SEATTLE – Just when it appeared the Seahawks were somehow snatching victory out of the hands of defeat, they gave it right back.
Dominated statistically all day, the Seahawks stood at the 49ers’ 9-yard line with under a minute left, trailing just 17-13, when QB Sam Darnold lined up to throw.
Only, the ball slipped out of his hands as he made contact with teammate right tackle Abraham Lucas – who was trying to keep San Francisco’s Nick Bosa away from Darnold. Bosa jumped on the ball for a game- and soul-stealing fumble as the 49ers held on to win 17-13 in the season opener on Sunday afternoon at Lumen Field.
“Not the start that we wanted,” said Darnold, who was playing his first game as the Seahawks’ quarterback, replacing Geno Smith, who was traded in March to the Raiders.
Darnold said he was trying to check the ball down when the ball got away from him.
“It came out off somebody,” Darnold said. “I don’t know who it was or what. I think it was off one of our offensive linemen’s back. But it didn’t slip out or anything like that.”
A 40-yard Darnold pass to Jaxon Smith-Njigba – their longest offensive play all day – got the Seahawks close and it appeared to be a sudden reversal after the 49ers had taken the lead with 1:34 left.
But just as shockingly as Seattle got in position to seal the win, it slipped away.
“Yeah man, that’s a killer ending of that game’’ said receiver Cooper Kupp. “Just makes you sick. We’re right there. (But) we shouldn’t have been in that position if we make the plays that we expect to make to and we’re not there (having to come back at the end). So a killer way for it to end.’’
But maybe the result was fitting given how the 49ers dominated much of the day, outgaining the Seahawks 384-227 and holding the ball for 37 minutes and 58 seconds.
The Seahawks scored a touchdown on their second drive of the game and never got closer than the San Francisco 19 until the final drive.
The Seahawks fall to 0-1 and haves to travel to play Aaron Rodgers and DK Metcalf and the Pittsburgh Steelers. The 49ers won their fourth straight game in Seattle.
The Seahawks took the lead thanks to a Josh Jobe interception that led to a field goal. On the play, Purdy threw in the direction of Ricky Pearsall with four Seahawks in the same area. Jobe got there first and picked it off and was down at the Seahawks 47 with 7:01 left.
An offense that had just 27 yards in the second half to that point, methodically moved down the field, kicked off with runs of eight, five, five and seven yards.
A third-and-seven pass to Cooper Kupp gained six, and the Seahawks brought on Jason Myers for a 37-yard field goal that put them ahead 13-10 with 3:24 to play.
The 49ers started at their own 32 with 3:19 to play.
On a second-and-nine from the 33, Purdy got time and threw deep to Pearsall down the left sideline. Pearsall got a step on Riq Woolen thanks to a double move, and Woolen also seemed to hesitate as the ball arrived. That allowed Pearsall to catch it and take it to the 20 before he was pushed out of bounds by safety Coby Bryant.
The 49ers had a first down at the 11.
A McCaffrey run picked up one yard and the Seahawks called time with 1:50 remaining.
A pass over the middle to McCaffrey took it to the four with 1:44 left, with the Seahawks calling another time out.
On third down, Purdy rolled out of pressure to his right and after stopping to pass once, rolled to the sidelines where he threw in the direction of 49ers tight end Jake Tonges in traffic.
Tonges reached to snare the ball just out of Woolen’s hands for an improbable TD that gave the 49ers a 17-13 lead with 1:34 remaining.
The 49ers tied it on a 32-yard field goal by Jake Moody with 9:42 left.
To that point, the Seahawks had just 33 yards on eight plays in the second half and had scored on just two of seven possessions.
While the 49ers made plenty of mistakes, so did the Seahawks. Smith-Njigba fumbled the ball away on the first play of the fourth quarter when he was hit hard following a 2-yard gain on a receiver screen.
The 49ers took over at their own 34 with 14:50 to play.
They drove to the 14 where on fourth-and-two Purdy hit McCaffrey in the flat for a 6-yard gain.
Still, the Seahawks held the 49ers out of the end zone again, with the key play coming when Woolen batted away a pass to a momentarily open Jauan Jennings in the front corner of end zone on second down.
The 49ers risked trying a field goal again and this time made it to tie the game
San Francisco drove into Seattle territory on three straight drives spanning the second and third quarters, reaching the eight, 39 and 18 (aside from a one-play drive to run out the end of the first half).
But the 49ers got nothing out of it thanks to a missed 27-yard field goal, a Ernest Jones IV interception and a blocked field goal by Julian Love.
The Seahawks used a little bit of good fortune to grab a 10-7 lead at halftime.
With the game tied at 7-7 and less than two minutes in the half, the 49ers drove to Seattle’s 6-yard-line.
The drive stalled there and the 49ers settled for a chip shot 27-yard field goal. Perennially struggling kicker Jake Moody clanked it off the upright and the game remained tied.
The Seahawks moved from their 20 to the 49ers’ 30 to get a Jason Myers 48-yard field goal with two seconds left.
Each team scored a touchdown early on.
The 49ers struck first, moving 95 yards the first time they had the ball, converting three third downs and getting a break when Leonard Williams was called for a late hit on Brock Purdy after another third down. Purdy had thrown incomplete on the play before the penalty.
The TD came on a third-and-goal at the 5 when Purdy hit tight end George Kittle at the pylon for a 7-0 lead.
The Seahawks responded with a 69-yard, 10-play drive that also included two 49ers penalties – the key one a defensive pass interference call on cornerback Upton Stout drawn in the end zone by Kupp on fourth-and-goal at the 4.
The Seahawks scored a play later on a 1-yard plunge by Zach Charbonnet to make it 7-7 with 13:38 to play in the second quarter.