The San Francisco 49ers beat the Seattle Seahawks 32-29 on Sunday at Lumen Field, and the difference was a touchdown their offense never had to produce. Gracen Halton recovered a fumble in the end zone with 13 seconds left in the first half, the only defensive score of the day.

Some of the box score was tight. Both teams finished with 14 first downs, and San Francisco outgained Seattle 269 yards to 251. Seattle lost the turnover battle with 4 giveaways to 3, and the one returned for six was the margin.

How It Happened

Brock Purdy opened the scoring with a 2-yard touchdown pass to Mike Evans at 11:12 of the first quarter. Seattle answered at 5:43 when Emanuel Wilson ran it in from 2 yards, and the quarter ended tied.

Jason Myers put Seattle ahead with a 49-yard field goal early in the second quarter. Christian McCaffrey took the lead back for San Francisco with an 11-yard touchdown run at 8:17, and Myers trimmed it to a single point with a 50-yarder at 1:56.

Then came the swing. Halton's fumble recovery in the end zone padded the lead heading into halftime instead of leaving San Francisco clinging to a 1-point edge.

Seattle owned the third quarter and scored every point in it. Myers hit from 43 yards, Sam Darnold found Jaxon Smith-Njigba for a 16-yard touchdown at 5:52 to put Seattle ahead, and Myers added a 48-yarder to extend the lead.

Purdy responded early in the fourth with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Brandin Cooks, then hit Evans for the two-point conversion to make it 29-26. That conversion mattered. Without it, Myers' 40-yard field goal at 6:55 would have put Seattle in front rather than tying the game at 29.

Eddy Pineiro settled it with a 44-yard field goal at 1:56 for the final margin.

Key Performers

Brock Purdy: 2 TD passes (Mike Evans 2 YDS, Brandin Cooks 7 YDS), two-point conversion pass to Evans
Gracen Halton: Fumble recovery in end zone for TD, Q2 0:13
Jason Myers: 5 field goals – 49, 50, 43, 48, 40 YDS
Eddy Pineiro: 44-yard go-ahead field goal, Q4 1:56

49ers passing: 19-29, 175 YDS, 1 INT
49ers rushing: 24 ATT, 94 YDS
Seahawks passing: 18-29, 162 YDS, 2 INT
Seahawks rushing: 26 ATT, 89 YDS

Myers kept Seattle in it almost on his own leg, and every one of his field goals came from 40 yards or longer. That is the problem in a nutshell: Seattle's drives kept stalling short of the end zone, while San Francisco went 3-for-3 in the red zone.

Seattle's offense also absorbed 5 sacks for 33 yards, and it lost 2 fumbles on top of 2 interceptions. Neither team ran the ball well, with both under 4 yards a carry, so the game came down to who protected the ball and finished drives. San Francisco did both slightly better.

What It Means

San Francisco is 5-0 and has won both of its road games. The 49ers did not dominate here, converting only 4 of 12 third downs and committing 8 penalties for 70 yards, but they found a way to win a game decided by a field goal.

Seattle falls to 3-2 and is now 2-1 at home. The Seahawks matched San Francisco in first downs and nearly matched it in yards, which makes this one sting: the 4 turnovers and too many drives ending in field goals proved costly.