Seattle @ San Francisco: 49ers win NFL Wild Card Weekend 2023

The San Francisco 49ers hosted the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday, the game that started Wild Card Weekend and the 2023 NFL playoffs. The 49ers, behind a strong second half, won the game in a contest that had a multi-possession spread for a final score. The result was Seattle 23, and San Francisco 41, a result that ended the surprise season of the Seahawks.

Game Summary Wild Card Weekend 2023: Seattle vs San Francisco

• Final score: Seattle 23, San Francisco 41
• The Seahawks fell to 9-9 and were eliminated from the playoffs
• The 49ers, with the win, improved to 14-4 and moved on to the divisional round
• Brock Purdy‘s passer rating: 131.5
• Geno Smith‘s passer rating: 98.9

Seahawks @ 49ers Saturday: Seattle overachieved

With the loss, the Seahawks finished the season at 9-9. This was a team that nothing was expected out of this season, in fact, they overachieved in simply making the playoffs. Despite the loss on Saturday, in a game that was not close, Seattle’s season will likely be judged as a success by the local Seattle media.

They were a team that suffered a major setback in the early weeks. Seattle fans will remember that Rashaad Penny went out for the season before the halfway point. This injury will be remembered as part of the chain of events that introduced Kenneth Walker III to the NFL, a rookie that played well as a running back.

However, if Seattle had two quality running backs the season might have looked a lot different. This Seattle team faded in the second half and that was part of the reason why they didn’t have much in the tank against San Francisco.

Brock Purdy passes for 332 yards

Meanwhile, the 49ers improved to 14-4 with the 18-point victory. Brock Purdy, San Fran’s third-string QB, was the winning quarterback in the game. He had 332 passing yards in the outing and his ratio of TDs to INTs was 3 to 0 as he played exceptionally well in his NFL playoff debut. Purdy had a passer rating of 131.5 in part because of a 74-yard catch-and-run strike to Deebo Samuel.

The 49ers are the two-seed in their conference. They will play at home again next weekend. Currently, they await the winner of the New York Giants and the Minnesota Vikings, two teams that play on Sunday.

Further reading: Our recent NFL Power Rankings