Seahawks jump on 49ers early, hold off second-half surge to win Season 33 opener, 30–23

SEATTLE, WA - The Seattle Seahawks landed the first haymaker and never trailed, building a 23-0 lead en route to a 30-23 win over the San Francisco 49ers in Week 1. Big plays from Sam Darnold, Kenneth Walker III, and a takeaway-hungry defense offset a furious second-half response led by Brock Purdy and George Kittle.

How it happened

Seattle opened with a 20-yard strike from Darnold to Jake Bobo and a 42-yard field goal from Jason Myers for a 10-0 first-quarter lead. In the second, Walker III punched in a 7-yard TD, and Myers tacked on field goals from 31 and-per the play-by-play-53 yards (the in-game summary displayed 52). Seattle led 23-0 at the half.

San Francisco roared back after the break. Purdy's 1-yard keeper and a Kittle two-point conversion made it 23-8, but Seattle answered immediately when Darnold hit Walker III on a 69-yard catch-and-run down the left sideline. Purdy found Jauan Jennings from two yards out (another Kittle two-pointer) to pull within 30-16 late in the third. Christian McCaffrey cut it to 30-23 on a 2-yard plunge with 3:27 remaining, but Seattle's defense closed it out.

Team stats tell the story

Despite losing the yardage battle, Seattle maximized key moments:

• Total yards - SF 624, SEA 413
• Offensive yards - SF 473, SEA 327
• First downs - SF 26, SEA 15
• 3rd-down - SF 5/13 (38.5%), SEA 3/10 (30.0%)
• 4th-down - SF 2/3 (66.7%), SEA 0/0
• Red zone - SF 3 TDs on 4 trips (75.0%), SEA 1 TD + 1 FG on 4 trips (50.0%)
• Defensive sacks - SF 4, SEA 3
• Interceptions - SF 0, SEA 4
• Penalties - 0 for both teams

Those four Seahawk interceptions-by Ezekiel Jones IV, Mike Williams, Derion Kendrick, and Tariq Woolen-were the difference, repeatedly blunting long 49er drives.

Stars of the game

• Seahawks: Darnold went 16/23 for 245 yards and 2 TDs; Walker III stacked 103 rushing yards and a TD, plus 5 receptions for 105 yards and another score; Boye Mafe, Leonard Williams and company notched 3 sacks; Myers was perfect, drilling FGs from 31 and 53.
• 49ers: Purdy threw for 378 yards (34/52) with 1 TD, 1 rush TD, but 4 INTs; Kittle was unstoppable with 11 catches for 199 yards; McCaffrey totaled 89 rushing yards and a TD.

What they said

• Seahawks HC: "Turnovers and explosives-those were our pillars today," head coach said. "Our defense took the ball away, and the offense hit timely shots."
• Darnold: "We wanted to start fast. The Bobo TD set the tone, and Ken's big play gave us the cushion we needed."
• 49ers HC: "We moved the ball, but four interceptions aren't survivable in this league. Credit Seattle for capitalizing."
• Purdy: "We kept fighting. I've got to protect the ball better-simple as that."
• Kittle: "We felt unstoppable between the 20s. Red-zone and turnover margin-that's where the game flipped."

Up next

The 49ers stay on the road to face the New Orleans Saints, while the Seahawks hit the road for the first time to meet the Pittsburgh Steelers.