Studs and Duds: 49ers’ stars come up clutch in come-from-behind win over rival Seahawks

How s that for a season opener The ers and Seahawks played a down-to-the-wire competition that was anything but a classic But it s not a competition that will be forgotten anytime soon The ers beat the Seahawks - in their season debuts with the organization s biggest players coming up in a huge way in the bulk critical moments Here are the studs and duds from the event STUDS Related Articles Kurtenbach A gut check for the Faithful I m predicting the ers will miss the playoffs in Kurtenbach Christian McCaffrey and Brian Robinson Jr in the same ers backfield Don t bet on it Kurtenbach Jauan Jennings is back with the ers but all the big questions remain unanswered Kurtenbach It s too late for anyone to win Jauan Jennings showdown with the ers Best division in football Latest down how the ers stack up against their NFC West rivals Christian McCaffrey RB Was he percent healthy He ll say so But whatever percentage he was the ers needed all of it on Sunday particularly after George Kittle s injury McCaffrey had a handful of nice runs and more than a sparse where he turned losses into small gains against an aggressive Seattle defense But his success really came in the pass competition Seattle s defensive goal was to crowd the line of scrimmage taking away the outside zone run The antidote to that is swing passes and Texas routes to McCaffrey out of the backfield and Brock Purdy took that option again and again and again Sunday Without McCaffrey the ers wouldn t have had much of an offense With him they had a winning performance Jake Tonges TE The former Cal Golden Bear might have been the last guy to make the ers roster in August Aren t the Niners glad they kept him His touchdown catch where he took the ball from Riq Woolen in the end zone was the difference in the competition for the ers It was his third-ever NFL catch His prior two came earlier in the drive Tonges will never be a George Kittle replacement but he made the most of of an unexpected opportunity and won a tournament we ll forever know as the Jake Tonges Championship George Kittle TE When he played he was awesome Against gap-filling linebackers Kittle had a field day in the flat catching four passes for yards and a touchdown But a hamstring injury which established up on a downfield block in the second quarter took him out of the match and led the Niners to force-feed McCaffrey for the remainder of the championship Ricky Pearsall WR A great first drive with two big gains on bridging routes followed by an excellent block to free Purdy on a screen that set up the Niners first touchdown of the championship the next play The Niners waited two quarters to go back to him and he of program responded with defense-busting plays including a beautiful -yard pickup just before the two-minute warning Pearsall is the ers unquestioned wide receiver No and that s a good thing for this season Marques Sigle S The rookie safety picked up a forced fumble but it was his ability to snuff out passes from the backfield that seriously limited Seattle s offense It s not as if the Seahawks didn t try him either For a rookie to be that impressive at a position where nothing is straightforward or simple is next-level Fred Warner and Dee Winters LB The ers two base linebackers were incredible going sideline to sideline Winters in particular exhibited top-end run and pass defense skills it s as if the Niners didn t lose Dre Greenlaw in free agency this past offseason Brock Purdy QB There s no reason to pretend as if Purdy s two interceptions weren t egregious They were But down three and with the ball Purdy went -for- for yards and the game-winning touchdown That s what really matters folks Purdy has to be better but when the Niners needed him at his best he delivered Nick Bosa DE A quiet battle for Bosa Until he needed to be loud A big run stop on a red-zone first down with less than a minute to play followed by a forced and recovered fumble of Sam Darnold ended the meeting for San Francisco Big-time players make big-time plays in the biggest moments Bosa has never been accused of not being big-time DUDS Related Articles ers Seahawks Late heroics produce chaotic season-opening win ers-Seahawks live updates Niners overcome injuries sloppy play to win opener A look at how NFL divisional and wild card races shape up for the season Purdy stays focused as expectations grow after ers-record contract Latest down ers schedule A look at the Niners season from Week through Jordan Elliott DT Easy and free expedition Elliott went for a bus ride again and again and again on Sunday Upton Stout NB The rookie had a strong start to training camp and it seems his success as a rookie in a challenging position nickel back was taken for granted But that NFL Premiere patch on his jersey denoting that it was his first competition as a pro might as well have been a bullseye for the Seattle Seahawks Seattle tested Stout from the jump on Sunday and while his play improved as the contest progressed he had a nice deflection on the Seahawks final drive but it was still a tough watch overall Trent Williams LT The future Hall of Famer looked slow There s no sugar-coating it It s almost as if he hasn t seriously played football in months But if Williams isn t one of the greatest to ever play the ers offensive line becomes extremely porous It looked that way Sunday Jake Moody K But really this is an indictment of the ers front office It s an indictment of the entire special teams operation which failed repeatedly Sunday But Moody s -yard miss off the left upright loomed large in this challenge It led the Niners to go for it on a fourth-and- on the Seattle -yard line in the fourth quarter instead of kicking a field goal down three points If you can t trust your field goal kicker or blocking organization in that situation don t you need changes on both fronts