The night the stars — and the 2024 rookie class — saved the 49ers

SEATTLE — For the 49ers, the Pacific Northwest is the belly of the beast. Beating the Seahawks in Seattle — especially in turbulent times — never seems to come easily. That’s how it unfolded Thursday night, as the 49ers prevailed 36-24 despite a second-half Seattle comeback bid that reminded the visitors, who’d led 23-3, a little too much of their two recent NFC West losses.

“It sucked,” 49ers linebacker Fred Warner said of Thursday’s second-half drama. “It was something that felt familiar, for sure. But I said, hey, we can go one of two ways right here: We can stand tall in a hostile environment in a game that we know we’ve got to get, or we can settle into how we’ve been playing for the last couple of losses we’ve had.

“And that’s what I’m most proud about right now: the way we stood up.”

The superstar core led by Warner (who has logged 15 forced fumbles, one short of tying 49ers legend Patrick Willis for the franchise record), edge rusher Nick Bosa (who notched 14 pressures), quarterback Brock Purdy (who eviscerated Seattle’s defense with a blistering 129.3 passer rating), and tight end George Kittle (who caught two critical red-zone touchdowns) was fantastic, but huge contributions from the 2024 rookie class were also instrumental.

The added juice the youngsters brought to the table was the theme of many discussions in the palpably relieved team’s locker room.

The DB tandem of safety Malik Mustapha and cornerback Renardo Green had started the show. Green blanketed Seattle receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba while Mustapha, after locking in on quarterback Geno Smith’s eyes, flew over the top for a tone-setting interception on the game’s first drive.

“Really, the point of emphasis was to re-establish the identity of the defense,” said Mustapha, a fourth-round pick. “Put the league back on notice. We had to step up in numerous spots.”

Over 60 minutes, the 49ers did just that, holding the Seahawks to just 2.6 rushing yards per carry while sucking efficiency out of Smith’s game. He’s attempted the most passes of any NFL quarterback this season — 52 more throws came Thursday — but the 49ers ensured that the vast majority of them did little damage.

Green, a second-round pick, heeded the advice of veteran 49ers cornerback Charvarius Ward — who missed the game with a knee injury — when he intercepted Smith by undercutting Seahawks wideout DK Metcalf in the fourth quarter.

“[Ward] gave me tips and indicators to look for before the game,” Green said. “Just trust my keys and understand what type of team they were and what they like to run. I stuck with it.”

That set the table for fellow rookie running back Isaac Guerendo, another fourth-round pick, to deliver the dagger, a 76-yard wide-zone run that extinguished Seattle’s hopes of making a comeback. The play was reminiscent of running back Jordan Mason’s game-sealing 55-yard run in Seattle two seasons ago, which also came on a Thursday night. This time around, Guerendo replaced Mason, who had injured his shoulder.

Guerendo intentionally slid short of the goal line, forgoing a 100-yard performance (he finished with 99 rushing yards) and his first NFL touchdown so that the 49ers would chew up more clock and make it even harder for the Seahawks to come back. Guerendo’s teammates teased him about the selfless move afterward in the locker room, especially since veteran fullback Kyle Juszczyk scored the final touchdown himself and celebrated with family and friends watching from the front row just two plays later.

“But it was a team decision,” Guerendo said of his slide, smiling. “I wanted to come out here with a team victory. I already told Juice he owes me one.”

To tie the theme together, the lead blocker on Guerendo’s run was also a rookie. That was 49ers right guard Dominick Puni, who was a third-round pick in the 2024 draft.

“Isaac runs like a 4.2 (40-yard dash), so we’ve been waiting for that all year, because we know how explosive and fast he is,” Puni said, slightly exaggerating Guerendo’s time of 4.33 seconds. “It’s just hard to be a young running back in this offense. The timing of every play as a running back is just different [than in college].”

But Guerendo, like his compatriots in the defensive backfield, seems to be picking up the NFL game quickly enough.

“No one in this locker room is new to playing football,” Mustapha said. “This is what we dreamed of. This is what we played for. Blood, sweat, and tears for this game. I look at this rookie class, and these guys care. We represent the 49ers’ vision, the common goal.

“This is just one step in the right direction. This was a statement game for us, for sure.”

Mustapha, who went to Wake Forest, and Green, who went to Florida State, trained together in the lead-up to the NFL Draft. Both say this time helped them develop the chemistry necessary for success when it comes to defensive backs working against fast professional offenses.

That cohesion was apparent on the game’s first interception.

“Renardo had really good coverage on it,” Mustapha said of his interception as he held the game ball from that pick at his locker. “I was just reading Geno’s eyes. He was locked in on that throw. I tried to run to the spot before he let it go.”

Said Green: “I played against Isaac and Malik in college, so I knew what they were about. So in camp, OTAs, we were working on our craft, and we got a chance to see what everybody was made of. It’s no shock to me that guys are doing this because you practice the way you play. We’re big on that.”

It all reminded the 33-year-old Juszczyk, the longest-tenured 49er, of a team gathering two weeks ago before a game against the New England Patriots. The 49ers call it their “rookie parents weekend.” Two veterans address the parents of the team’s young newcomers. Juszczyk and 31-year-old wide receiver Chris Conley delivered the message this year.

“One of the first things I said to the parents is what a mature group of rookies this is,” Juszczyk said. “And it stood out to me how intelligent they were, taking coaching, listening to the older guys, all that type of stuff. I do think that they’re a little more mature than any rookie class that I’ve been around.”

Said Conley: “We knew that these guys were talented, but the support systems they have back at home are really good. Their parents had really good questions and were engaged, were supportive. None of them seemed overbearing. We tried to give them realistic expectations of what playing in the league is like. It’s not always sunshine and rainbows.”

It certainly hasn’t been sunshine and rainbows for the 49ers over the past several months. Their devastating overtime loss in Super Bowl LVIII to the Kansas City Chiefs marked the team’s 60th game in just three seasons. Fatigue, both physical and emotional, was a real concern entering the 2024 season for the NFL’s third-oldest roster. That worry became acute after the 49ers blew double-digit leads in losses to the Los Angeles Rams and Arizona Cardinals.

It had been long assumed that the 49ers, regardless of how many All-Pros walked the hallways of their facility, would need to pair established stardom with an infusion of youthful production this season. The bad defeats, paired with injury issues afflicting veterans like Ward, safety Talanoa Hufanga, and running back Christian McCaffrey, signaled that this infusion was needed sooner rather than later.

It made a resounding splash Thursday. The 49ers had been staring at the grim prospect of a 2-4 start. Instead, they’re 3-3 and in the top spot of the NFC West with the Chiefs — the franchise that twice has stood in the way of the 49ers’ ultimate goal — looming next.

“We have a long road ahead, and it starts with [the Chiefs], who we haven’t beat yet since I’ve been here,” Bosa said. “Definitely trying to get the monkey off our back with that one.”

The 49ers will approach that showdown with the lessons they learned and the success they saw in Seattle. They’ll take this next crack at Kansas City with their new mix of veterans and rookies, who blossomed in Thursday’s pressure cooker.

Mustapha was quick to point out that the team will soon have its top pick of the 2024 draft, first-round receiver Ricky Pearsall, back in the fold. He is expected to return to practice from the non-football injury list next week.

“There’s more left on the table,” Mustapha said.