SEATTLE (AP) — Deebo Samuel didn't hesitate when he was asked what was working for the San Francisco 49ers.
“Brock Purdy,” Samuel said.
Purdy threw for 255 yards and three touchdowns, and the Niners never trailed in a 36-24 victory over the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday night.
Samuel had a 76-yard catch-and-run touchdown and finished with three catches for 102 yards for the defending NFC champions (3-3), who moved into a tie with Seattle (3-3) for first place in the NFC West after an uneven start to the season.
George Kittle added five receptions for 58 yards and two scores for the 49ers, who beat the Seahawks for a sixth straight time. Kyle Juszczyk had a late TD run, and he and Kittle both celebrated their scores by leaping into the stands to embrace their wives, who were sitting together in the first row.
Matthew Wright, who joined San Francisco earlier this week to replace injured kicker Jake Moody, had a trio of first half-field goals from 25, 41 and 35 yards.
“When everyone's on point and we're doing our thing, we're a hard team to beat,” Purdy said.
Geno Smith passed for 312 yards and a touchdown but was intercepted twice, and the Seahawks lost their third straight after a 3-0 start under first-year coach Mike Macdonald.
“We're just not doing the things that good football teams do to win football games, and so we're going to attack it. We're going to take a breather here and really go back and dissect the heck out of this thing,” Macdonald said.
Four days after blowing a 23-10 halftime lead and losing to division rival Arizona, San Francisco fended off a second-half challenge by Seattle, which got a boost from Laviska Shenault Jr.'s 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the third quarter.
After the 49ers punted, Smith led a 94-yard drive and Kenneth Walker III scored from 1 yard out to get Seattle within 23-17.
But Smith's second interception, this one by Renardo Green, set up Kittle's second TD of the game and a 29-17 lead for the Niners.
Smith found Tyler Lockett for a 9-yard scoring pass with 1:44 left to narrow the score to 29-24. San Francisco responded with Isaac Guerendo’s 76-yard dash downfield that led to Juszczyk’s 6-yard TD run — a welcome conclusion for a team that has struggled to finish games.
“We talk about it all the time, and it's something we've had to get better at this season," Purdy said. “Coach always says, no matter what the score is, our offense should be able to put up points when our team needs it.”
Seattle's struggles with the run game continued, with the team finishing with 20 carries for 52 yards — 32 by Walker.
Smith was intercepted on Seattle’s opening drive. The Seahawks were on the San Francisco 25 when rookie safety Malik Mustapha pulled down a pass meant for Lockett.
Jordan Mason broke away for a 38-yard run on San Francisco’s first series, but the drive ended with Wright’s 25-yard field goal.
Samuel pulled down an early second-quarter pass from Purdy and shook off a defender for the 76-yard TD that put the 49ers up 10-0. Samuel became the first receiver in NFL history with 20 or more rushing touchdowns and 20-plus receiving scores.
Darrell Luter Jr. forced a fumble on the Seahawks’ kickoff return and Tatum Bethune recovered on the Seattle 29. Wright capped that drive with a 41-yard field goal. Wright's third field goal gave the Niners a 16-0 lead late in the second quarter.
Aided by a pass interference call that put the ball on the 2-yard line, Smith threw three incomplete passes before the Seahawks settled for Jason Myers’ 20-yard field goal as the first half expired.
Purdy found Kittle for a 10-yard touchdown to start the second half that made it 23-3.
“He's a baller,” Purdy said of Kittle. “Obviously when you get the ball in his hands he can do what he can. He can break tackles. Just explosive for a tight end.”
Mason, who left the game in the second quarter with a shoulder injury, later returned and finished with 73 yards on on nine carries for the 49ers as he continues to fill in for the injured Christian McCaffrey.
Seahawks safety Rayshawn Jenkins said he's not frustrated — yet.
“We have the right guys in the room to get the job done. We just really have to be real and accountable. And as long as we do that, we should be OK,” Jenkins said. “But it has to happen sooner than later.”
San Francisco CB Charvarius Ward was a late scratch with a bruised knee. It was the first game Ward has missed since joining the Niners in 2022. ... Wright left the field shortly before the game ended after making a tackle on a kickoff return.
As expected, the Seahawks put OLB Uchenna Nwosu on injured reserve with a thigh injury. Nwosu missed the first four games of the regular season with a sprained knee. He played just 20 snaps in Sunday's loss to the New York Giants before he was hurt again. ... Mustapha left the game in the first half with an ankle injury and did not return.
49ers: Host Kansas City on Oct. 20 in a Super Bowl rematch.
Seahawks: At Atlanta on Oct. 20.
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