Mike Evans Proved Exactly Why 49ers Signed Him In Win Over Seahawks

There was a key difference in this 49ers game against the Seahawks on Sunday compared to the last two matchups between these teams: Mike Evans. The 49ers had lost those matchups, scoring a combined nine points in both losses as coach Kyle Shanahan admittedly struggled to put up points against arguably the best defense in the league. On Sunday, they defeated the Seahawks 32–29. 

To be clear, the score is misleading. While it was a high-scoring affair, both defenses played well. They combined for seven turnovers, which allowed the offenses to get short fields and score more. Still, the 49ers’ offense was much better in this game, and Evans was a main reason why. 

The 49ers were undermanned in their last two matchups against the Seahawks, contributing to their low-scoring outputs. They also were missing several of their playmakers again on Sunday, with both Ricky Pearsall and De’Zhaun Stribling on injured reserve and Deebo Samuel exiting the game early because of a hamstring injury. Evans stepped up. Here are three numbers that display his impact on the game. 

113

The number of receiving yards Evans tallied against the Seahawks, his most as a 49er so far. Overall, he recorded seven receptions for 113 yards and a touchdown. Even at age 33, the future Hall of Famer is still capable of taking over a game, and doing so against one of the top defenses in the league. As George Kittle simply put it after the game, “Mike Evans is really good at football.”

5

The number of passes Evans caught on the 49ers’ go-ahead touchdown drive in the fourth quarter. The 49ers’ first three touchdowns—including one TD pass to Evans—came off of Seahawks turnovers. On their first touchdown drive that wasn’t assisted by a turnover, Evans came through with several crucial and difficult catches, such as a third-and-10 conversion, a conversion on second-and-21 after an intentional grounding penalty and the two-point conversion to give San Francisco a three-point lead. This drive alone didn’t win the game—both the 49ers and Seahawks managed another field goal—but it allowed the Niners to retake the lead and eventually win. Evans’s ability to convert third downs and score in the red zone had already been clutch for San Francisco, and especially proved so on this drive.

364 

The number of days it had been since a 49ers receiver recorded a 100-yard receiving game before Evans’s on Sunday. Their last 100-yard receiving game by any player came on Dec. 22 against the Colts, when George Kittle tallied 115 yards and a touchdown. While Ricky Pearsall came close to 100 yards against the Titans last season (96 yards), the last time a 49ers receiver went over 100 yards was a year ago, when Kendrick Bourne recorded 142 yards in an Oct. 12 loss to the Buccaneers.

Recently, the 49ers have often relied on a group of weapons—particularly former All-Pros Kittle and running back Christian McCaffrey—rather than a singular receiver, and while that has worked for them, it was also beneficial for them to have a traditional X receiver dominate by going up and grabbing the ball in crucial situations. Evans did just that, and the 49ers are now celebrating a key division win.

1

As a bonus, the number of times Evans perfectly trolled a Seahawks player. The video says it all. 

Five more numbers that defined Week 5 of the NFL season

258

The number of yards Jordan Love threw for on passes of 20 or more yards, according to Next Gen Stats. He completed 6-of-8 throws that went 20 or more yards for 258 yards and two touchdowns. It was the second-most yards in the Next Gen Stats era, since 2016. Love and the Packers’ offense are at their best when they’re throwing the ball deep, and the Bears had no answers for it. Love threw for a total of 367 yards and two touchdowns and regularly connected on bombs to his receivers, Christian Watson and Matthew Golden. This allowed the Packers to dominate the Bears 31–7, pleasing the crowd at Lambeau Field in the process and improve to 3–2 on the year.

150.9

Drake Maye’s passer rating against the Raiders on Sunday. After he was criticized for his poor play to start the year, Maye was spectacular against an improved Raiders defense, completing 26-of-34 passes for 374 yards and four touchdowns. He also rushed for a touchdown in the game. Perhaps the even better number from Maye’s performance was zero, his interception total in the game. Maye led the NFL in interceptions heading into Sunday’s slate, and had thrown at least one pick in every game. Against a Las Vegas defense that has excelled at forcing turnovers, Maye did not turn the ball over a single time, helping the Patriots roll to a 45–17 blowout win.

2

The number of touchdowns the Vikings scored in their win over the Saints. Minnesota has started 5–0 despite infamously failing to score a touchdown in two of their games, including in their win last week over the Dolphins. The return of Justin Jefferson certainly helped, as he hauled in a touchdown pass while facing triple coverage. The Vikings still kicked more field goals (three) than touchdowns and went only 2-for-4 in the red zone, but progress is still progress and the Vikings’ offense looks like it’s getting better under Kyler Murray.

9 

The number of times Jets edge rusher David Bailey pressured Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, per Next Gen Stats. The rookie No. 2 pick had his best game yet as a pro, recording nine pressures, five quick pressures and three sacks to help the Jets beat the Browns and earn their second win of the season. Per ESPN’s Rich Cimini, Watson went just 1-of-3 while taking five sacks when Bailey was the first player to pressure him.

2 

The number of consecutive games the Eagles have held a win probability of over 97% and lost in the past two weeks, according to Scott Barrett of Fantasy Points Data. The Eagles followed their collapse to the Rams with an even more inexplicable loss to the Jaguars in London, allowing Jacksonville to record a long kick return and kick a game-winning field goal in the final eight seconds. Between a slew of offensive injuries, right tackle Lane Johnson retiring and leaving young offensive linemen to protect Jalen Hurts, there were plenty of reasons to believe the Eagles wouldn’t be able to beat a good Jaguars team. To lose in this manner, however, was unacceptable.