How’s that for a season opener?
The 49ers and Seahawks played a down-to-the-wire game that was anything but a classic.
But it’s not a game that will be forgotten anytime soon.
The 49ers beat the Seahawks 17-13 in their season debuts, with the team’s biggest players coming up in a huge way in the most critical moments.
Here are the studs and duds from the game.
STUDS
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Christian McCaffrey – RB
» Was he 100 percent healthy? He’ll say so. But whatever percentage he was, the 49ers needed all of it on Sunday, particularly after Kittle’s injury.
McCaffrey had a handful of nice runs — and more than a few where he turned losses into small gains against an aggressive Seattle defense. But his success really came in the pass game.
Seattle’s defensive goal was to crowd the line of scrimmage, taking away the outside zone run. The antidote to that is swing passes and Texas routes to McCaffrey out of the backfield, and Brock Purdy took that option again and again and again Sunday.
Without McCaffrey, the 49ers wouldn’t have had much of an offense. With him, they had a winning performance.
Jake Tonges – TE
» The former Cal Golden Bear might have been the last guy to make the 49ers’ roster in August.
Aren’t the Niners glad they kept him?
His touchdown catch, where he took the ball from Riq Woolen in the end zone, was the difference in the game for the 49ers.
It was his third-ever NFL catch. His prior two came earlier in the drive.
Tonges will never be a George Kittle replacement, but he made the most of an unexpected opportunity and won a game we’ll forever know as the Jake Tonges Game.
George Kittle – TE
» When he played he was awesome. Against gap-filling linebackers, Kittle had a field day in the flat, catching four passes for 25 yards and a touchdown.
But a hamstring injury — which showed up on a downfield block in the second quarter — took him out of the game and led the Niners to force-feed McCaffrey for the remainder of the game.
Ricky Pearsall – WR
» A great first drive, with two big gains on crossing routes, followed by an excellent block to free Purdy on a screen that set up the Niners’ first touchdown of the game the next play. The Niners waited two quarters to go back to him, and he, of course, responded with defense-busting plays, including a beautiful 45-yard pickup just before the two-minute warning.
Pearsall is the 49ers’ unquestioned wide receiver No. 1, and that’s a good thing for this season.
Marques Sigle – S
» The rookie safety picked up a forced fumble, but it was his ability to snuff out passes from the backfield that seriously limited Seattle’s offense. It’s not as if the Seahawks didn’t try him, either.
For a rookie to be that impressive at a position where nothing is straightforward or simple is next-level.
Fred Warner and Dee Winters – LB
» The 49ers’ two base linebackers were incredible going sideline to sideline. Winters, in particular, showed top-end run and pass defense skills — it’s as if the Niners didn’t lose Dre Greenlaw in free agency this past offseason.
Brock Purdy – QB
» There’s no reason to pretend as if Purdy’s two interceptions weren’t egregious. They were.
But down three and with the ball, Purdy went 6-for-6 for 67 yards and the game-winning touchdown.
That’s what really matters, folks.
Purdy has to be better, but when the Niners needed him at his best, he delivered.
Nick Bosa – DE
» A quiet game for Bosa.
Until he needed to be loud.
A big run stop on a red-zone first down with less than a minute to play, followed by a forced and recovered fumble of Sam Darnold, ended the game for San Francisco.
Big-time players make big-time plays in the biggest moments. Bosa has never been accused of not being big-time.
DUDS
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Jordan Elliott – DT
» Easy and free travel. Elliott went for a bus ride again and again and again on Sunday.
Upton Stout – NB
» The rookie had a strong start to training camp and it seems his success as a rookie in a challenging position (nickel back) was taken for granted.
But that NFL Premiere patch on his jersey — denoting that it was his first game as a pro — might as well have been a bullseye for the Seattle Seahawks.
Seattle tested Stout from the jump on Sunday, and while his play improved as the contest progressed — he had a nice deflection on the Seahawks’ final drive — but it was still a tough watch, overall.
Trent Williams – LT
» The future Hall of Famer looked slow. There’s no sugar-coating it.
It’s almost as if he hasn’t seriously played football in months.
But if Williams isn’t one of the greatest to ever play, the 49ers’ offensive line becomes extremely porous. It looked that way Sunday.
Jake Moody – K
» But really, this is an indictment of the 49ers’ front office. It’s an indictment of the entire special teams operation, which failed repeatedly Sunday.
But Moody’s 27-yard miss off the left upright loomed large in this game. It led the Niners to go for it on a fourth-and-2 on the Seattle 12-yard line in the fourth quarter instead of kicking a field goal down three points.
If you can’t trust your field goal kicker or blocking team in that situation, don’t you need changes on both fronts?