SANTA CLARA — The 49ers’ big-play ability was on full display Sunday as San Francisco defeated the Seattle Seahawks for the second straight season.
Quarterback Brock Purdy orchestrated a symphony of explosive plays with Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk and George Kittle each having the ball in their hands.
The 49ers got the job done Sunday with a 28-16 win over the Seahawks at Levi’s Stadium in their bid for a favorable seeding in the NFC playoffs.
The 49ers improved to 10-3 on the season, but the Seahawks lost four straight for the first time in the Pete Carroll era, falling to 6-7.
If the Dallas Cowboys defeat the top-seeded Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday night, the 49ers will take their fate into their hands with a first-round bye and home-field advantage in the postseason.
Here are three takeaways from the 49ers’ Week 14 win.
Purdy continues his MVP bid
Purdy did nothing to tarnish his status as one of the top candidates for the 2023 NFL MVP.
Purdy completed 19 of 27 pass attempts for a career-high 368 yards in his fourth career game against the Seahawks (all wins).
He enters as the league leader in passer rating and will remain at the top of the list after achieving a rating of 122.1 on Sunday.
Purdy had a success rate of 70.4 and had seven consecutive games with better than 70 percent accuracy.
He becomes the fourth player in NFL history to record a complete game percentage of 70 or higher in seven consecutive games. He joins 49ers legends Joe Montana (eight games in 1989), Drew Brees (seven games in 2016) and Sam Bradford (seven games in 2016).
Two of MVP’s other favorites, Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts and Dallas signal-caller Dak Prescott, are scheduled to play against each other on Sunday night.
The 49ers broke up a close game early in the fourth quarter with Purdy’s 44-yard touchdown pass to Kittle.
Aiyuk caught six passes for 126 yards, becoming the first 49ers wide receiver to eclipse 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons since Anquan Boldin (2013 and 2014).
Samuel had a great day with seven receptions for 149 yards.
Big plays will determine the offense in the first half
For most of the 24 plays of the first half, the 49ers offense couldn’t do anything against the Seahawks.
But the other two snaps were really great.
After the first two plays, it looked like the 49ers would be the 13.5-point favorites. Running back Christian McCaffrey found a breakthrough on the right side and began a 72-yard run on the first play from scrimmage. McCaffrey ended up being taken down at the 3-yard line.
On the next play, backup running back Jordan Mason crossed the goal line for a touchdown. The 49ers led 7-0 after just 57 seconds.
However, that was the end of the 49ers’ offense until midway through the second quarter, when they made another big play.
Purdy had a clean pocket and sent a pass deep down the field to Samuel, who completed a 54-yard touchdown pass to Seattle’s slow-footed safety Jamal Adams.
Samuel continued to do well. The touchdown gave the 49ers a 14-10 lead at halftime.
Last week in Philadelphia, Samuel completed passes of 48 and 46 yards for three scores.
He added a touchdown in the third quarter against the Seahawks with a handoff from 1 yard left.
Ward leaves early due to injury
Charvarius Ward, the 49ers’ top cornerback, appeared on the field for only four defensive snaps before exiting the game with a groin strain. Ward’s rematch with DK Metcalf, who had a big game when they played on Thanksgiving, wasn’t that big of a deal.
Ward nearly made an interception on the third play as he strode down the field with Seahawks rookie wide receiver Jackson Smith-Njiba. Ward grabbed the ball with both hands, but he couldn’t hold on.
After that play, he slowly got up. On the next play, Seattle went after Ward, but Ward was unable to tackle Metcalf after a short pass. Metcalf gained 21 yards on the play and Ward left the game.
The 49ers replaced Ward with Ambry Thomas and played the rest of the game with Deomodore Lenoir on the opposing team. Isaiah Oliver entered the game at nickelback in passing situations.
The 49ers continued to use Samuel Womack as their only backup cornerback, but Darrell Lueter was expected to be sidelined for some time with a hamstring injury.
The 49ers have an opening on their practice roster and could be available for veteran cornerback Jason Verrett. Verrett practiced for the team on November 16, but he has not yet signed a formal contract to return to the team.