
The San Francisco 49ers became the second NFL team to secure a play-off berth this season with a 21-13 win over division rival Seattle Seahawks.
In his second NFL start, rookie quarterback Brock Purdy threw two touchdown passes to tight end George Kittle to give the 49ers a seventh straight win and move to a 10-4 record.
This secured the NFC West title with three regular season games remaining.
The Seahawks (7-7) can still make the postseason via a wildcard spot.
Purdy, 22, was this year ‘Mr Irrelevant’, the nickname given to the player last selected in the NFL Draft.
But injuries to Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo gave the 262nd draft pick an unexpected opportunity to lead the 49ers to the playoffs and potentially Super Bowl 57.
Since the draft increased to seven rounds in 1994, no quarterback selected in the final round has started a playoff as a rookie – and only six have played in a playoff at any point in their careers. .
Purdy became the first Mr. Irrelevant to throw a touchdown pass in the regular season when he replaced the injured Garoppolo two weeks ago.
Last week, he became the first quarterback to beat seven-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady in his first career start as the 49ers beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 35-7.
And in his first away start on Thursday, he completed 17 of 26 passes for 217 yards at Seattle, while Kittle had four catches for 93 yards.
On 26 carries, midseason signing Christian McCaffrey rushed for 108 yards and a touchdown, and added 30 yards on six catches.
The 49ers led 14-3 at halftime and 21-6 with less than four minutes left when Seattle quarterback Geno Smith made his lone touchdown pass to Noah Fant.
In his first season as a starter since 2014, Smith, 32, surprisingly got the Seahawks back in the play-off race after trading Russell Wilson at the Denver Broncos and was 31 of 44 passes for 238 yards.
