The San Francisco 49ers averted disaster against the Seahawks on Thursday night in Seattle. After already scoring two double-digit scores this season, San Francisco led 23-3 early in the third quarter on a Brock Purdy touchdown pass to George Kittle.

Then the wheels almost came off. The 49ers’ not-so-special teams yielded a 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against Seahawks wide receiver Laviska Shenault Jr. It happened. Kyle Shanahan’s team was on the verge of taking another double-digit lead.

Seattle would drive 94 yards down the field for a touchdown on its next possession after the 49ers went three-and-out to make it a one-score game. It was about to happen again.

Fortunately for the 49ers, they were able to scrape away and leave Seattle with a 36-24 victory. Key plays to maintain their lead included an interception of Geno Smith by rookie cornerback Renardo Green, which ultimately led to the 49ers scoring a touchdown on their next possession. Fellow rookie running back Isaac Guerendo ran roughshod through the Seahawks defense late in the fourth quarter on a 76-yard run to put it away.

Broader lines here. San Francisco needed this win. It was reeling for a short week after blowing a 10-point fourth-quarter lead against the Arizona Cardinals at home on Sunday.

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With games against the Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys looming, San Francisco couldn’t afford to drop to 3-4 on the season. A loss on Thursday would also have sent the 49ers to 0-4 in the NFC and 0-3 within their division. Needless to say, it was a must win.

That doesn’t change the fact that San Francisco still has a lot of work to do if it wants to look good after the upcoming two-game stretch.

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For the most part, San Francisco’s defense did its thing against the Seahawks. Of course, Geno Smith threw for 312 yards. But that came after 52 pass attempts and Seattle trailed by several scores most of the time. In reality, Smith was pushed almost every time he dropped back.

Nick Bosa finished the game with two quarterback hits and zero sacks. That doesn’t come close to telling the whole story. According to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats, he pressured Smith 14 times during the game.

Brock Purdy also played flawless football, completing 18 of 28 passes for 255 yards with three touchdowns and zero interceptions. That included a 76-yard touchdown strike to Deebo Samuel.

These are some of the positives to take from San Francisco’s 12-point win over Seattle on Thursday night. Here, I look at some of the things the 49ers need to improve as they enter a crucial two-game stretch.

49ers special teams have to be special

San Francisco had opened a 23-3 lead early in the third quarter Thursday night after Purdy led the team down the field on a 70-yard touchdown drive. At the time, it looked like the 49ers were going to pull this off.

Not so fast.

The league’s worst special teams broke down big on the ensuing kickoff, yielding a 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against the aforementioned Shenault Jr.

That’s simply unacceptable in today’s NFL. You can’t get these types of breakdowns on special teams. Unfortunately, it’s a theme for the 49ers this season.

“I thought we didn’t have a great kickoff, and from what I saw live, we had an unblocked guy who missed a tackle, and then they went down the lane,” Shanahan told reporters after the game.

The head coach apparently decided to work on his special teams as well.

“I thought the special teams got some action today,” Shanahan told reporters. “They got a fumble for us, a huge recovery, which I forget if that led to a field goal or a touchdown. Last week they scored a touchdown with a blocked punt returned for a touchdown.”

Talk about putting a positive spin on things. Of course, the 49ers made some big plays on special teams. But that one Shenault return changed the game almost overnight Thursday night. It cannot remain a theme for the future of San Francisco.

Better pass protection for Brock Purdy

Purdy wasn’t sacked once against Seattle on Thursday night. He was hit four times on 32 dropbacks. That’s not bad either.

Those are basic statistics too. The tape tells us a different story. Purdy was again forced to maneuver his way through the pocket to avoid pressure. He was flushed out several times during the match.

As we’ve seen all season, Purdy came out smelling like roses. He is now among the best quarterbacks in the NFL when it comes to seeing pressure and scrambling to make plays. That became apparent on Thursday evening.

At some point, San Francisco needs to get better pass protection from offensive linemen not named Trent Williams. It starts inside with the guards. But right tackle Colton McKivitz should turn things around in a big way. He only gave up one pressure against Seattle. That’s a start.

San Francisco 49ers battle in the red zone

The 49ers were much better in the red zone on Thursday compared to a disastrous effort last Sunday. They converted five red-zone trips into three touchdowns.

However, there is still much more room for improvement in this area. San Francisco drove 90 yards down the field on its first possession of the game. Then it stopped at the seven-yard line and settled for a field goal. Things improved from there.

“I try to keep it simple and obviously check the ball when I need to and hit my No. 1 or No. 2 in my progression as efficiently as possible and I just kept it simple,” Brock Purdy said after Thursday night’s game. game, via NBC Sports Bay Area.

He did that by throwing two touchdowns in the red zone, while also hitting Samuel with a 76-yard score on Thursday. These are small steps for the 49ers. But after one touchdown in six red zone opportunities against the Cardinals, San Francisco improved on Seattle in this regard.

It obviously won’t be easy with San Francisco hosting Kansas City and Dallas in the next two weeks. If the 49ers can continue to fix the issues mentioned above, it will give them a chance to get through this rose-tinted two-game slate. If not, a 3-5 record would be on the horizon.