SEATTLE — When Brock Purdy commanded the huddle ahead of the San Francisco 49ers’ final drive, he provided a clear message to third-string tight end Jake Tonges and the rest of the offense.
“He’s confident, he’s poised, he’s like, ‘Let’s go win this thing,’” Tonges said. “We didn’t want to kick a field goal. We didn’t want to go to overtime. We wanted to win it right there.”
Tonges came through, catching Purdy's deflected pass for a touchdown with 1:34 remaining, and the 49ers rallied for a 17-13 season-opening win over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.
Tonges entered the game having never caught an NFL pass. He finished with three receptions in relief of injured All-Pro tight end George Kittle and came down with a 50-50 ball from a scrambling Purdy for a 4-yard TD. Seahawks cornerb