SANTA CLARA — Another week, another win for the 49ers, who are cruising to another NFC West title and, perhaps, the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs.
While Sunday’s performance was hardly the Niners’ best of the year, the 28-16 win over division rival Seattle — their fifth-straight — was still plenty good.
San Francisco now sits four games up on the Seahawks and Rams in the NFC West. On Monday, they can clinch a playoff berth with a Packers loss or tie.
The machine keeps rolling.
Here were the folks who made it happen — and a couple of folks who jammed up the gears:
STUDS 💪
Christian McCaffrey
» The 49ers’ running back took a toss left, cut back inside the left guard, and ran 72 yards on the game’s first play.
And while his rightful touchdown was vultured by Jordan Mason, the result is undeniable: This guy is so flippin’ good it’s borderline unfair.
Deebo Samuel
» It’s not all catch-and-run with the do-it-all offensive weapon. No, his 54-yard touchdown catch was him running past the Seahawks’ coverage and then catching it.
He added a third-quarter touchdown on an end-around run at the 1-yard line.
There isn’t an offensive player in the game on Samuel’s level right now.
In turn, the Niners look unbeatable: San Francisco is now 10-0 this season when Samuel plays more than 10 snaps in a game. They’re 18-1 in the last 19 games with him in the lineup. We all know that loss.
Brock Purdy
» It wasn’t Purdy’s best game, but you’d never know with the numbers he put on the stat sheet.
Some money throws brought about a 368-yard passing day — a new career high.
It was also an efficient enough day to put him in some outstanding company in NFL history.
It was Purdy’s seventh straight game completing at least 70 percent of his passes. That’s second-best in NFL history, one shy of Joe Montana, who went for eight straight in 1989.
It was also his 12th career game with a 110-plus quarterback rating. Of all quarterbacks in NFL history, only Russell Wilson and Justin Herbert have posted more such games in the first two seasons. Purdy tied his childhood idol, Dan Marino, with 12.
Ji’Ayir Brown
» He’s a kid still figuring out how to play the second-most challenging position in football — safety — but he is making big plays, and it’s not by accident. Sunday was an up-and-down game, but his early fourth-quarter interception was outstanding — one of several great plays he made.
The Niners lost an All-Pro safety, and the defense might be better for it — wild stuff.
Nick Bosa and Chase Young
The Niners rotate their defensive linemen, but there are two top options: Bosa — who has been otherworldly since the Niners’ Week 9 bye — and Young, who plays off No. 97 the way only someone with a deep history and similar football upbringing can.
(I should note that Clelin Ferrell and Javon Kinlaw had nice games, too.)
DUDS 👎
Isaiah Oliver and Ambry Thomas
» The 49ers have put a lot of effort into keeping Oliver off the field in recent weeks.
The same is true with Thomas, who only comes into games in nickel and dime situations.
But when Charvarius Ward picked up a groin injury on the game’s first drive, the Niners had little choice but to put Oliver back in at nickelback, with Deommodore Lenoir sliding outside, paired with Thomas, who was a constant on the field.
And once that happened, Seahawks backup quarterback Drew Lock started to look pretty good.
The Seahawks’ best position is wide receiver. Sunday, the 49ers looked weak at cornerback. It was the main reason this was a game.
Randy Gregory
» The next edge that Gregory sets will be the first one.
It seems as if every run to the right — Gregory’s side — results in the Niners’ defensive end on the ground near the runner, but not close enough to tackle him.
The mid-season pickup is a free agent at the end of the season. He’s going for the highlight play. When you do that on the defensive line, you end up with lowlights.
He did have a nice sack in garbage time, though.
Ronnie Bell
» The second-best play of the game — Mitch Wishnowsky’s 30-yard fake punt run — was wiped away by a low block on Bell, even though the Niners’ punter had already gained the first down.
The mistake cost the Niners a possession in a one-score game. It can’t happen.