49ers pull out 17-13 win over Seahawks

Sam Darnold got a chance to play hero in his first start with the Seahawks, but he wasn’t able to make it happen.

After the 49ers took a 17-13 lead with 1:34 left to play, Darnold hit wide receiver Jaxson Smith-Njigba with an 11-yard pass and a 40-yard strike to move the team into position to score a game-winning touchdown. On a second down from the 49ers’ 9-yard-line, the Seahawks’s chances ran out.

Defensive end Nick Bosa bullied right tackle Abe Lucas and stripped Darnold on a sack. Bosa recovered the ball and the 49ers could celebrate a win in the season opener.

The 49ers took the lead when quarterback Brock Purdy bought time on a third down before throwing a pass in the direction of tight end Jake Tonges in the end zone. It looked like Seahawks cornerback Riq Woolen might pick the ball off, but Tonges was able to secure the ball for his first NFL touchdown. Purdy hit wide receiver Ricky Pearsall for 45 yards to set up the score and the finish helps make his two interceptions a little easier to swallow.

Tonges was in the game because George Kittle, who also caught a touchdown, was knocked out with a hamstring injury in the first half of the game. The 49ers also lost wide receiver Jauan Jennings to a shoulder injury and saw their special teams units make multiple blunders in another unwelcome reminder of last season.

Jake Moody missed a 27-yard field goal and had another try blocked, which is sure to lead to questions for Kyle Shanahan about a potential change at that spot. The win will make it a little more bearable for Shanahan to face those questions, but it’s something the 49ers have to sort out given how much Moody struggled last season.

Darnold and Smith-Njigba showed good chemistry on nine catches for 124 yards, but Cooper Kupp had just two catches for 15 yards and the Seahawks only got 106 yards from the rest of the offense. The team has a new offensive coordinator in Klint Kubiak to go with their new quarterback, but they’ll need to speed up the learning curve in order to avoid more results like Sunday’s.

They’ll be in Pittsburgh next weekend while the 49ers will visit the Saints in search of an 0-2 start.