49ers news: 3 takeaways from the 36-24 win over the Seahawks

The San Francisco 49ers beat the Seattle Seahawks 36-24 on Thursday night, picking up their first conference win of the season and moving into first place in the NFC West.

It was a much-needed win for the 49ers after suffering a disappointing 24-23 loss at home to the Arizona Cardinals in Week 5. They were tasked with creating a quick turnaround for an away game in a short week.

As in many of San Francisco's early games, the 49ers took an early lead but faced some adversity as they struggled to finish the game. Ultimately, they did what needed to be done late in the fourth quarter by playing complementary football en route to a Week 6 win.

Here are three quick takeaways from the 49ers' 36-24 win over the Seahawks.

The defense delivers

While the final score of 36 points was a season high for San Francisco, the defense really stepped up its game on Thursday.

The 49ers faced tough news as starting cornerback Charvarius Ward sat out after pregame warmups and rookie Renardo Green got his first extended action while Deommodore Lenoir and Isaac Yiadom took on larger roles.

But the defense responded well against one of the league's more pass-heavy offenses, preventing top receiver DK Metcalf from having three catches on 11 targets while Geno Smith was forced to throw 52 passes in the loss.

Star defensive end Nick Bosa has been a real spark for the 49ers. He constantly penetrated the backfield and disrupted plays as a one-man squad, although he didn't get any sacks that night.

Top linebacker Fred Warner led the way with 11 tackles and made some nice open-field plays while breaking up a pass late that he also nearly intercepted.

On the ground, running back Kenneth Walker, who entered Thursday's game averaging 5.5 yards per carry, was limited to just 32 yards on 14 carries, while Seattle managed just 52 total yards on 20 carries on the night.

The defense needed a dominant performance and it did so on Thursday, overcoming some minor weaknesses and putting together a strong performance.

Red zone

It seems like the red zone has become a hot topic every week, and this week was no different as the 49ers' problems spread once again.

The 49ers entered the game as the league's 29th-best red zone offense and had multiple scoring opportunities in the first half, generating five drives, four of which ended deep in Seattle territory.

The results? Field goal, punt, touchdown, field goal, field goal.

Making matters worse, San Francisco's only attempts in the red zone resulted in field goals, while a third drive ended just outside Seattle's 20-yard line and new kicker Matthew Wright settled for another field goal.

The problems finally subsided in the second half as San Francisco scored on three straight red zone drives, with George Kittle scoring two touchdowns, while Kyle Juszczyk hit the game-winning one-in late in the fourth quarter for a score .

The 49ers have had tremendous success targeting Kittle in the red zone this year, as Brock Purdy completed 10/11 passes for five touchdowns to his tight end in the first six weeks, which is far more success than any other receivers.

San Francisco needs to get Kittle and Brandon Aiyuk more involved in the red zone to fix some of their issues, and that happened in the second half and produced positive results.

Rookies shine

Facing numerous injuries, the 49ers and head coach Kyle Shanahan had to rely on rookies on Thursday to answer the bell, and they did so brilliantly.

Fourth-round pick Malik Mustapha started in place of the injured Talanoa Hufanga and made a crucial interception on the game's first drive that kept Seattle from scoring. Mustapha also had a tackle for a loss in the win before exiting early due to injury.

Second-round pick Renardo Green played a large portion of the cornerback snaps and had some big plays on Thursday, with a big interception deep in Seattle territory helping extend the 49ers' lead in the fourth quarter. Green also had several pass breakups while also targeting good coverage.

Third-round pick Dominick Puni has continued his rise as an NFL starter, and he once again showed good quality of play, even showing off in run blocking with a nice lead block on Isaac Guerendo's 76-yard rush that contributed to the game-winner End of the fourth quarter away.

Guerendo, however, had his first big moment when he filled in for injured running back Jordan Mason and rushed for 99 yards on 10 carries, with 76 yards coming on a big block play.

The 49ers needed their rookie class to contribute this year, and that's exactly what they're doing in the first third of the season.