49ers vs Seahawks Week 1: Tonges’ breakthrough and Bosa’s strip-sack seal 17-13 road win

A backup tight end steals Week 1 in Seattle

A player with zero career receptions walked into one of the loudest stadiums in football and decided an opener. Jake Tonges, elevated into a bigger role with George Kittle out, caught three passes and delivered the go-ahead touchdown with 1:34 left as San Francisco edged Seattle 17-13 in an NFC West grinder at Lumen Field.

This wasn’t a pretty win. It was a survive-the-storm, hold-your-nerve kind of night—the type of divisional game where field position, one busted protection, or one spotlight catch flips everything. For the 49ers, that flip came from two unexpected places: a tight end few outside the building had circled and a rookie receiver who changed the field with one explosive grab.

Tonges’ moment was the headline. On the decisive play, Brock Purdy turned a near-sack into a backyard drill—sliding, resetting, and buying a beat as routes morphed. Tonges kept working across traffic, found a soft spot, and Purdy lofted the ball into the end zone. The tight end secured it, tumbled through contact, and the visitors had their first lead of the stretch run. For a player who entered the day with no NFL catches, it was the kind of instant credibility that can reshape a role overnight.

San Francisco needed that jolt because the offense spent long stretches sputtering. The rhythm they usually lean on—quick game, motion, run-to-pass sequencing—never fully clicked for four quarters. They endured some red-zone and kicking wobble, and they put the defense in a few short fields. Yet they kept chipping, and the players who had to matter did. Purdy wasn’t spotless, but when the pocket went chaotic late, he extended plays and gave his guys chances on scramble rules. That was the difference.

Ricky Pearsall delivered the other spark. The rookie wideout ripped down a 45-yard gain that flipped momentum and field position at a moment when the 49ers looked flat. It was the kind of play that doesn’t just set up points—it changes how a defense calls the next series. Seattle’s safeties had to respect his speed and timing, which opened windows for intermediate throws and helped San Francisco settle into more favorable down-and-distance late.

Context matters here. Lumen Field isn’t friendly to visiting offenses. The snap count becomes sign language. The edge rushers get half a step for free because the tackles are late off the ball. The 49ers fought through that. They weathered a couple of drive-killing mistakes, survived special-teams shakiness, and kept finding answers. When you win tight on the road in the division, it’s rarely elegant. It counts double anyway.

49ers vs Seahawks games also tend to hinge on one or two matchups in the trenches, and this one stuck to the script. San Francisco’s line had its moments in pass pro but needed Purdy’s mobility to finish a few key downs. On the other side, Seattle’s front tilted the pocket enough to keep the 49ers out of rhythm for much of the night. That tug-of-war set up the ending.

Defense decides it late as Seattle’s new era meets a hard lesson

Sam Darnold’s first start in Seattle colors under new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak offered a little of everything—rhythm throws off play-action, a vertical strike that woke up the building, and then the kind of late-game mistake that wipes it all away. The Seahawks had their chance, driving in the final minutes with the clock and crowd behind them, only to see it vanish in a flash of pressure and technique.

The flash had a name: Nick Bosa. On second-and-four, with Seattle setting up a high-percentage call to keep the drive on schedule, Bosa detonated the edge. He collapsed right tackle Abe Lucas into the throwing lane and raked down on Darnold’s arm as the ball came forward. The ball popped loose; Bosa pounced. In a game defined by razor-thin margins, that was the play Seattle absolutely couldn’t give up—and the one San Francisco’s best player delivered anyway.

Darnold’s night wasn’t empty. He attacked the middle early and found the perimeter when needed, including a 41-yard strike to Jaxon Smith-Njigba that beat single coverage and put the Seahawks in scoring range. Kubiak’s structure—under-center looks, wide zone, boots—showed up. They moved pockets, used formations to manufacture leverage, and picked off a handful of early downs. But finishing drives is the currency in games like this, and Seattle spent too many possessions settling. When the final series demanded protection and precision, the 49ers’ rush took over.

San Francisco’s back seven did their part, limiting explosive gains outside of that Smith-Njigba highlight and rallying to the ball after the catch. The tackling was tidy in space, which matters against a scheme that tries to force one missed tackle into 20 yards. Linebackers passed off crossers smoothly and kept Seattle’s play-action from turning into deep, layered shots. That held the score down long enough for the offense to find a late answer.

The 49ers’ defense also managed the game’s hidden plays: forcing quick punts after offensive stalls, denying yards after contact, and winning enough early downs to set up the pass rush. Those sequences never make a highlight reel, but they pick the lock on tight road games. This one followed the pattern—long periods of field-position trading, then one defensive star making the only play that matters in the final two minutes.

Seattle will come away encouraged and irritated. Encouraged because the bones of Kubiak’s offense look functional: the run game married to movement passes, quick rhythm options, and space for receivers to work. Irritated because protection cracked at the worst possible moment and a promising drive died in their hands. Those are first-week lessons no team wants, especially against a familiar rival.

For San Francisco, the tape will show as many corrections as celebrations. Early-down efficiency wavered, and the red zone wasn’t clean. The kicking unit flirted with trouble. Penalties turned makeable situations into behind-the-sticks. Yet the big-picture takeaway is simple: they found answers without one of their most reliable weapons, and two players outside the usual headline cast—Tonges and Pearsall—stepped into the void.

Zoom out and the roles tell a story. Tonges gave Kyle Shanahan a trustworthy target in the seams and flats, an inline option who can chip and then uncover. That matters while Kittle works his way back. Pearsall’s timing and body control on that 45-yarder hint at a broader usage tree—slot, boundary, motion—designed to stress safeties and open layered throws for Purdy. If those pieces stick, the floor of this offense rises even when the script isn’t perfect.

As for the pass rush, Bosa’s closer gene remains unsolved. Offensive linemen can survive three quarters against him by playing angles and winning with help. Then, with the game in a four-point window and the call sheet shrinking, he finds the bull rush or cross-chop that unravels the plan. It’s the kind of inevitability that separates good defenses from game-ending ones.

There’s also the setting. Early September at Lumen Field is no gentle re-entry. Crowd noise amplified every pre-snap check and turned the clock into another defender. The 49ers leaned on the silent count, trusted Purdy to manage protections, and took the body blows that come with road openers. When the single biggest snap arrived, their edge rusher authored the final sentence.

There are no banners for Week 1 wins, but there are tone-setters. This one qualifies. San Francisco handled chaos, leaned on defense, and watched an overlooked tight end take the season’s first starring role. Seattle showed a new offensive identity with room to grow—and learned how quickly a divisional game can flip when a Hall of Fame-caliber rusher gets his timing right.