Niners Nation
Plus, Brock Purdy’s legs, and Kyle Shanahan blowing it late.
For the fourth time this season, the San Francisco 49ers have found themselves with a lead in the fourth quarter against an NFC West opponent.
The most recent instance was in Week 6 when the 49ers had a 23-17 lead in Seattle entering the fourth before beating the Seahawks 36-24 last month. Unfortunately, the same script wasn’t followed on Sunday, as Seattle overcame a fourth-quarter deficit to upset the 49ers, 20-17.
Despite the four fourth-quarter leads in the division, the 49ers fell to 1-3 in the NFC West with the loss on Sunday. The Seahawks completed the trifecta of the NFC West, coming back to defeat the 49ers in the final frame.
With the season with more days behind than ahead, San Francisco fell to 5-5 with seven games remaining and still on the outside looking in on the playoff picture. In a season of winnable games, a review of the 49ers most recent loss:
Bad Purdy legs, good Purdy legs
Brock Purdy wasn’t known for his legs entering this season but has established himself as one of the sneaky better scramblers in the league.
On the 49ers’ second drive, Purdy had a chance to scramble for a San Francisco, but his legs got ahead of him. Rolling to his right with a lane to the end zone ahead of him, Purdy slipped while trying to run the corner, sacking himself and ending the play—Derick Hall would be credited with the sack.
Not to be deterred by the slip, Purdy got another chance to scramble on the next play; his feet wouldn’t fail him this time.
Feeling the pressure from behind, Purdy bailed from the pocket and took the ball back up the right side. This time, Purdy kept his balance and tip-toed along the sideline to get the pylon on a dive to put San Francisco on the board.
An early 7-3 lead with a touchdown on the 49ers’ first red zone possession felt like a good omen. Unfortunately, the 49ers wouldn’t find the end zone again until the 9:33 mark in the fourth quarter.
Jauan Jennings is the heartbeat of the 49ers offense
And it was Jennings who scored that touchdown, but Jennings’ game as a whole earned him offensive player of the game on Sunday.
In a game without Brandon Aiyuk and George KIttle and with Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel combining for 49 yards on eight receptions, it was Jennings who kept the 49ers offense in the game. Jennings finished with ten receptions for 91 yards and a touchdown in impressive back-to-back games for the receiver.
After seven receptions for 93 yards, Jennings didn’t quite get the yardage, but he did find the end zone, unlike last week in Tampa Bay. But the play made by Jennings before the touchdown should get the praise instead of the score itself.
With the 49ers threatening a game-tying field goal facing a third-and-11 at the Seattle 21, Purdy found...
