6 takeaways from 49ers thumping of Seahawks on Thanksgiving

Wins in Seattle have been hard to come by for the 49ers. Blowout wins are even more difficult. The 49ers’ 31-13 win at Lumen Field was only the fourth time since the Seahawks became a franchise in 1976 that the 49ers won by double digits in Seattle. The 18-point victory was the second-largest margin of victory by the 49ers ever in the Pacific Northwest. They beat them 38-7 in 1988 for their biggest win ever in Seattle. Their other double-digit wins were in 1976 (37-21) and 2006 (24-14).

Speaking of wins in Seattle being hard to come by, the 49ers for the first time in franchise history have won back-to-back years on the road against the Seahawks. They won three straight on the road there in 1976, 1988 and 1991, but that was when Seattle was in the AFC West and not an annual opponent of the 49ers.

The 49ers have struggled in the red zone since Week 7. They hadn’t been better than 50 percent in any week since that stretch, including a one-for-four game in Week 10 in Jacksonville. On Thursday night they went three-for-four in the red zone with their lone field goal in the red area coming at the end of the first half. Figuring out how to continue having success inside the opposing 20 will be key to the 49ers making a deep playoff run.

When the 49ers are in a tough spot, they turn to Deebo Samuel and their offensive spark plug delivered. Samuel hauled in seven of his nine targets for 79 yards, turned in a three-yard touchdown run to open the scoring and had a 15-yard run to kickstart the 49ers offense when it stalled some in the second half. Samuel is a tone setter for the 49ers on offense and it was clear they were going to lean on him in a huge game in Seattle. He had three catches for 56 yards and his touchdown run all in the first quarter.

The 49ers eventually pulled away for a 31-13 win, but things got a little dicey in the second half. They led 24-3 at the half, but a 10-0 Seattle run that included a touchdown on a pick-6 put them within two scores heading into the fourth quarter. San Francisco righted the ship over the final 15 minutes though and weathered a little bit of a storm on the road in a tough environment. Overcoming that kind of adversity will only be helpful for the 49ers come playoff time.

Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

The 49ers pass rush did what it’s supposed to do Thursday night. They got to Seahawks QB Geno Smith for six sacks and 12 QB hits. Nick Bosa had 2.0, Javon Hargrave had 1.5 and Arik Armstead posted 1.0 for the evening. It was an excellent performance from a group that is expected to spearhead the 49ers defense, and they’ve done so the last three weeks.