3 rookies helped the 49ers in their big win over the Seahawks

And exhale.

It's not so much that the San Francisco 49ers' Thursday Night Football battle with the Seattle Seahawks was a must-win, although we did make a good argument why that might be, but the outlook would've looked very, very bleak if the Niners hadn't been able to pull out the win.

For, in spite of all the injuries all the injuries and troubles that have followed the team seemingly endlessly from September, the fact is, the 49ers needed to take care of business against their division rivals to give their season a shot of adrenaline.

Fortunately, in the continued absence of some key players at multiple spots in the lineup, the Niners' vaunted 2024 rookie class had a handful of standout contributors who helped the team get a much-needed win.

Let's take a look at them.

Malik Mustapha

Malik Mustapha has gone through some early career growing pains as his role has increased in the lineup. He's had some rather poor breakdowns in tackle technique, and the odd bust in coverage, but nothing that wouldn't be expected from a young player.

His closest comparison, Talanoa Hufanga, after all, had similar issues in his early seasons with the team.

That said, the arrow has definitely been pointing up on Mustapha, and that was no better shown in Thursday night's game in front of a national audience.

The obvious place to start is his key interception on the Seahawks opening drive, which certainly built some confidence in a flagging 49ers defense. His positioning and anticipation on that play deserve a lot of credit, given how important instincts are to a safety in pass coverage. If you're thinking about Mustapha's game from Thursday night, that's likely the play that comes first to mind: the kind of splashy, highlight play that sticks in the memory easily.

What was more impressive, though, was his work in the run game. Mustapha seems to be slowly eliminating the over-pursuit and overaggressiveness that have plagued his young career at times, showing progression with his decision-making on run fits and a significant improvement in his tackling. Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III is not an especially easy man to tackle, particularly when running with momentum. But Mustapha found a way to get him on the ground multiple times and limit explosive plays.

It says a lot for Mustapha that him leaving the game due to an ankle injury towards the end of the first half was greeted with such disappointment by watching 49ers fans. He's already playing himself into a key role with the team, and given Hufanga's injury problems and impending free agency, the rookie may be already supplanting the popular defensive back.

It remains to be seen how bad his injury is, but he played his most well-rounded game as a pro on Thursday, and it'll be exciting to see him on the field again soon.

Renardo Green

Cornerback Renardo Green, the team's second-round pick in April's draft, has had to be patient for game time in his rookie season.

While his snaps have regularly increased in a platoon with Isaac Yiadom, he's yet to nail down a starting spot, which is no criticism given that All-Pro Charvarius Ward and ascending former 49er draft choice Deommodore Lenoir are, on paper at least, an excellent tandem.

However, Green has worked hard for his chance while simultaneously learning both the nickel and outside corner spots, and got a great chance to show off his hard work on Thursday, with Ward inactive with a knee injury.

Green did himself proud, too, showing up well in coverage, particularly on the 49ers' vital goal-line stand before the half. While many observers were concerned about the team's ability to cover Seahawks phenom wideout D.K Metcalf without Ward, who had shadowed him so successfully last season, a combination of Green, Yiadom and Lenoir held a visibly frustrated Metcalf to three catches on 11 targets, which is an excellent return.

If that was all Green had participated in on Thursday night, that would've still marked a solid effort rom the rookie, but he also had possibly the most consequential play of the game when he intercepted Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith with around seven minutes left in the game.

At the time, the 49ers were wobbling in all three phases of the game. Their lead had been cut from a seemingly insurmountable 23-3 to 23-16, and the offense was sputtering late, bringing back some pretty bad flashbacks from the three losses to the Minnesota Vikings, Los Angeles Rams and Arizona Cardinals so far this season.

Green, however, swung both the narrative and momentum back towards San Francisco with an excellent read of both the receiver's route and Smith's ball placement, combining sticky coverage with excellent ball skills to make a true highlight play.

As Ward's form and health remain a question mark, it seems likely that Green has earnt himself a lot more playing time with his performance in Seattle.

Isaac Guerendo

Isaac Guerendo has had a difficult start to his 49ers career. Not only has he not seen much in-game action at the running back slot, but he has had a couple of high-profile miscues in his role as the team's kick returner.

It wasn't quite a time to sound the alarm on yet another running back draft pick, but Guerendo was having some growing pains in his rookie season, and that was exemplified by his lack of snaps, even as Christian McCaffrey continued to sit on the sidelines.

However, the injury suffered by Jordan Mason towards the end of the first half pressed the neophyte runner into increased action, and he didn't let the team down.

While Guerendo is still learning and needs to build some confidence with the 49ers' zone run scheme, watching his upright, explosive, and physical running style, even in limited play, suggested that a big play might not be too far away.

That proved to be a prescient observation, as Guerendo iced the game with an excellent 76-yard burst, which brought to mind previous explosive runs by other similar upright speed runners, such as ex-49er, now Miami Dolphins, running back Raheem Mostert.

It was an excellent run, at a time San Francisco needed it to put the game away. The only minor criticism that could be attributed to the run is that it didn't end in a touchdown, as he chose to slide down by the goal line to force the Seahawks to waste timeouts.

While that was a logical play in some respects, most 49ers fans would definitely liked to have seen him finish the run off, particularly as even with timeouts, Seattle would've struggled for a comeback in a two score game.

That was made a moot point by fullback Kyle Juszczyk harbouring no such inhibitions and barrelling into the end zone two plays later, of course.

Still, the team doesn't get down there without Guerendo, and he deserves enormous credit for hitting the hole as hard as possible and showing off the explosive speed that got the 49ers to draft him in the first place. Perhaps most pleasingly, though, it showed a better understanding of both his role and how to thrive in head coach Kyle Shanahan's offense, which will be vital if he wants to continue to get playing time as the season goes on.

The 49ers having a home-run hitter at running back outside of McCaffrey could be huge for the offense, and Guerendo showed off his audition for that role on Thursday night.

Did you enjoy the performance by the rookies? Who else stepped up to allow the 49ers to win?

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