<\/p>\n
San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Mike Evans (5) makes a catch as Seattle Seahawks safety Julian Love (20) tries to stop him during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo\/Stephen Brashear)<\/p>\n
Stephen Brashear\/AP Photo\/Stephen Brashear<\/p>\n
San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Mike Evans reacts after catching a touchdown pass from quarterback Brock Purdy during the first half of an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo\/Lindsey Wasson)<\/p>\n
Lindsey Wasson\/AP Photo\/Lindsey Wasson<\/p>\n
SEATTLE\u00a0\u2014 As MGMT\u2019s \u201cElectric Feel\u201d pulsated in the visitor\u2019s locker room at Lumen Field on Sunday, the right side of the San Francisco 49ers<\/a>\u2019 offensive line, guard Dominick Puni and tackle Colton McKivitz, sipped celebratory Bud Lights and sounded like fans as they discussed their teammate who was getting dressed about 15 feet away.<\/p>\n Puni and McKivitz combined to refer to the object of their awe\u00a0\u2014 Mike Evans<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 by name on six occasions. And each time they used his full name: Mike Evans. Never \u201cMike.\u201d Not just \u201cEvans.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cBecause he\u2019s a grown man,\u201d McKivitz said, smiling. \u201cHe deserves respect. He\u2019s Mike Evans.\u201d<\/p>\n Explained Puni: \u201cIt\u2019s because we all know how long he\u2019s dominated the NFL. And he\u2019s still doing it. I mean, so, yeah, it\u2019s because he\u2019s Mike Evans.\u201d<\/p>\n Some legendary athletes achieve one-name status\u00a0\u2014 Tiger, Ali, Steph, Shaq\u00a0\u2014 and there are those such as, well, Mike Evans, a six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver who didn\u2019t seem to sweat Sunday as he casually took over late in a rollicking 32-29 win over the defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks while, oh by the way, playing with broken ribs.<\/p>\n Evans, 33, had seven catches for 113 yards with a touchdown, and was at his best late in the third quarter when the 49ers had squandered an eight-point halftime lead and were beginning to look beaten. Trailing 26-21, they were 74 yards away from a touchdown and were facing the NFL\u2019s top-ranked defense.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Adding to the degree of difficulty: Flu-ridden tight end George Kittle (26 yards) was a rumor because he felt like \u201cs\u2014\u201d, according to head coach Kyle Shanahan, and the 49ers began the drive with three healthy receivers: Evans, Jordan Watkins (four career catches) and past-his-prime Brandin Cooks, 33, who was recently elevated from the practice squad.<\/p>\n Given the circumstances, did Purdy have any doubt about who he planned to target?<\/p>\n \u201cI think the way Kyle called the drive there,\u201d Purdy said, \u201cwould sort of answer your question.\u201d<\/p>\n First, on first-and-20, after the drive started with an offensive pass interference penalty, Purdy found Evans for 15 yards. Then, in another jam\u00a0\u2014 3rd-and-10 from Seattle\u2019s 49\u00a0\u2014 Evans snagged a 23-yarder over the middle as Pro Bowl safety Julian Love fell at his feet. Finally, on 2nd-and-21 from Seattle\u2019s 37, Evans, 6-foot-5 and 231 pounds, twisted his body away from cornerback Josh Jobe and snagged a 28-yarder along the right sideline.<\/p>\n \u201cJust three quick beats for (66 yards),\u201d McKivitz said. \u201cNo big deal.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Two plays after Evans\u2019 28-yard catch, Purdy found Cooks for a 7-yard touchdown and, fittingly, capped the possession by locating Evans for the two-point conversion that provided a 29-26 lead with 11:02 left.<\/p>\n After quieting the Lumen Field din, Evans walked into a small room in the bowels of stadium and spoke in a voice that couldn\u2019t be heard over loud air conditioning.<\/p>\n \u201cI do feel like I\u2019m one of the best receivers in the game, hurt or not,\u201d Evans said. \u201cI mean I\u2019m out there and everybody\u2019s playing through injuries. I\u2019ve got a big frame. So if you throw it around me, I\u2019m going to do my best to try to make those contested grabs.\u201d<\/p>\n Evans is known as an anti-diva wide receiver. Terming himself one of the best at his position is a fact: He\u2019s tied for ninth in NFL history in receiving touchdowns (111), ranks 18th in receiving yards (13,378) and is one of two players with 11 straight 1,000-yard receiving seasons.<\/p>\n No, Evans isn\u2019t known for bragging. Instead, he\u2019s known for not saying much. Since signing with the 49ers in March, he\u2019s spent much of his time when he\u2019s in the locker room playing cards with left tackle Trent Williams. Puni termed Evans one of the \u201cmost humble people I\u2019ve ever met.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cHe doesn\u2019t really say anything,\u201d linebacker Fred Warner said. \u201cHe just shows up every week, works and goes out there on Sunday and just dominates you.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked how he would describe Evans\u2019 confident, cool presence, Warner smiled.<\/p>\n \u201cJust amazing,\u201d Warner said. \u201cJust an aura. A walking aura. I can\u2019t help it: I\u2019m on the sideline watching him do crazy stuff and I\u2019m like, \u2018We have Mike Evans.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n In keeping with his personality, Evans didn\u2019t really need to speak to silence trash-talking cornerback Trevon Diggs in the second quarter after Diggs began barking at Evans once they blocked each other on a running play. As Diggs followed Evans back to the huddle, Evans grabbed Diggs by the shoulder pads and turned him around to get a look at the name on the back of his jersey. The message: Who are you?<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t know that was him at first,\u201d Evans said. \u201cBecause I played against him a few times, and we\u2019d always been cool\u00a0\u2014 he was a good player. And I honestly didn\u2019t know it was him because in the helmet it\u2019s hard to tell sometimes. \u2026 And then I\u2019m like, \u2018Who are you? \u2019 And I look to make sure, and I\u2019m like, \u2018Oh that\u2019s f\u2014ing Diggs.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Diggs, 28, was a Pro Bowl selection in 2021 and \u201922, but he was waived by the Cowboys in December, released by the Seahawks on Aug. 30 and had spent the season on their practice squad before he was moved to the active roster Saturday.<\/p>\n That is, he used to be Trevon Diggs. On Sunday, he met his match in the calm, clutch wide receiver who remains Mike Evans, who was asked why his teammates refer to him by his full name.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s because I used to do that to people and it came back to me,\u201d Evans said. \u201cWhen I first got in the league, I would call people by their full name, and I think it\u2019s just karma. I don\u2019t know. But I\u2019m Mike Evans. That\u2019s my name.\u201d<\/p>\n With that, Evans left the lectern and walked to the exit as running back Christian McCaffrey entered the room to speak with reporters. They shared a fist bump as they passed, and McCaffrey looked to his audience before fielding the first question.<\/p>\n Like Puni and McKivitz, and even All-Pro players like McCaffrey who could be Canton-bound but haven\u2019t achieved full-name status, he was in awe.<\/p>\n \u201cThat guy,\u201d he said, \u201cis unbelievable.\u201d<\/p>\n Instant reaction: Tell us your thoughts on the 49ers’ win over the Seahawks<\/p>\n Most RecentTop Responses<\/p>\n Peter G<\/p>\n Salinas, CA<\/p>\n 10\/11\/26<\/p>\n Lenor is going to kill this team, he plays off of receivers too far and keep up with virtually all of them. I said it last year and see no improvement.<\/p>\n Jsck T<\/p>\n Long Beach, CA<\/p>\n 10\/11\/26<\/p>\n When a team turns the ball over 4 times and is still at the end in a position to win is a good team and I would suggest better than the Niners. Hate to say it since I have been a 49er fan but when they meet the next time not so sure where I would place my bet.<\/p>\n All of the Chron\u2019s sportswriters picked Seattle in this one. Much as I love you all, I am delighted that you were all WRONG!<\/p>\n Kevin W<\/p>\n San Francisco, CA<\/p>\n 10\/11\/26<\/p>\n Does anyone know how severe Debo’s injury is?<\/p>\n David D<\/p>\n Walnut Creek, CA<\/p>\n 10\/11\/26<\/p>\n I think this was a character win. The 49ers survived turnovers, an ejection, a very loud and hostile crowd, and a very tough Seattle team, then closed the game with calm and tough defense. I’m thinking at this stage of the season this team can handle anything.<\/p>\n See More Responses<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Mike Evans (5) makes a catch as Seattle Seahawks safety Julian Love (20)…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1025213,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2080],"tags":[220,7,700,6,1161,252,2624,2623,9],"class_list":["post-1025212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-francisco-49ers","tag-49ers","tag-football","tag-mike-evans","tag-nfl","tag-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco-49ers","tag-sanfrancisco","tag-sanfrancisco49ers","tag-sports"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/117426003868525110","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1025212","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1025212"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1025212\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1025213"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1025212"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1025212"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1025212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a>
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