Ricky Pearsall Comes Up Empty as 49ers Fall Flat in Divisional Round Blowout
Heading into their divisional-round clash with the top-seeded Seahawks, the San Francisco 49ers needed a near-flawless performance to pull off the upset in Seattle. The odds were long, the stakes were high, and if the Niners were going to make some noise, second-year wideout Ricky Pearsall had to be one of the guys leading the charge.
Instead, he barely made a sound.
Pearsall, San Francisco’s 2024 first-round pick, was supposed to be a key piece in Kyle Shanahan’s offensive puzzle-especially after the devastating loss of tight end George Kittle to an Achilles tear in the Wild Card round. With Kittle out and the receiving corps looking thin, Pearsall’s role as a vertical threat became even more critical. He’s one of the few weapons on this roster who can stretch a defense, and against a top-tier Seahawks secondary, that kind of skill set was going to be essential.
But on a day when the 49ers needed him most, Pearsall was a non-factor.
The numbers tell a pretty grim story: two targets, zero catches. That’s it.
He came close on one deep ball, but the ground helped jar it loose, and the incompletion stood. No catches, no impact, and no spark from a player who was supposed to be one of the few difference-makers left standing in San Francisco’s battered offense.
Now, to be fair, Pearsall wasn’t operating at full strength. He’s been dealing with a knee injury that’s lingered through the back half of the season and into the playoffs. That kind of nagging issue can limit a receiver’s explosiveness, and it's likely part of what kept him from creating the separation he’s known for.
But injury or not, the 49ers needed someone-anyone-to step up against a Seahawks defense that came in playing lights-out football. Pearsall has shown flashes before, especially early in the season, when he was pulling defenders deep even if the ball wasn’t coming his way.
That kind of gravity can open up space for teammates underneath. On Saturday, though, there was no such effect.
Seattle’s defense stayed tight, and Pearsall couldn’t shake free.
And that made life miserable for Brock Purdy.
According to the numbers, Purdy scrambled for 413 yards on 33 dropbacks-not rushing yards, but the distance he covered just trying to escape pressure. That’s a staggering figure, and it paints a clear picture: the Seahawks’ pass rush overwhelmed the 49ers’ offensive line, and Purdy’s receivers weren’t giving him anywhere to go with the football. Pearsall, the guy most likely to create separation downfield, just couldn’t get open.
It’s hard to say how much of a difference a healthy Pearsall would’ve made. The 49ers were outplayed in every phase of the game, and the 41-6 final score reflects that. But in a matchup where San Francisco needed every remaining weapon to show up, Pearsall’s absence-both physically and in the box score-was impossible to ignore.
In the biggest game of the year, the 49ers needed their young receiver to rise to the moment. Instead, he disappeared.