SEATTLE – An NFC West prize fight broke out here Sunday, complete with touchdowns, turnovers, taunting, tie scores and the tense trading of leads.
Once this Week 5 doozy ended, the 49ers’ undefeated start reached 5-0 via a 32-29 triumph over the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks.
“It’s been amazing to see us continue to fight, battle, and grow every week through the chaos of it all,” linebacker Fred Warner said. “It’s what we expected, honestly. It was going to be a heavyweight bout. Seattle is the guy that won it all last year and the one you have to go through.”
This was their first road game since a season-opening win over the Rams in Australia, and now the 49ers go back home for “Monday Night Football” against the Washington Commanders, who are 1-3-1 after tying the New York Giants Sunday.
It took a midfield stand, of all strange things, to finish a thrilling chapter of this rivalry. The Seahawks (3-2) saw their last-minute drive end when a replay review upheld a ruling that Cooper Kupp reached a yard shy of a first down on a fourth-and-10 catch at the Niners’ 41 yard-line.
“Watching the ref point our direction, can’t beat that,” Warner said of the replay ruling, which then allowed Brock Purdy to take a knee and kill the final 47 seconds.
Eddy Piñeiro’s 43-yard field goal produced the winning points, once he waited out the two-minute warning (and blocked out a 52-yard miss just before halftime).
Thin on receivers with Deebo Samuel out with a hamstring injury, the 49ers reached that go-ahead position thanks to Christian McCaffrey and rookie backup Kaelon Black accounting for all 43 yards on that drive.
Five minutes before Piñeiro’s winning kick, Jason Myers tied the game on his fifth field goal of the day, a 40-yarder that followed Keion White’s third-down sack of Sam Darnold.
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy throws a pass against the Seattle Seahawks during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)
Purdy did get intercepted for the first time since the season opener’s first half, but he responded by completing 11-of-12 passes for 111 of his total 189 yards.
“Brock did an unbelievable job there in the end finding a way to win it,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “That’s one of the best defenses in the league. He was really good in the fourth quarter, and there were a lot of times something wasn’t there and he made a play.”
The 49ers seized a 29-26 lead with 11 minutes left when Purdy completed a go-ahead touchdown pass to Brandin Cooks and an ensuing 2-point conversion toss to Mike Evans. It was Evans who made 23- and 28-yard receptions on alley-oop passes earlier in Seahawks’ territory.
“I mean, I do feel I am one of the best receivers in the game. Hurt or not, I’m out there, and everyone’s playing through injury,” Evans said, two weeks after hurting his ribs. “I’ve got a big frame, so if you throw it to me, I’m going to do my best to try and make those contested catches.”
Despite surrendering 29 points, the 49ers’ defense was dubbed “unbelievable” by Shanahan for an ability to force four turnovers, produce five sacks, and, in no small feat, overcome Dre Greenlaw’s second-quarter ejection.
The 49ers owned a 21-13 halftime lead after perhaps their most chaotic first half since a 2019 thriller in New Orleans.
The second half started in stunning fashion, too, as Renardo Green notched his second interception of the game off Darnold.
Green and Evans received ceremonial game balls in the victorious locker room, where Eddy Grant’s “Electric Avenue” blared as it did after many road wins last season.
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – OCTOBER 11: Renardo Green #0 of the San Francisco 49ers intercepts a pass intended for Jaxon Smith-Njigba #11 of the Seattle Seahawks during the first quarter at Lumen Field on October 11, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
The Seahawks took a 26-21 lead into the fourth quarter after a swift sequence that could have floored the 49ers.
Once Nehemiah Pitchett picked off Purdy’s third-down pass to Jacob Cowing, the Seahawks produced a go-ahead, 16-yard touchdown catch-and-run by Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who juked Fred Warner and Malik Mustapha with 5:52 left in the third quarter.
The 49ers’ response? More bad news. Deebo Samuel fumbled on a third-quarter stumble toward the left sideline, and he hobbled out of the game with a right hamstring injury. The Seahawks converted that turnover into a Myers field goal and 26-21 lead.
The 49ers’ response? Much better this time. Backed up to their 16-yard line after a Cooks pass-interference penalty, they went on a 12-play drive that culminated in Evans’ alley-oop grabs and Cooks’ touchdown.
All three 49ers touchdowns in the first half came after Seahawks turnovers, and the most stunning came when rookie defensive tackle Gracen Halton forced a George Holani fumble at the goal line and pounced on the loose ball to celebrate his first career touchdown.
“I felt my hand touch the ball, and as I fell to the ground, I heard people screaming. I turned around, the ball was right there and I got it. All my emotions took over after that,” said Halton, who celebrated with a dance.
Seattle got pinned down there after a Corliss Waitman punt was downed at the 4-yard line by Ashtyn Davis, but only after Siran Neal’s touchback-saving tip from the 1.
Seattle Seahawks’ Nehemiah Pritchett (28) forces a fumble on a punt return attempt by San Francisco 49ers’ Jacob Cowing (4) during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)
Seattle’s second turnover came courtesy of Warner. Down 10-7, Warner punched the ball from Emmanuel Wilson’s grasp and Malik Mustapha recovered at the Seattle 11-yard line. McCaffrey scored a go-ahead touchdown run on the next snap, zipping past left-side blocks from Connor Colby, Trent Williams and Evans.
But with that 14-10 lead in hand, things got out of hand with Greenlaw’s sideline shenanigans. He first delivered a shoulder-to-shoulder late hit on a Darnold scramble. As Darnold careened into the bench, Greenlaw got swarmed by Seahawks and headbutted a helmet-less Ernest Jones Jr. to merit a disqualification.
Sacks by Halton and Osa Odighizuwa stalled that Seahawks drive and Myers’ 50-yard field goal cut the 49ers’ lead to 14-13 with 1:56 remaining in the first half.
The Seahawks’ first turnover came when Green intercepted on third down on their initial possession. That set up a 2-yard touchdown pass from Purdy to Evans, who had a third-down conversion catch the previous play and finished with seven catches for 113 yards.
“He’s a walking aura,” Warner said of Evans. “Unreal. Doesn’t say anything, shows up to work, goes out on Sundays and just dominates you.”
The Seahawks answered once Cowing opted against a fair catch and muffed a punt at the 35. The ball went through Cowing’s hands a split second before he was drilled by Pritchett. Former 49ers tight end Eric Saubert emerged from a scrum with the ball, and Wilson would score the equalizer on a 2-yard touchdown run.
The 49ers, however, emerged from all the chaos with a two-game lead in the NFC West.
“It’s huge. When you can get three in the division to start the year, it sets up for a great start to the year,” right tackle Colton McKivitz said. “Each week, it gets more important, but the main thing is that each week we go 1-0.”
Added left tackle Trent Williams: “We don’t talk about it. It’s too early to start looking at records, with 12 games left. Everything can change in a matter of two weeks, so trying to hang your hat on things you’ve done early in the season, I don’t think that helps you out.”
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – OCTOBER 11: Dre Greenlaw #57 of the San Francisco 49ers is escorted away from the Seattle Seahawks sideline after a late hit on Sam Darnold #14 of the Seattle Seahawks (not pictured) during the second quarter at Lumen Field on October 11, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Olivia Vanni/Getty Images)