Brock Purdy easily leads 49ers past Seahawks to clinch NFC West with seventh straight win

Brock Purdy got the job done again.

Purdy led the San Francisco 49ers to a 21-13 win over the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field in his second start since he replaced the injured Jimmy Garoppolo. The win, which marked San Francisco’s seventh straight, clinched the NFC West and a postseason berth for the 49ers.

Purdy surpassed the expectations that came with the Mr. Irrelevant title he received in April for a second time, just three days after he threw two touchdowns and ran in another in San Francisco's blowout win over Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

"He's definitely the most poised rookie I've ever had," 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said, adding that Purdy didn't throw a pass during practice since Sunday while dealing with an oblique and rib injury.

Following a quick-stalled opening drive, Purdy marched the 49ers on a nine-play, 86-yard drive capped by a 28-yard touchdown pass to George Kittle up the middle to take a 7-0 lead. Kittle was about as open as he could possibly be after the Seahawks bit on a double pump fake from Purdy.

The Seahawks, save for a 38-yard field goal late in the second quarter, couldn’t get much going offensively in the first 30 minutes. Their first four drives ended with punts after no more than five plays each, and they averaged 3.6 yards per play in the half. Niners linebacker Dre Greenlaw forced a Travis Homer fumble in the final minute of the first half to kill a promising drive right before halftime.

That turnover set up an easy, 1-yard touchdown run from Christian McCaffrey, which gave the 49ers a 14-3 lead at the break.

Purdy put the game out of reach on the Niners' first drive of the second half. He found Kittle wide-open again, this time on the sideline, for a 54-yard touchdown. The score gave the 49ers a 21-3 lead just a minute into the third quarter.

The 49ers' defense, outstanding all night, gave up a late touchdown to Noah Fant in the final minutes. Purdy, however, expertly ran down the remaining 3:35 to close out the game and officially lock up the NFC West, marking the second time the Niners have done so under Shanahan.

Geno Smith went 31-of-44 for 238 yards with a touchdown for the Seahawks, who have lost four of their past five games. Tyler Lockett had 68 receiving yards on seven grabs, and DK Metcalf had 55 yards on seven catches. Lockett broke his index finger during the game and might be out for the rest of the season, head coach Pete Carroll said afterward.

Purdy finished 17-of-26 for 217 passing yards with two touchdowns. Kittle had 93 yards on four catches. McCaffrey had 108 yards on 26 carries in his second straight game with 100 rushing yards.

The 49ers next take on the Washington Commanders on Dec. 24 before wrapping up their season with games at the Las Vegas Raiders and against the struggling Arizona Cardinals at home.

While Thursday night’s matchup wasn’t much of a battle, it proved that last weekend's outing wasn’t a fluke for Purdy. At the very least, he is more than capable of running Shanahan’s offense. At best, a substantial playoff run feels possible.