Golden Nuggets: Victory Friday, Thanksgiving edition

“But as Shanahan pointed out, Purdy wasn’t supposed to throw it to Aiyuk against that Seahawks coverage. Safety Quandre Diggs was sitting right there in the middle of the field and moving deeper. The window was going to be too tight. George Kittle was wide open on a shorter route. Purdy had to throw it hard to beat Devon Witherspoon on one side and also float it over Diggs. It was almost impossible. One degree off and it would’ve been picked off.

.....

Purdy, as has been mentioned almost every day of his 49ers starting career, isn’t known for his arm strength, yet that throw was a 95 mph fastball by any measure. He’s been denigrated as a “system quarterback,” but that decision was entirely outside of anything Shanahan wanted him to do. He’s a calm, thoughtful guy, but that play was pure guts and adrenaline. He’s supposedly a safe-and-sane game manager, but he’s also the guy who threw a crazy across-his-body TD two weeks ago (also to Aiyuk, there’s a theme here).

Purdy’s critiqued and analyzed every play of his life and yet where in the heck did Thursday’s throw come from?

That was an All-Pro throw. That was, dare I say it, the kind of throw that could win an NFC Championship Game or Super Bowl. It’s the kind of throw that could’ve beaten the Kansas City Chiefs in February 2020. That was a throw that no 49ers QB since Steve Young or Joe Montana could’ve made. Full stop.

That’s why one of his quieter statistical games (completing 21 of his 30 attempts for 209 yards with the one touchdown and one interception for an 86.7 passer rating) still seemed like another threshold Purdy moment. Even though all the back-and-forth about his ranking and his status is beyond tiresome at this point, that kind of throw — and the 49ers’ 8-3 record and hold on first place in the NFC West —puts everything on the table.”

“The 49ers had a 21-point halftime lead, and their advantage could have been bigger.

The offense took over twice in Seattle territory after takeaways and came out of those possessions with only three points.

Those missed opportunities looked big later in the game when the Seahawks made their run.

The 49ers have to do a better job of closing the door when they have their opportunity to pull away for a decisive victory.”

“Call it the Thanksgiving Day thumping. Or the holiday hammering. It was a game that appeared as if it could have been called with 43 seconds left in the second quarter when the 49ers led 24-3, the Seahawks had more turnovers (two) than first downs (one) and the 49ers had more first downs (16) than Seattle had net yards (15).”

“So withering was the 49ers’ attack in the first half, offense and defense, that Seahawks’ coach Pete Carroll, chomping up a storm on the sideline, might have been chewing up his playbook.”

“While the Lions and 49ers both are 8-3 after their Week 12 games, San Francisco (6-1 against the NFC this season) holds the conference tiebreaker over Detroit (5-2) and also boasts a better divisional record. The Seahawks (6-5), meanwhile, slid down to the No. 7 seed after their loss to the 49ers, meaning the division rivals would meet again in the playoffs if the season ended today.”

“That was awesome,” McCaffrey said. “It was actually really good turkey, too. I have no idea how they kept all of the dishes hot ... but the turkey was really good, well cooked. It wasn’t dry at all and like I said, still hot, which was impressive for being 20 minutes after the game.”

“Since Week 7, the 49ers had struggled to finish drives in the red zone, scoring touchdowns on just 42% of their trips inside the opponent’s 20. That ranked 26th in the league during that stretch. Improvement in that regard was a point of emphasis this week as the Niners head into the heart of their schedule. They took a nice step forward against the Seahawks. San Francisco scored touchdowns on each of its first three red zone trips Thursday night and finished 3-of-4 on the way to another convincing victory.”