Brock Purdy stars as San Francisco 49ers beat Seattle Seahawks 41-23 to advance to divisional round of NFL playoffs

The NFL playoffs and continue on Sky Sports on Sunday with a triple-header of Super Wild Card Weekend action – starting with Dolphins @ Bills, followed by Giants @ Vikings and Ravens @ Bengals; watch live on Sky Sports NFL from 6pm, Sunday

Brock Purdy threw for three touchdowns and ran in another as he starred on his first career playoff start, leading the San Francisco 49ers to a 41-23 victory over the Seattle Seahawks to start Super Wild Card Weekend on Saturday.

Story of the Game

The 49ers – the NFC’s No 2 seed and riding a 10-game winning streak into the playoffs – trailed by a point at half-time as a stubborn Seattle outfit led 17-16 at the break. But a stirring second half showing by San Francisco, in which they scored 22 points in the space of 12 minutes at one point, secured their passage through to the divisional round.

The 49ers will now host the Minnesota Vikings next weekend, should they beat the New York Giants in their wild card clash on Sunday. If the Giants win, it will instead be either the Tampa Bay Buccaneers or Dallas Cowboys who travel to San Francisco.

Purdy, who was taken with the very last pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, completed 18 of 30 passes for 332 yards, the rookie QB overcoming some early jitters to put in a hugely accomplished display.

Christian McCaffrey rushed 15 times for 119 yards and had a touchdown grab to see San Francisco into an early 10-0 lead, while Deebo Samuel had six receptions for 133 yards and a blistering 74-yard catch and run for a score as the Niners streaked clear of the Seahawks in the second half.

Seattle QB Geno Smith was 25-of-35 passing for 253 yards with two touchdowns, both to DK Metcalf – one a 50-yard stunner to see the Seahawks into the lead for the first time. But he also had an interception late in the second half, while he lost a fumble in the third quarter which is the point at which the game turned.

Metcalf had 10 catches for 136 yards and those two TDs, while rookie running back Kenneth Walker also found the end zone, in the second quarter, as he earned 63 yards on 15 carries.

Trailing 17-16 to start the second half, the 49ers immediately drove 75 yards down the field in 13 plays, with Purdy scoring on a one-yard plunge. And they wouldn’t look back from there.

With the Seahawks driving deep into 49ers territory, Smith was sacked by Charles Omenihu for a seven-yard loss, with the ball squirting loose and being recovered by Nick Bosa at the 30-yard line.

San Francisco then stretched ahead by two scores off the back of the turnover as Purdy escaped the rush and threw a seven-yard TD to running back Elijah Mitchell, with a two-point conversion to George Kittle following.

Just over three minutes later, Samuel turned on the turbo jets to take his TD 74 yards all the way to the house and effectively end the game.

Robbie Gould, who kicked four field goals in the contest, fired one through the uprights from 31 yards after Smith was picked off immediately after Samuel’s score.

Seattle and Metcalf would at least find the end zone once more for a consolation TD with just under two minutes remaining but then the Niners ran out the rest of the clock to book their spot in the divisional round and knock out their great NFC West divisional rivals.

Stats leaders

Seahawks

• Passing: Geno Smith, 25/35, 253 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT
• Rushing: Kenneth Walker, 15 carries, 63 yards, 1 TD
• Receiving: DK Metcalf, 10 catches, 136 yards, 2 TDs

49ers

• Passing: Brock Purdy, 18/30, 332 yards, 3 TDs
• Rushing: Christian McCaffrey, 15 carries, 119 yards (& 1 receiving TD)
• Receiving: Deebo Samuel, six catches, 133 yards, 1 TD

What they said… ‘Purdy looked like Frank Tarkenton’

49ers quarterback, Brock Purdy: “We came out and had some momentum and Seattle did a good job tracking back.

“It’s playoff football; everyone is going to play their best from here on out. When our offense and defense are doing their thing, we’re hard to beat.

“We’ve got a goal of winning the whole thing. We’re in a tournament, so anything can happen. I’ve got such a great team, O-line, receivers, defense, across the whole board. It’s not a one-man show, I’m very blessed.”

Seahawks head coach, Pete Carroll: “We chased him all over the place and he [Purdy] looked like [former Minnesota Vikings QB] Fran Tarkenton out there.

“Down 10-0 on the road with the fans going nuts, we did a great job to bounce right back. We were in it right to the end of the third quarter.”

What’s next?

The NFL playoffs continue on Sunday, live on Sky Sports NFL, with a Super Wild Card Weekend triple-header.

The Buffalo Bills first host the Miami Dolphins (kick-off, 6pm), before the Minnesota Vikings and New York Giants do battle at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis (kick-off, 9.30pm). The evening wraps up with the Baltimore Ravens’ visit to the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday Night Football (kick-off, 1.15am).

The wild card round then concludes on Monday night as Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers host ‘America’s Team’, the Dallas Cowboys, live on Sky Sports NFL from 1.15am early on Tuesday morning.

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