The San Francisco 49ers just barely got the edge over the defending Super Bowl Champions on Sunday afternoon, defeating the Seattle Seahawks.
These two teams have been fighting for the top spot in the NFC West, and their first showdown of the season netted some incredible statistics.
Box score from 49ers-Seahawks reads like a copy of itself
The Seahawks and the Niners posted almost the exact same game. Brock Purdy and Sam Darnold threw the exact same amount of times (29), but Purdy completed 19 of them while Darnold only completed 18. However, Darnold had the edge on passing yards (195), overcoming Purdy (189) by only 6 total yards.
But the parallels don't stop there.
Both teams posted 14 total first downs on the day, and the Seahawks only ran four more plays than the Niners. Seattle averaged 4.2 yards per play while the 49ers averaged 4.8 yards per play.
No matter how you look at it, this game came down to the wire. The lead changed four separate times, and the score was tied twice.
Time of possession was nearly identical as well, with Seattle holding the ball for just under two minutes more than San Francisco. Rushing attempts were also very close to one another, with the Niners coming out on top. The math works out differently when it comes to who had the ball, but in total the Niners rushed the ball 24 times, while the Seahawks rushed the ball 26 times. Even their grand total rushing yards was almost even!
These two teams matched each other at every phase on Sunday, and the game hung in the balance all afternoon. The fight for the top of the NFC West has been fierce, but the next round of it will only be fiercer.
The next time these two teams face off is in Week 12, when the Niners are fresh off of their bye. This time the Seahawks will need to contend with San Francisco on their home turf, when their home crowd is present.
Whether or not the 49ers will still be vying for their undefeated title remains to be seen. What won't be a mystery, however, is how bad both of these teams want to beat each other. The rivalry runs deep, and that's not anything that will change by Week 12.
This game came down to the nitty gritty of each choice the respective head coaches made. In a game where only a few yards separates team from team, every decision mattered.
A single play could have changed the tide of everything.
Add us as a preferred source on Google