Less than a month after breaking his ribs, the 33-year-old Mike Evans opened the scoring and later hauled in the two-point conversion that put the San Francisco 49ers ahead for good in a 32-29 win over Seattle.

He finished with 7 catches for 113 yards, but anyone who watched knows his impact went well beyond the box score.

Evans’ availability was far from certain heading into the weekend as the rib injury he suffered in Week 3 hadn’t stopped him from facing Denver, but it kept him out of team drills Thursday, and he was limited to work on the side.

The 49ers kept their answer quiet until game day. Then Evans jogged onto the field in Seattle like nothing was wrong.

It took San Francisco one possession to find the end zone, and it went right where you’d expect. Near the goal line, Brock Purdy fired a quick throw to his left, and Evans shielded the defender with his big frame for a 2-yard touchdown.

Just like that, the 49ers led 7-0 and the veteran had shown he wasn’t there to be a decoy.

Christian McCaffrey bulled in from 11 yards, and San Francisco’s defense added a touchdown when a Seattle running play fell apart, and the 49ers pounced on the loose ball in the end zone. The 49ers headed to halftime up 21-13.

The Seahawks flipped the game in the third quarter. Sam Darnold hit Jaxon Smith-Njigba for a touchdown, Jason Myers kept making kicks, and Seattle ran off 13 straight points to lead 26-21.

San Francisco responded early in the fourth when Purdy found Brandin Cooks for a 7-yard score.

Up by one, Kyle Shanahan rolled the dice and went for two. Purdy looked to his most reliable target, and Evans came down with it. The lead was 29-26.

Those extra two points loomed large. Myers knotted the game at 29 with a 40-yard field goal, but Eddy Piñeiro answered from 44 yards with two minutes left, and San Francisco’s defense closed it out. 

Seattle’s defense has been a nightmare for this offense. The Seahawks entered the week as the league’s stingiest pass defense, and they held San Francisco to six points in last season’s playoff loss.

The 49ers managed just 189 passing yards on Sunday, which made every red-zone conversion precious.

That’s exactly why the 49ers went out and got Evans this offseason. A big target who wins in tight spaces is the antidote to a defense that takes away everything deep, and Sunday was proof of concept.

At 5-0, the 49ers come home to face Washington on Monday Night Football on Oct. 19. If the ribs keep healing, expect Purdy to keep looking Evans’ way when the field gets short.