The San Francisco 49ers were going to have a near-impossible time pulling off an upset over the top-seeded Seattle Seahawks on the road in the divisional round of the playoffs.
If it was going to happen, second-year wide receiver Ricky Pearsall needed to play a vital role.
True, Pearsall has been banged up for much of the year, and he was still dealing with a nagging knee injury that hobbled him down the stretch and into the postseason. But, considering he's arguably the Niners' lone deep threat and one of only a handful of respected pass catchers at head coach Kyle Shanahan's disposal in light of tight end George Kittle's devastating Achilles tear suffered in the Wild Card round, it's safe to say Pearsall needed to be an X-factor.
Well, he wasn't. At all.
The stats from the 41-6 season-ending debacle reveal pretty much everything the casual fan needs to know. The 2024 first-round draftee was targeted twice but recorded precisely zero receptions. Sure, he nearly caught a ball that was ultimately ruled incomplete when it touched the ground.
But that's the end of statistical impact. And it hurt quarterback Brock Purdy's chances in a major way.
49ers needed Ricky Pearsall to deliver if they wanted to beat Seahawks
Pearsall is one of the lone separators on Shanahan's offense. Matching up against an elite Hawks defense mandated every available playmaker make some sort of impact.
The receiver had done things like this before, especially early in the season when he wasn't necessarily catching a lot of passes but was nevertheless pulling opposing defenders down the field with him.
In this regard, at least against Seattle, Pearsall was wholly ineffective.
While the game tape will eventually reveal more, the fact Purdy covered a whopping 413 running yards on 33 dropbacks (not rush yards, rather yards evading pressure) doesn't just reveal how the Seahawks pass rush was vastly outclassing San Francisco's pass protection, but it also points a finger at how none of Purdy's targets were getting open.
Including Pearsall, the best bet to do so against a vanted Hawks secondary.
Certainly, Pearsall isn't 100 percent, and the nagging injury he's dealt with for much of the year likely played a major role in him not being able to contribute in the manner he would have otherwise preferred. And it might not have made a big enough difference anyway, given how outclassed the 49ers ultimately were.
Still, in the biggest game of the season, Pearsall was essentially nowhere to be seen.