49ers beat Seahawks 36-24 to move atop NFC West

SEATTLE — Deebo Samuel didn’t hesitate when he was asked what was working for the San Francisco 49ers.

“Brock Purdy,” Samuel said.

Purdy threw for 255 yards and three touchdowns, and the Niners never trailed in a 36-24 victory over the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday night.

Samuel had a 76-yard catch-and-run touchdown and finished with three catches for 102 yards for the defending NFC champions (3-3), who moved into a tie with Seattle (3-3) for first place in the NFC West after an uneven start to the season.

George Kittle added five receptions for 58 yards and two scores for the 49ers, who beat the Seahawks for a sixth straight time. Kyle Juszczyk had a late TD run, and he and Kittle both celebrated their scores by leaping into the stands to embrace their wives, who were sitting together in the first row.

Matthew Wright, who joined San Francisco earlier this week to replace injured kicker Jake Moody, had a trio of first half-field goals from 25, 41 and 35 yards.

“When everyone’s on point and we’re doing our thing, we’re a hard team to beat,” Purdy said.

Geno Smith passed for 312 yards and a touchdown but was intercepted twice, and the Seahawks lost their third straight after a 3-0 start under first-year coach Mike Macdonald.

“We’re just not doing the things that good football teams do to win football games, and so we’re going to attack it. We’re going to take a breather here and really go back and dissect the heck out of this thing,” Macdonald said.

Four days after blowing a 23-10 halftime lead and losing to division rival Arizona, San Francisco fended off a second-half challenge by Seattle, which got a boost from Laviska Shenault Jr.’s 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the third quarter.

After the 49ers punted, Smith led a 94-yard drive and Kenneth Walker III scored from 1 yard out to get Seattle within 23-17.

But Smith’s second interception, this one by Renardo Green, set up Kittle’s second TD of the game and a 29-17 lead for the Niners.

Smith found Tyler Lockett for a 9-yard scoring pass with 1:44 left to narrow the score to 29-24. San Francisco responded with Isaac Guerendo’s 76-yard dash downfield that led to Juszczyk’s 6-yard TD run — a welcome conclusion for a team that has struggled to finish games.

“We talk about it all the time, and it’s something we’ve had to get better at this season,” Purdy said. “Coach always says, no matter what the score is, our offense should be able to put up points when our team needs it.”

Seattle’s struggles with the run game continued, with the team finishing with 20 carries for 52 yards — 32 by Walker.

Smith was intercepted on Seattle’s opening drive. The Seahawks were on the San Francisco 25 when rookie safety Malik Mustapha pulled down a pass meant for Lockett.

Jordan Mason broke away for a 38-yard run on San Francisco’s first series, but the drive ended with Wright’s 25-yard field goal.

Samuel pulled down an early second-quarter pass from Purdy and shook off a defender for the 76-yard TD that put the 49ers up 10-0. Samuel became the first receiver in NFL history with 20 or more rushing touchdowns and 20-plus receiving scores.

Darrell Luter Jr. forced a fumble on the Seahawks’ kickoff return and Tatum Bethune recovered on the Seattle 29. Wright capped that drive with a 41-yard field goal. Wright’s third field goal gave the Niners a 16-0 lead late in the second quarter.

Aided by a pass interference call that put the ball on the 2-yard line, Smith threw three incomplete passes before the Seahawks settled for Jason Myers’ 20-yard field goal as the first half expired.

Purdy found Kittle for a 10-yard touchdown to start the second half that made it 23-3.

“He’s a baller,” Purdy said of Kittle. “Obviously when you get the ball in his hands he can do what he can. He can break tackles. Just explosive for a tight end.”

Mason, who left the game in the second quarter with a shoulder injury, later returned and finished with 73 yards on on nine carries for the 49ers as he continues to fill in for the injured Christian McCaffrey.

Seahawks safety Rayshawn Jenkins said he’s not frustrated — yet.

“We have the right guys in the room to get the job done. We just really have to be real and accountable. And as long as we do that, we should be OK,” Jenkins said. “But it has to happen sooner than later.”

Injuries

San Francisco CB Charvarius Ward was a late scratch with a bruised knee. It was the first game Ward has missed since joining the Niners in 2022. … Wright left the field shortly before the game ended after making a tackle on a kickoff return.

As expected, the Seahawks put OLB Uchenna Nwosu on injured reserve with a thigh injury. Nwosu missed the first four games of the regular season with a sprained knee. He played just 20 snaps in Sunday’s loss to the New York Giants before he was hurt again. … Mustapha left the game in the first half with an ankle injury and did not return.

Up next

Seahawks are at Atlanta on Oct. 20.

49ers host Kansas City on Oct. 20 in a Super Bowl rematch.

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49ERS 36, SEAHAWKS 24

San Francisco 3             13           7             13—36

Seattle 0             3             14           7—24

First Quarter

SF—FG Wright 25, 3:58. Drive: 13 plays, 90 yards, 7:28. Key Plays: Mustapha 1 interception return to San Francisco 3; Purdy 3 run on 3rd-and-2; Purdy 11 pass to Samuel on 3rd-and-1; Mason 38 run; Purdy 13 pass to Jennings. San Francisco 3, Seattle 0.

Second Quarter

SF—Samuel 76 pass from Purdy (Wright kick), 13:30. Drive: 1 play, 76 yards, 00:12. San Francisco 10, Seattle 0.

SF—FG Wright 41, 11:47. Drive: 4 plays, 6 yards, 1:36. San Francisco 13, Seattle 0.

SF—FG Wright 35, 2:33. Drive: 14 plays, 77 yards, 7:43. Key Plays: Mason 14 run; Purdy 16 pass to Aiyuk; Purdy 10 run; Purdy 7 pass to Jennings on 3rd-and-5. San Francisco 16, Seattle 0.

Sea—FG Myers 20, :00. Drive: 12 plays, 69 yards, 2:33. Key Plays: Shenault kick return to Seattle 29; G.Smith 19 pass to Smith-Njigba; G.Smith 18 pass to Smith-Njigba on 3rd-and-10; G.Smith 10 pass to Smith-Njigba. San Francisco 16, Seattle 3.

Third Quarter

SF—Kittle 10 pass from Purdy (Wright kick), 10:07. Drive: 10 plays, 70 yards, 4:53. Key Plays: P.Taylor kick return to San Francisco 30; Purdy 29 pass to Kittle. San Francisco 23, Seattle 3.

Sea—Shenault 97 kickoff return (Myers kick), 9:54. Drive: 1 play, 0 yards, 00:13. San Francisco 23, Seattle 10.

Sea—Walker 1 run (Myers kick), 1:24. Drive: 13 plays, 94 yards, 5:38. Key Plays: G.Smith 13 pass to Barner; G.Smith 37 pass to Lockett on 3rd-and-8; G.Smith 12 pass to N.Fant; G.Smith 8 pass to Metcalf on 3rd-and-3. San Francisco 23, Seattle 17.

Fourth Quarter

SF—Kittle 9 pass from Purdy (run failed), 6:20. Drive: 3 plays, 15 yards, 1:26. Key Play: Green 20 interception return to Seattle 15. San Francisco 29, Seattle 17.

Sea—Lockett 9 pass from G.Smith (Myers kick), 1:44. Drive: 16 plays, 70 yards, 4:36. Key Plays: D.Williams kick return to Seattle 30; G.Smith 12 pass to N.Fant; G.Smith 11 pass to Bobo on 3rd-and-10; G.Smith 11 pass to Walker on 3rd-and-7; G.Smith 13 pass to Lockett. San Francisco 29, Seattle 24.

SF—Juszczyk 6 run (Wright kick), 1:17. Drive: 4 plays, 81 yards, 00:27. Key Plays: P.Taylor kick return to San Francisco 19; Guerendo 76 run. San Francisco 36, Seattle 24.

SF          Sea

FIRST DOWNS  21           22

Rushing               9             3

Passing                10           18

Penalty 2             1

THIRD DOWN EFF          5-12       7-16

FOURTH DOWN EFF     0-0         2-3

TOTAL NET YARDS          483        358

Total Plays          61           73

Avg Gain             7.9         4.9

NET YARDS RUSHING  228        52

Rushes 33           20

Avg per rush      6.909    2.6

NET YARDS PASSING    255        306

Sacked-Yds lost               0-0         1-6

Gross-Yds passing         255        312

Completed-Att.               18-28    30-52

Had Intercepted             0             2

Yards-Pass Play               9.107    5.774

KICKOFFS-EndZone-TB               8-4-1     4-1-0

PUNTS-Avg.      4-43.3  4-54.0

Punts blocked  0             0

FGs-PATs blocked          0-0         0-0

TOTAL RETURN YARDAGE          129        266

Punt Returns     2-11       0-0

Kickoff Returns 4-97      7-266

Interceptions   2-21      0-0

PENALTIES-Yds 5-34      9-69

FUMBLES-Lost 0-0         2-1

TIME OF POSSESSION 33:05    26:55

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING—San Francisco, Guerendo 10-99, Mason 9-73, Purdy 4-19, P.Taylor 5-16, Samuel 4-15, Juszczyk 1-6. Seattle, Walker 14-32, Charbonnet 5-20, G.Smith 1-0.

PASSING—San Francisco, Purdy 18-28-0-255. Seattle, G.Smith 30-52-2-312.

RECEIVING—San Francisco, Kittle 5-58, Samuel 3-102, Jennings 3-27, Juszczyk 3-10, Aiyuk 2-37, P.Taylor 1-12, Mason 1-9. Seattle, Walker 8-37, N.Fant 6-63, Smith-Njigba 5-53, Lockett 4-65, Metcalf 3-48, Bobo 2-18, Charbonnet 1-15, Barner 1-13.

PUNT RETURNS—San Francisco, Cowing 2-11. Seattle, None.

KICKOFF RETURNS—San Francisco, Samuel 2-52, P.Taylor 2-45. Seattle, Shenault 4-189, D.Williams 3-77.

TACKLES-ASSISTS-SACKS—San Francisco, Warner 6-5-0, Brown 6-2-0, Lenoir 6-2-0, Green 4-2-0, Odum 4-2-0, Campbell 3-0-0, Okuayinonu 2-0-1, Mustapha 2-0-0, Winters 2-0-0, Bosa 1-3-0, Givens 1-1-0, Collins 1-0-0, Davis 1-0-0, Yiadom 1-0-0, Anderson 0-2-0, Floyd 0-2-0, Beal 0-1-0. Seattle, Love 7-3-0, Dodson 5-2-0, Witherspoon 4-1-0, T.Brown 4-0-0, Baker 3-4-0, Hankins 3-2-0, Mafe 3-1-0, L.Williams 3-1-0, Ja.Reed 2-2-0, Wallace 2-1-0, Jenkins 2-0-0, Jones 1-1-0, Burns 1-0-0, D.Hall 0-1-0.

INTERCEPTIONS—San Francisco, Green 1-20, Mustapha 1-1. Seattle, None.

MISSED FIELD GOALS—None.

OFFICIALS—Referee Craig Wrolstad, Ump Steve Woods, HL Danny Short, LJ Brett Bergman, FJ Jeff Shears, SJ Frank Steratore, BJ Rich Martinez, Replay Gavin Anderson.