One key to the game on Saturday will be on third down when the #49ers have the ball:
#49ers lead the NFL with a 49.8% conversion rate on third downs.
#Seahawks lead the NFL with a 32.9% third down conversion rate allowed on defense.
#49ers LBs stepped up in a huge way yesterday:
Eric Kendricks - 12 total tackles, zero missed tackles, five stops, and the game-winning PBU
Garret Wallow - 11 total tackles, three stops, one PBU
TD passes of 25+ air yards in the 2025 NFL Postseason:
Jauan Jennings: 1
Rest of NFL: 0
It will be interesting to see if the #49ers will try to go big nickel with Pinnock as opposed to base with the lack of healthy LBs.
Upton Stout's 85.6 PFF overall grade last night was a career high. We had him for seven total tackles, three stops, and he allowed just two receiving yards on his three targets. #49ers
Missed tackles last night on defense:
Seattle: 3
#49ers 18
#49ers have converted 64% of third downs over the last four games. Only 1-5 in the first half.
#49ers QBs have a 147.2 passer rating this season when targeting George Kittle.
Another strong game from Colton McKivitz who did not allow a single QB pressure in pass protection. His 83.9 overall PFF grade on the season ranks second among right tackles behind only Penei Sewell. #49ers
Brock Purdy was 9-11, 194 yards, 1 TD, 149.1 passer rating on throws of 10+ yards downfield last night. #49ers
The #49ers were 8-for-11 tonight on third and fourth downs, and have converted 66.1% of their attempts over the last four games.
Bears were 0-3 on 3rd/4th downs in the first half. They were 4-5 in the third quarter. #49ers
First half total plays.
SF 47
CHI 19
Fatigue for the Bears D could be a factor in the fourth quarter if this holds up. #49ers
#49ers season high for rushing yards in a game is 174. They had 173 in the first half.
#49ers 94 rushing yards in the first quarter is more than they have had for an entire game in 8 of their 15 contests.
Second pass Purdy has had knocked down, only had one all season coming into tonight. #49ers
Jake Tonges with more catches on that drive (three) than he had in the last nine games (two). #49ers
2025 Pressure-to-sack ratio (out of 32 QBs)
1. Brock Purdy 7.3%
6. Caleb Williams 11.7%
Purdy has only been sacked seven times in his seven starts this season.
I still think getting the #1 seed is going to be a tough ask, but there is a plausible scenario where the #49ers path to the Super Bowl would be:
Chicago
Seattle
Seattle (NFC Div)
Chicago (NFC CG)
Not only was Brock Purdy's PFF grade of 96.6 last night a career high, it was the highest grade of any QB in a game this season in the NFL. #49ers
A big key tonight will be containing Jonathan Taylor. Taylor came into this week leading the NFL in rushing yards (1,443), rushing yards after contact (1,035), rushing TDs (16), and is second in ypc after contact (3.81), missed tackles forced (58), and rushes of 10+ yards (35).
If you are a murder mystery fan, or just a #49ers fan, I highly recommend Muddy the Water, co-authored by the great @mattbarrows.bsky.social. A great stocking stuffer, and you can still get it before Xmas from Amazon. a.co/d/8zNg2Ii
Philip Rivers’ average depth of target last week was just 5.2 yards, and his time to throw was only 2.41 seconds. If averaged out over a season that would be the shortest distance/time among all starting QBs.
Best pressure-to-sack ratio (minimum 70 dropbacks under pressure)
Purdy 5.8%
Prescott 9.7%
Nix 9.8%
Darnold 10.4%
#49ers
Third Down Conversions:
#49ers: 10-16
Browns: 2-9
Brock Purdy had only seven throwaways all season, he’s thrown away six passes today. #49ers
Weather report for Cleveland tomorrow. McCaffrey is going to have 50 touches. #49ers
Not only does the Lions’ loss drop them to 7-5, a game behind the #49ers, but they are only 4-4 vs. the NFC while SF is 8-2. In other words, a two-team tiebreaker would go to SF.
#49ers open as 5.5 point favorites at Cleveland. This could be a very tough game:
- 10 am PT kickoff on short week after MNF
- Myles Garrett
- Jim Schwartz has had success vs Kyle's offense in past
- Cold weather, snow in forecast
- Purdy's lowest PFF grade came vs CLE in 2023
QBs from last night on throws of 10+ yards downfield threw more INTs than completions.
Combined: 3-16, 68 yards, 1 TD, 5 INT
