NFL highlights on Nov. 23: 49ers make Seahawks Thanksgiving dinner

The San Francisco 49ers beat the Seattle Seahawks 31-13 at Lumen Field in Seattle, Washington, on Thursday, serving themselves a delicious turkey leg for Thanksgiving.

The 49ers' quarterback (QB) Brock Purdy completed 21 of his 30 passes for 209 yards and one touchdown with one interception. Though none of the receivers that connected with him reached 100 yards, three of them had catches from over 20 yards. Brandon Aiyuk was targeted four times, caught two of those passes for 50 yards and scored the game-sealing touchdown in the fourth quarter.

The 49ers' rich arsenal covered both passing and rushing. They outperformed the opponents 169-88 in rushing yards. Running back Christian McCaffrey completed 19 carries for 114 yards and two touchdowns. He and running backs Elijah Mitchell plus wide receiver Deebo Samuel all got at least one run of more than 10 yards. Samuel scored the team's first touchdown in their first drive of the game.

The Seahawks have one of the loudest home stadiums in the National Football League (NFL) but they let their fans down on Thursday night. The team also scored in their first drive like the 49ers did, but it was a 51-yard field goal by Jason Myers and the second-most significant contribution to this drive came from kick returner Dee Eskridge who returned 66 yards.

By contrast, the Seahawks' QB Geno Smith was a complete offensive disaster in the first half. He ran six drives in the first two quarters, three of which ended in punts and two in losses of yards. He even stumbled on his teammate's ankle in one drive and was inches from conceding a safety. Compared with these poor plays, the interception he threw in the first quarter didn't look too ugly.

Of course, Smith shouldn't take all the blame himself because many of his teammates performed poorly as well. The Seahawks' offensive line watched Smith get sacked six times, which cost the team 48 yards. Running back DeeJay Dallas had a fumble when he tried to catch a punt when there were less than two minutes left of the second quarter. The 49ers were able to attack again at the opponents' 22 yards. They only went eight yards forward for Jake Moody to score a 32-yard field goal, extending their lead to 21 points (24-3).

The 49ers continued to lead the National Football Conference (NFC) West with a 8-3 record after Thursday's win. The Seahawks (6-5) remained in the second place in this decision. They don't have to worry about the Los Angeles Rams (4-6) catching up from behind, but neither should they hope to surpass the 49ers. The more realistic choice for the Seahawks should be fighting for a wild card berth.

Other games on Thursday (away teams come first):

Green Bay Packers 29-22 Detroit Lions

Washington Commanders 10-45 Dallas Cowboys