The drought is over. The San Francisco 49ers have won their first game against the Seattle Seahawks since 2013. San Francisco topped Seattle, 26-23, in an overtime thriller at Levi's® Stadium. Let's start with Robbie Gould's Week 15 heroics.
1. Robbie Gould continues to be rock solid for the 49ers. He made all four of his field-goal attempts on Sunday, including a 36-yard game-winner in overtime. Gould is now 29-of-30 on the season. He also became the 23rd kicker in NFL history to reach 1,500 career points.
2. San Francisco's defense was excellent down the stretch, recording three straight stops in crunch time -- two in regulation and another in overtime. Seattle got the ball first in the extra period and couldn't get anything going, which gave the ball back to the 49ers needing just a field goal to win it.
3. DeForest Buckner sacked Wilson twice on Sunday for sack Nos. 10 and 11 on the season. It marks the first time he's reached double-digit sacks in his career. The first takedown of Wilson came on an impressive swim move to beat Seattle's right guard. The second was an incredible illustration of Buckner's overall athleticism. On a third-down play in the fourth quarter, Buckner chased down a scrambling Wilson near the sideline. There are very few, if any, defensive tackles in the NFL capable of making that play.
4. Richie James got some redemption and atoned for his fumbled punt two weeks ago against Seattle. After the Seahawks opening touchdown, James returned the ensuing kickoff 97 yards to the house. It was the 49ers first special teams touchdown since Week 1 of 2011 (Ted Ginn). James found a crease up the right sideline, made Sebastian Janikowski miss and sprinted the rest of the way to the goal line. According to Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area, James became the first 49ers rookie to return a kickoff for a touchdown since Amos Lawrence in 1981.
5. Nick Mullens completed 20-of-29 passes for 275 yards and one touchdown. It was a gutsy performance in which he absorbed several big hits from the Seahawks defense. Mullens' touchdown was a 41-yarder to a wide open Garrett Celek. His best pass was a 30-yard dime to Dante Pettis in the fourth quarter down the right sideline. Mullens wasn't perfect (he overthrew George Kittle twice in the first half that would have resulted in big plays), but he didn't turn the ball over and once again gave the 49ers a chance to win.
6. Doug Baldwin and Chris Carson each had a big game on Sunday. Baldwin caught four passes for 77 yards and two touchdowns. The second score was a 35-yarder featuring an impressive contested grab and run after the catch. Carson ran for 119 yards and one touchdown on 22 carries. He added six receptions for 29 yards. San Francisco's defense did an impressive job limiting both players down the stretch.
7. Penalties were a huge story in this one. Seattle was flagged 14 times for 148 yards. An offensive holding penalty drawn by Solomon Thomas stalled Seattle's drive in overtime and erased a long completion from Wilson to J.D McKissic. The 49ers game-winning drive was aided by a huge defensive pass interference call.
8. Jeff Wilson is another player who enjoyed some redemption in this one. Wilson lost a fumble in the first half and later had a costly unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in the red zone. The undrafted rookie atoned for those miscues with a few big runs on the team's game-winning drive. Wilson ripped off a 16-yard gain to get to the Seahawks 25-yard line. Two more runs for seven total yards led to Gould's 36-yard game-winner.
9. Fred Warner posted nine tackles in the game and now has 105 on the season in what has been an impressive year for the rookie linebacker.
10. Tarvarius Moore was called into action after Ahkello Witherspoon left the game with a knee injury. Moore gave up a touchdown to Baldwin, but later stood tall at the end of regulation. Wilson targeted Moore on back-to-back plays, and the rookie was up to the task on both throws. Richard Sherman was effusive in his praise of Moore following the win.
