Brock Purdy's Late Drives Lift 49ers Past Seahawks

Brock Purdy delivered when the 49ers needed him most. He led two late scoring drives, including the go-ahead touchdown march to Brandin Cooks and the setup for Eddy Pineiro's 43-yard field goal with 1:56 left, and San Francisco beat the Seattle Seahawks 32-29 at Lumen Field on Sunday, per the AP recap on ESPN.

The 49ers are 5-0. Seattle falls to 3-2 in a rematch of last season's playoff meeting, and this one felt like payback after those late-season losses a year ago.

Evans and Purdy take over late

Purdy finished 19 of 29 for 189 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, per the ESPN box score. Mike Evans caught seven passes for 113 yards and a touchdown, and he was the difference on the go-ahead drive, catching four balls for 75 yards after San Francisco trailed 26-21 late in the third.

The biggest snap was a 28-yard strike to Evans on second-and-21 after an intentional grounding penalty. That set up Purdy's 7-yard touchdown pass to Cooks and a two-point conversion to Evans for a 29-26 lead. Christian McCaffrey added 68 rushing yards and a touchdown on 11 carries.

"He's a game changer," Purdy said of Evans, per the AP. If you rostered Evans in fantasy after the March signing, this was the statement night you wanted.

Seven turnovers and a heavyweight finish

The game featured an NFL season-high seven combined turnovers and an ejection of 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw. Sam Darnold went 18 of 29 for 195 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions for Seattle, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba had five catches for 102 yards and a score, per ESPN.

After Pineiro's kick, Seattle got one last chance from midfield. Smith-Njigba dropped a third-down ball at the San Francisco 25, and Malik Mustapha stopped Cooper Kupp a yard short of the sticks on fourth down.

Undefeated and still climbing

"That's what we expected, honestly," Fred Warner said. "It was going to be a heavyweight bout." The Niners were healthier on defense for this first meeting of the year, and having Evans finally gave Purdy a true X who can win contested catches.

Five-and-oh on the road in a playoff rematch is as loud as it gets in October. Seattle had won this building and the divisional round a year ago, and San Francisco just answered both. Next week the rest of the NFC West has to keep chasing a team that answered every punch the Seahawks threw.