders in the area.
- Purdy to Pearsall again! The second-year wide receiver has over 100 yards receiving today.
Ricky with the big time moves??
📺: FOX
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) September 7, 2025
NFL+ // https://t.co/KTh0i4oaLh pic.twitter.com/MHiT4HOu5d
- What a catch by Jake Tonges to score the go-ahead touchdown. I thought that was going to be picked.
- Renardo Green just got beaten for what could end up being the game-winner for Seattle.
- Wow, the 49ers survive with a Bosa takeaway. What a huge play.
NICK BOSA SHUTS THE DOOR 🐻pic.twitter.com/pFxGvbk0Oo
— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) September 7, 2025
Up next for the 49ers is a trip to the Big Easy to face the New Orleans Saints. Will Kittle and Jennings be able to go? We'll see as the week progresses, but this is an impressive win despite a sloppy performance for much of the game.