Seahawks move closer to NFC West lead as 49ers lose consecutive games

Kirk Cousins just won a primetime game.

For anyone who’s watched football for more than, say a year, that’s a big deal in and of itself. Even more remarkable are all the side stories - without Justin Jefferson, against the NFL’s stingiest defense (formerly), amid reports that the Minnesota Vikings are now sellers, Cousins went big and the Vikings got three turnovers against the San Francisco 49ers.

The Seattle Seahawks suddenly find themselves a half game out of the NFC West lead, which looks unquestionably winnable behind the potential exposure and dismantling of San Francisco’s QB Brock Purdy.

What happened to the 49ers pass rush, what happened to their run game, what happened to their second-level defense, are all very good questions, but they’re not the most important.

Brock Purdy has now thrown 3 interceptions in the past two games, had a horrendous timeout usage coming out of a timeout, and would have had a fumble or intentional grounding if his knee hadn’t hit a split-second earlier. It’s beginning to look like the NFL knows precisely how to handle Purdy without every single member of the Niners offense at full health.

Seattle has a massive chance to gain momentum and confidence this coming week as they play the Cleveland Browns, the other team to beat San Francisco. The Cincinnati Bengals take on the 49ers in Santa Clara, so the Seahawks could be atop the NFC West by the end of the month.

This all comes while the Seahawks defense is playing like a man on fire. The two rivals don’t play each other until November and Christmas, but the games suddenly look exceedingly winnable.