{"id":8716759,"date":"2023-01-14T18:03:23","date_gmt":"2023-01-15T02:03:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eastbaytimes.com\/?p=8716759&preview=true&preview_id=8716759"},"modified":"2023-01-15T09:52:53","modified_gmt":"2023-01-15T17:52:53","slug":"the-football-gods-were-smiling-on-us-rain-stays-away-from-49ers-playoff-win-vs-seahawks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eastbaytimes.com\/2023\/01\/14\/the-football-gods-were-smiling-on-us-rain-stays-away-from-49ers-playoff-win-vs-seahawks\/","title":{"rendered":"‘The football gods were smiling on us’: Rain stays away from 49ers’ playoff win vs. Seahawks"},"content":{"rendered":"

SANTA CLARA \u2014 Who would be better prepared to deal with a rain-soaked football field than a groundskeeper from Seattle, right?<\/p>\n

So went the 49ers’ thought process this week, when they contacted the Seahawks to make an unprecedented request. They wanted to fly in a hired hand for Saturday’s NFC Wild Card showdown: Seattle’s head groundskeeper, Sean Vanos.<\/p>\n

So concerned about a coming storm \u2014 amid the Bay Area’s soggiest stretch of weather in years \u2014 the 49ers asked for assistance from their playoff opponent and divisional rival to deal with it. Jay Glazer was the first to report the move on the Fox Sports telecast, and the Bay Area News Group confirmed the Seahawks’ groundskeeper was on hand.<\/p>\n

However, despite a week of forecasts calling for the rain to continue through kickoff Saturday, those precautions proved to be unnecessary. It poured before the game and drenched the field soon after it ended, but for a four-hour window Saturday afternoon, it stayed mostly dry over Santa Clara.<\/p>\n

\"The
The Levi’s Stadium grounds crew removes the tarp during a break in the rain three hours before the San Francisco 49ers host the Seattle Seahawks in a NFL playoff wild-card round game on January 14, 2023. (Cam Inman\/Bay Area News Group) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“The football gods were smiling on us,” right tackle Mike McGlinchey said after the 49ers’ 41-23 win. “I thought it could\u2019ve been like a 10-6 game instead of the 40 points we put up. … They wanted the best product on the field.”<\/p>\n

Just as the 49ers needed no help pouring it on the Seahawks to advance to the divisional round, they needed little assistance from Seattle’s groundskeeper, either.<\/p>\n

Tailgating fans huddled under canopies before kickoff, and the scheduled flyover was canceled. But the skies, which have dumped more than a foot of rain on Santa Clara since Christmas, dried up before halftime, and even briefly shined blue.<\/p>\n

“How bout that?” McGlinchey said. “Four weeks in a row, they\u2019ve been calling for rain on our game day and we got sunshine for two quarters today. That was awesome.”<\/p>\n

Fans who roared for Arik Armstead’s sack that ended Seattle’s first possession of the game had traded in their bright-green all-weather gear for their typical gameday attire by the time Deebo Samuel was scampering down the sideline for the game-sealing score in the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n

\"San
San Francisco 49ers’ Arik Armstead (91) sacks Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith (7) in the first quarter of their NFC wild-card playoff game against the Seattle Seahawks, Saturday, Jan. 14, 2023, at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. (Karl Mondon\/Bay Area News Group) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Despite the 49ers’ penchant for running the ball, and the preference to keep it on the ground in wet weather, rookie Brock Purdy attempted his third-most passes since becoming the starting quarterback.<\/p>\n

Making his first career postseason start, Purdy was either bothered by the early rain or his nerves \u2014 starting 1-for-4 with a couple of bad misfires \u2014 but settled in as the game went on and finished with three touchdowns and 332 yards passing.<\/p>\n

\"San
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) throws a pass in the second quarter of their NFC wild-card playoff game at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2023. (Jose Carlos Fajardo\/Bay Area News Group) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While fullback Kyle Juszczyk admitted the ball was a bit slick early on, the 49ers were unfazed by the wet weather, or lack thereof. After all, it has been raining at historic levels for almost a month now, and the 49ers don’t have an indoor practice facility to escape the conditions.<\/p>\n

“Bring on the rain, man,” safety Jimmie Ward said. “It\u2019s working for us.”<\/p>\n

Linebacker Dre Greenlaw said he slipped once at the goal line but made the play anyway.<\/p>\n

“I didn\u2019t really notice it,” Greenlaw said, echoing the sentiment from a jubilant 49ers locker room. “It would rain and stop, but honestly I didn\u2019t even think about it. I just played.”<\/p>\n

All the oxygen spent on sports radio this week about how the conditions \u2014 and the Seahawks’ familiarity in it \u2014 would impact the game proved to be for naught. Seattle took a 17-16 lead into halftime but didn’t score again until the game was all but decided late in the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n

The game turned when the ball slipped loose from Geno Smith’s hands late in the third quarter. By then, though, the rain had stopped. More credit is due to Charles Omenihu, who forced the ball free, and Nick Bosa, who recovered it.<\/p>\n

It made the two-hour trip from Tracy worthwhile for Ingrid Alcantara, a lifelong Niners fan. Alcantara, an MRI technician, said she hadn’t missed a game this season but considered staying home because of the forecast.<\/p>\n