49ers break Pete Carroll’s unheralded postseason record in wild-card win
49ers #49ers
San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle (85) celebrates after scoring on a 2-point conversion during the second half of a wild-card playoff game against the Seattle Seahawks in Santa Clara, Calif., on Saturday.
The San Francisco 49ers snapped a long-standing Pete Carroll streak in their 41-23 win over the Seattle Seahawks in the first round of the NFL playoffs on Saturday.
The Seahawks were previously 6-0 under Carroll when leading at halftime in the postseason, according to ESPN Stats & Info. That record now stands at 6-1 after the Niners’ victory.
After a lackluster end to the first half where the Seahawks outscored the Niners 17-6 to take a 17-16 lead, Brock Purdy and the San Francisco offense seemed to pick up where they left off at the apex of their 10-game winning streak from the regular season. In the third quarter, the team capped off its longest drive of the year (75 yards), with Purdy making his way through a large mass of bodies to score on a 1-yard quarterback sneak.
It was still up to the 49ers defense to show proof of life. That side of the ball had some trouble keeping up its end of the workload at first, allowing Seattle to get to the Niners’ 19-yard line. Lineman Charles Omenihu then made the most pivotal play of the game, forcing a strip-sack on Geno Smith that Nick Bosa recovered.
The 49ers scored again on the subsequent drive and never looked back. They forced a punt on the next defensive drive, scored again on offense, thanks to some world-class athleticism from Deebo Samuel, then forced an interception and kicked a field goal over the next four series.
Carroll amassed his record of being undefeated in the playoffs when leading at halftime through disciplined play on both sides of the ball. Throughout the entirety of the second half on Saturday, none of that discipline was present for Seattle.
Even if the Seahawks offense wanted to get into a shootout with the 49ers, it simply could not overcome the litany of penalties it committed on its second-half drives. That includes two ineligible man downfield penalties, which usually occur on play-action plays; in this case, Seattle inexplicably wasn’t attempting run fakes at all. The unusual mistakes gave way for the 49ers defense to make even more plays and continue to sink Seattle’s chances.
For his first playoff game, Purdy, whose crude nickname was on full display on the field and in the stands, could not have looked more poised after an incredibly shaky first half. He ended his day with 331 yards through the air on 18-of-33 passing, three passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown. Not bad for someone not used to playing in a lot of rain.
The 49ers’ next game will be in the divisional round of the playoffs where they await the highest seed remaining between the Vikings-Giants game and the Buccaneers-Cowboys game. The dream Super Bowl of ESPN’s Chris Berman is still alive.