Before succeeding Pete Carroll as the head coach of the Seattle Seahawks, Mike Macdonald served as the defensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens. His defense was responsible for ruining Christmas for the San Francisco 49ers last year, intercepting quarterback Brock Purdy four times and derailing his chances of being named NFL MVP.
There was undoubtedly a sense of satisfaction in defeating a Macdonald-led team on Thursday night at Lumen Field, especially after the 49ers' embarrassing 33-19 loss against the Ravens last season.
However, the significance of beating Macdonald was lost on at least one 49ers player, who needed the connection explained during the post-game press conference.
"I didn't even know that," wide receiver Deebo Samuel said. "I don't know that we was thinking about that either. We were just coming in, and knew we had a game today, and it was a must-win, and we went out there and got the dub."
"Must-win" might be an exaggeration, but a loss on Thursday night would have put the 49ers in a challenging position moving forward. Instead of falling to 2-4, the team is now 3-3 and back in the thick of the NFC West race.
Purdy had a much better performance against a Macdonald team this time around. The 49ers quarterback completed 64.3 percent of his passes for 255 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions.
"I think, just going into the game, it was if they run this, this is my answer, simple as that," Purdy said of the 49ers' game plan this week. "I just try to keep it simple, and obviously, check the ball down when I needed to, and hit my number one or number two in my progression as efficiently as I could, and I just kept it simple."
Purdy also reflected on last year's matchup, noting what he learned and how things were different this time.
"Last year in that game, I feel like I just got out of rhythm, and I was trying to force stuff, and I just wasn't playing in the right mindset of being aggressive, being smart, and taking what the defense gave me. So I learned my lesson in that game," Purdy said.
"And then coming into this game, obviously, new personnel. It's the Seahawks, not the Ravens. And so, for me, it was, all right, similar scheme, yes, but this is what we're trying to attack, and how can I be efficient as best as I can? So that was my mindset."