Seahawks’ Turnover Spiral Hands 49ers 32-29 Win at Lumen Field

This Seahawks 49ers Week 5 recap will be remembered in Seattle for the giveaways. San Francisco left Lumen Field with a 32-29 win over the Seahawks on a day when the home team committed four turnovers — three of them deep in its own territory — and handed the 49ers a short field that decided the game.

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Short Fields, Quick Points

Seattle’s defense allowed only one scoring drive of real length. The other 21 San Francisco points came on three possessions that covered a combined 29 yards. That is the game in a sentence.

Sam Darnold’s first pass was intercepted and returned to the 18-yard line, setting up the 49ers’ opening score. His first pass of the third quarter was intercepted as well. Before halftime, the Seahawks fumbled in their own end zone. Darnold finished with two interceptions and was sacked five times.

Seattle’s two touchdown drives traveled a total of 47 yards. The offense managed 88 rushing yards and 86 receiving yards. San Francisco, by contrast, ran for 99 yards and passed for 60, winning despite holding and intentional grounding penalties and a rash of injuries.

Evans Delivers on the Eleventh Drive

Mike Evans caught four passes for 75 yards on San Francisco’s 11th drive, scoring a touchdown and adding a two-point conversion. He had been limited by broken ribs in September, but on this drive he was the difference.

Brock Purdy was sacked three times in the first half, and Nehemiah Pritchett intercepted him. Byron Murphy recorded two sacks and three tackles for loss for Seattle. But the Seahawks’ defensive resistance faded past the 10th drive, and the 49ers reached the red zone once on offense — enough on a night when the other side kept giving the ball away.

Smith-Njigba Plays on One Ankle

Jaxon Smith-Njigba had a 38-yard catch in the first quarter and a 35-yard grab in the fourth, playing on one ankle. He took a hard hit late and dropped a third-down pass on the final drive. The exact severity of the ankle injury is not yet known.

Cooper Kupp’s catch on that last possession was upheld by replay. Seattle still failed to convert on third and fourth down, and the 49ers kneeled out the victory. Jason Myers made five field goals for the Seahawks, while Eddy Pineiro missed one wide left. Seattle settled for field goals five times.

What It Means

Seattle is 3-2 with two conference losses and trails the division by 1.5 games. The Seahawks had entered the game with a chance to take the division lead. Now the playoff looks more like a wild-card path.

The road record under Mike Macdonald is 16-3, so travel has not been the problem. Ball security has. Seattle struggled with it in Washington two weeks prior, let the Chargers come back last week, and needed Drake Maye carelessness to win the opener. The Seahawks beat the Cardinals, but the loss to the Commanders — who have only one win — still stings.

Dre Greenlaw was ejected. Deebo Samuel fumbled and was injured. Jake Cowing failed to signal a fair catch and was also injured. Kyle Juszczyk tore a knee during the week. Ty Okada had a tackle for loss for the 49ers. The Seahawks called timeout while Purdy was calling for a snap. Christian McCaffrey had a 21-yard run; Kaelon Black had an 11-yard run.

Seattle next plays Denver on Thursday. The time to improve is becoming now.