The widely held assumption when the 49ers were forced last week to turn to Brock Purdy in the wake of the broken foot suffered by Jimmy Garoppolo was that the quarterback switch would relegate them from legitimate Super Bowl contenders to dark horses.
After just under eight quarters of stellar play, Purdy will already have many rethinking that belief, having piloted San Francisco to a dominant 35-7 win over the Tom Brady-led Buccaneers in Week 14.
The victory improved the Niners to 9-4 on the season, two games ahead of the 7-6 Seahawks in the NFC West after Seattle lost at home to the Panthers, and it came in large part thanks to an outstanding debut start from Purdy.
Purdy became the first rookie quarterback in NFL history to overcome Brady in his first start, which served as a continuation of the extremely encouraging display he produced in relief of Garoppolo against Miami.
The final pick in the 2022 draft once again demonstrated remarkable poise and was extremely accurate. Purdy had a completion percentage over expectation of 8.5, according to rbsdm.com, his final line of 185 yards and two touchdowns not reflective of his overall showing.
But there was also clear progression from the win over Dolphins. As was the case in Week 13, Purdy excelled against pressure, but the plays he delivered when Tampa Bay dialed up the blitz were even more impactful.
Purdy’s second touchdown pass saw him identify a blitz from the Bucs and hit Christian McCaffrey for a 27-yard touchdown pass down the left sideline.
It could be argued, though, that his best play against pressure came on the first play of that scoring drive, which started with Purdy evading free rusher Joe Tryon-Shoyinka and hitting Deebo Samuel downfield for an 18-yard gain.
Purdy showed more of his creative side against Tampa Bay, also rushing for a red-zone touchdown with nobody open in the endzone on San Francisco’s third offensive possession.
While Purdy created outside of structure, he did not do so recklessly, and his pocket presence appeared to improve from a game against the Dolphins that saw him run into pressure on a couple of occasions.
Purdy looked even better for the week he had to prepare for his start, but the reason for hope that he can lead the 49ers deep into the playoffs is not just that he is playing well, it’s that he is doing things beyond most quarterbacks of his inexperience at the highest level.
From identifying blitzes and attacking them with deep passes to pump faking defenders to set up a touchdown throw to Brandon Aiyuk late in the second quarter, Purdy is processing the NFL game to a standard nobody anticipated.
Indeed, this is not simply a case of a rookie being elevated by his supporting cast, though the weapons the 49ers have on both sides of the ball are clearly helping.
Though they lost Samuel to an ankle injury, the 49er offense saw its playmakers shine as Purdy furthered his rapport with McCaffrey, Aiyuk and tight end George Kittle.
San Francisco’s ground game produced its best performance of the season, the 49ers ending the game with 209 yards on the ground at an average of 5.8 yards per carry, and the defense forced three turnovers while limiting Brady and Co. to just 4.8 yards per play.
The 49ers are firing on all cylinders on both sides of the ball and, in Purdy, appear to have a rookie quarterback who is not just a game manager, but a player who can enhance his offense with plays that belie his inexperience.
It’s a small sample size from Purdy, but it’s already one that’s difficult to ignore. If this is who Brock Purdy is, the 49ers are undoubted contenders to go all the way to Arizona.
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