The San Francisco 49ers stamped their authority on the first half of a crucial NFC West contest with the Seattle Seahawks.

San Francisco dominated the opening two quarters on the road at Lumen Field, to the extent that at the end of the first quarter the Niners had 148 net yards to Seattle's zero.

The primary frustration for Kyle Shanahan will be that his team did not turn their obvious superiority into an even greater half-time advantage than their 24-3 lead.

The CMC and Deebo show

Sometimes the 49er offense runs through Brandon Aiyuk, sometimes it runs through George Kittle.

Most of the time, though, it runs through Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel, and that was emphatically the case in the first half.

The 49ers tormented the Seahawks linebackers through the use of both McCaffrey and Samuel in the backfield, with Seattle having no answer to either player as a runner or a receiver.

McCaffrey finished the first half with 104 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns, while Samuel ended the second quarter with 70 yards and a score.

Last week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Aiyuk was the star, this week it's the turn of the 49ers' two most versatile players on the San Francisco offense.

Secondary shows up

Forced into two punts after seeing one promising drive stalled by a holding call and another quickly go backwards following a turnover, the 49ers' offense, for all its success, gave the Seahawks chances to get back into the game.

Yet the defense made sure Seattle did not take those opportunities. San Francisco's star-studded defensive front garners much of the attention, but in the first half it was the secondary stealing the show.

Charvarius Ward registered two pass breakups against D.K. Metcalf after a 66-yard Dee Eskridge return set the Seahawks up in excellent field position following the 49ers' opening drive touchdown, and Ambry Thomas jumped in front of a Tyler Lockett route to intercept Geno Smith for that aforementioned turnover.

Ward in particular has maintained excellent downfield coverage, taking away shot plays that were regularly attempted from the shadow of the Seattle endzone because of the excellence of the 49er kicking game.

Mitch magic

49ers punter Mitch Wishnowsky has been enjoying the best season of his career, and it continued in style on the primetime stage.

The Aussie had his first two punts downed inside the 10, his second at the one-yard line. His third, a spinning 43-yarder from the 49ers' 27-yard line, was muffed by DeeJay Dallas, allowing the 49ers to recover and set up a 32-yard field goal that Jake Moody converted to make it a three-touchdown lead at the half.

A spectacular half for an under-the-radar star of the 2023 season for the 49ers.

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