49ers GM John Lynch loses his mind over Kenneth Walker's ridiculous 3rd & 17 run

Walker is Walkering all over the Niners defense.

Jan 3, 2026; Santa Clara, California, USA; Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III (9) rushes the ball against the San Francisco 49ers during the first half at Levi's Stadium. | Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

We are three quarters into the big showdown between the Seattle Seahawks and the San Francisco 49ers. Seattle leads 10-3, but it's a close game and there's still a lot of football to play.

That being said, it's not difficult to see who the MVP of this game has been so far.

That would be the Seahawks' insanely athletic playmaker of a running back, Kenneth Walker III - who is in absolutely rare form even though he's facing a tough 49ers defense. Just watch San Francisco GM John Lynch reacting to Walker converting an improbable 3rd & 17. Here's the play.

Ken Walker's ridiculous run

Razzle dazzle from Kenneth Walker to pick up the first down on 3rd & 17!

SEAvsSF on ESPN/ABC
Stream on @NFLPlus and ESPN App pic.twitter.com/KdOGDb2gBK

— NFL (@NFL) January 4, 2026

49ers GM loses it

#49ers GM John Lynch reacting to the #Seahawks offense converting a 3rd-and-17 on a toss play:

pic.twitter.com/btHswXUJYz

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) January 4, 2026

This was a particularly special play. Walker has been doing stuff this all game long, though.

So far Walker has already racked up 75 yard on 13 carries (5.8 yards per attempt). He's also made several huge high-impact plays as a receiver, putting up another 36 yards on four catches.

Zach Charbonnet is also doing good work on the ground, posting 56 yards on 11 carries (5.1 per attempt) and scoring the Seahawks' only touchdown so far. Together, this looks like the best Seattle's run game has looked against serious competition all season long.

That run put Walker over 1,000 rushing yards for the season. Charbonnet is now up to 12 touchdowns.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the ball the 49ers have completely abandoned the idea of running the ball against this lethal Seahawks defense. Christian McCaffrey has only seen six carries, totaling just 16 yards on the ground. McCaffrey is also getting contained as a receiver, as they've held him to 30 yards on five catches with a long of just nine.

If that weren't enough, they're also forcing Brock Purdy to dink and dunk pretty much every throw he makes. He's completed 16 of 20 throws but only has 97 yards and no touchdowns gooing for him.

Unfortunately, Seattle was unable to turn Walker's big run into a touchdown, but Jason Myers did convert on a field goal, making it 13-3 early in the fourth quarter.

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