Category: 49ers

Brock Purdy and George Kittle combine for second 49ers TD pass

Brock Purdy and George Kittle are forming quite the tag team for the 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers seem to have found another quarterback-receiver combination to send shivers through opponents.

Playing the Seahawks in Seattle on Thursday Night Football, Brock Purdy connected with George Kittle in the first and third quarters for touchdowns.

The first play went for 28 yards and the second was a 54-yard connection.

The Robbie Gould PAT made it 21-6 and the 49ers could start to feel the NFC West crown in their hands.

 

Anatomy of a Play: Brock Purdy embarrasses Seahawks with double pump-fake touchdown

49ers QB Brock “Mr. Irrelevant” Purdy continues to make big plays. This time, he goofed Seattle’s linebackers with pump fakes and a TD pass.

Since Brock “Mr. Irrelevant” Purdy became the San Francisco 49ers’ starting quarterback following Jimmy Garoppolo’s foot injury, head coach Kyle Shanahan has gradually opened the playbook to give the rookie more opportunities to cook in Shanahan’s offense.

This was evident with 3:49 left in the first quarter of San Francisco’s Thursday night game against the Seattle Seahawks. Purdy took the snap from center, and executed the rarely-seen double pump fake. The 49ers ran motion to indicate zone coverage, and then, Purdy’s first fake took linebacker Cody Barton out of the middle of the field. Purdy’s subsequent pump-fake to the right took linebacker Jordyn Brooks out of the middle of the field to that side.

Now, all Purdy had to do was to hit tight end George Kittle over the vacated middle for an easy 28-yard touchdown.

Shanahan is probably the best play-designer in the NFL when it comes to motion and misdirection, and this was a master class in both. Seattle’s linebackers, who were already getting gashed in the run game, were easy pickings for these fakes, and given Shanahan’s proclivity for taking a defense apart as often as possible, you’ll probably see more of these before the game is over.

The linebackers have been part of the issue for a Seahawks defense that has fallen apart in the second half of the season.

“I would say that in certain aspects, again, they have continued to make strides, but they obviously have their part in things that they have to get better at,” defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt said this week of Barton and Brooks. “It’s a collective thing, coaches and players. We are never going to put the finger at them, it’s all of us in this thing together to get it right. They have done some things well and continue to take steps in the right direction.”

This was not a step in the right direction. At all. It was, however, another step forward for Purdy, who continues to impress beyond what just about anybody could have expected.

49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw asks Tom Brady to autograph the ball he intercepted

49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw intercepted a Tom Brady pass on Sunday, and got the GOAT to autograph the ball after the game.

Tom Brady had a horrible Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers’ outstanding defense. The GOAT completed 34 of 55(!) passes for 253 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions, and a passer rating of 63.7 in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ 35-7 loss, and one of Brady’s two picks in the game came on this leaping interception by linebacker Dre Greenlaw with 9:51 left in the third quarter.

The problem with being Tom Brady is that everyone else in the NFL views you as an idol. Greenlaw certainly did after the game, when he went up to Brady and asked him to autograph the ball he stole.

Brady complied.

“The worst thing he could tell me was, ‘No,'” Greenlaw said after the game. “I was always told, ‘If you don’t ask, you’ll never know.’ So, he’s a good guy, to be able to sign that ball after he threw those picks, that’s big-time. I appreciate it. He’s the greatest — he’s the GOAT. So, I appreciate it.

“I went like a little fan — like a little fangirl. I tried to soothe him up, make him feel better. Like, ‘Mab, you’re the greatest ever.’ But he is! And hew was like, ‘Man, I appreciate it — good job.’ He looked like he was going through a lot, so [I said], ‘Man, you ain’t gotta sign the ball.'”

Greenlaw was egged on by fellow 49ers linebacker Fred Warner.

“Fred came over and said, ‘Man, you get the ball signed?’ and I was like, ‘Man, you gotta sign these balls.’

“It was cool. man. No doubt.”

It’s not the first time a young defensive player has asked Brady for this particular consideration. Last season, New York Jets cornerback Brandin Echols picked Brady off in Week 16, and asked Brady for the same.

It’s been a rough season for Brady in all kinds of ways, but kudos for being a good sport with a player who was obviously enthralled by his game — and by the chance to meet an idol on the field.

Kyle Shanahan likes Brock Purdy’s aggressiveness, and it’s paying off for 49ers

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan has said that he loves QB Brock Purdy’s aggressiveness. You can see why against the Buccaneers.

San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan knows what Jimmy Garoppolo is.. and isn’t. Garoppolo, who was lost for at least the rest of the regular season (and probably more) to a foot injury in the 49ers’ 33-17 Week 13 win over the Miami Dolphins, is a perfectly acceptable distributor of the football in the right system. If you want deep shots, and tight-window throws over the middle, Garoppolo has never been that guy. It’s one reason the 49ers gave three first-round picks to the Dolphins before the 2021 draft to move up and select North Dakota State quarterback Trey Lance with the third overall pick.

Sadly, Lance was lost in September to a fractured ankle, so when Garoppolo was hurt, the 49ers had to go with Iowa State rookie Brock Purdy, the last player selected in the 2022 draft, and thus, this year’s “Mr. Irrelevant.”

Purdy did well against Miami, completing 25 of 37 passes for 210 yards, two touchdowns, one interception, and a passer rating of 88.8. The tape showed that he needed to speed up his process at times, but also that he handled pressure well, and deciphered Miami’s multiple coverages and blitzes with surprising aplomb.

Brock Purdy’s new role isn’t an automatic out for 49ers’ postseason hopes

After the Dolphins game, Shanahan made a point to mention how much he appreciates Purdy’s fearlessness when it comes to taking deep shots.

“When he went in, he was just so aggressive in all his decisions,” Shanahan said. “He didn’t know a lot at first, but whatever he knew, he applied it and did it aggressively and never hesitated. And whenever you can see that clear, aggressive type of play in a quarterback, early on it was impressive and the more he has learned, I still feel like it hasn’t taken away from him.”

With a week to prepare, and going up against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this Sunday, Purdy was able to speed up his clock, and on at least two occasions, he also continued his ability to take deep shots for big plays.

There was this 27-yard touchdown pass to running back Christian McCaffrey with 7:49 left in the first-half (26 air yards):

And, there was this 32-yard touchdown pass to receiver Brandon Aiyuk with 15 seconds left in the first half (28 air yards).

With that second touchdown pass, Purdy doubled Garoppolo’s season total of deep touchdown passes — in a game and a half.

Any offensive shot-caller appreciates a quarterback who can unreservedly make big-time throws, especially when under pressure. As improbable has it has been, Purdy seems to be precisely that guy for Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers.

49ers starting quarterback is Purdy, Purdy good

Brock Purdy has been stunning against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Even when Brock Purdy did something wrong, it turned out right for the San Francisco 49ers.

The final pick in the 2022 NFL draft out of Iowa State appeared to throw an interception late in the first half Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

However, there was a flag on the play for defensive holding so the 49ers got the ball back with 22 seconds left in the half.

Time to settle for a field goal, right? Wrong.

Kyle Shanahan sent in a pass play that called for a double move by Brandon Aiyuk.

The Bucs’ secondary bit, Purdy found his receiver, and 32 yards and a PAT later it was 28-0 against Tom Brady and the Bucs.

In the first 30 minutes against The GOAT, Purdy was 14-of-18 for 185 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also had his first career rushing touchdown.

 

Brock Purdy doing it all for 49ers against Bucs

Brock Purdy is putting on a show against Tom Brady and the Buccaneers

Trey who? Jimmy who?

Brock Purdy was delivering big time as the San Francisco 49ers quarterback against Tom Brady and the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.

Midway through the second quarter, the 49ers led 21-0 and Purdy had thrown a touchdown pass and rushed for a score.

First, Purdy’s first career rushing touchdown:

The TD pass to Christian McCaffrey was good for 27 yards.

In a loss, the Dolphins showed how dangerous their offense can be

In the Dolphins’ loss to the 49ers, Tua Tagovailoa failed his great offense more than San Francisco’s great defense stopped it. Watch out for the rebound.

The only way the San Francisco 49ers and Miami Dolphins will face each other again after San Francisco’s 33-17 Week 13 win over Miami is if the two teams play in Super Bowl LVII. Which is not outside the realm of possibility.

If that happens, the 49ers’ defense, and defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans, will have some work to do. Sounds nuts to say after a game in which Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa completed 18 of 33 passes for 295 yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions, and a passer rating of 79.7 (his second-worst game of the season by passer rating behind his 52.7 game against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 4), but the stuff Tagovailoa left on the bone with hurried and errant throws should be serious cause for concern should these teams meet again.

This is not a slight to Ryans or his defense; they rank second in DVOA behind the Dallas Cowboys, and justifiably so. But a tape review of the game shows that had Tagovailoa played at the same level he has most of the season, the Dolphins might well have lit that defense up. They did so on the first play of the game, a 75-yard touchdown pass to receiver Trent Sherfield. Dolphins head coach and longtime Kyle Shanahan assistant Mike McDaniel was in his bag here. He had running back Raheem Mostert and fullback Alec Ingold run scissors out of the backfield, which forced linebackers Fred Warner and Azeez Al-Shaair to cheat up, and Tagovailoa hit the easy button to Sherfield behind Warner.

But if you take that play out, Tagovailoa’s day looks a lot worse — 17 of 32 for 220 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions, and a passer rating of 60.0. And again, with all due respect to San Francisco’s defense, this was more about what Tagovailoa didn’t do with open shots than the 49ers closing him off.

“I would say my spot in the pocket,” Tagovailoa said Wednesday, when asked what went wrong.  There were many points in the game that I wasn’t in the spot that I told the guys up front I would be in and so therefore, I kind of put myself in bad situations. So doing that and then there were also some plays that were missed that I wish I could get back.

“I can’t be playing wishful football.”

This was not the Tagovailoa game anybody wished for, outside of the 49ers, who benefited greatly from missteps we really haven’t seen from Miami’s quarterback this season. As long as Tagovailoa is able to recover against the Los Angeles Chargers this Sunday and beyond, we can call it a “Burn the Tape” game and move along.

More importantly, this game showed how the Dolphins are capable of turning any defense out with their passing game — even a truly great defense — and it augurs well for the Dolphins’ chances down the stretch.

Brock Purdy’s new role isn’t an automatic out for 49ers’ postseason hopes

Can Brock Purdy help the 49ers get where they want to go in the postseason? The 49ers are better-prepared than most for this new reality.

With 4:57 left in the first quarter of the San Francisco 49ers’s Sunday game against the Miami Dolphins, the 49ers made a bit of pro football history. Rookie third-string quarterback Brock Purdy from Iowa State, the last player selected in the 2022 NFL draft, threw a three-yard touchdown pass to fullback Kyle Juszczyk.

Not only was this the first touchdown pass ever thrown in a pro football regular season by a “Mr. Irrelevant” quarterback, Purdy continued his streak as the only last-drafted player to even throw a pass in the regular season. Six quarterbacks before Purdy had been selected with the final picks in their drafts, and none of them had ever thrown a pass in a regular-season game.

  • George Haffner, 1965 Baltimore Colts, McNeese State
  • Randy Essington, 1984 Los Angeles Raiders, Colorado
  • Larry Wanke, 1991 New York Giants, John Carroll
  • Ronnie McAda, 1997 Green Bay Packers, Army
  • Chandler Harnish, 2012 Indianapolis Colts, Northern Illinois
  • Chad Kelly, 2017 Denver Broncos, Ole Miss

Kelly was the only other quarterback to even see the field in a regular-season game, and his only play was a kneel-down at the end of the first half in a 23-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in 2018.

Then, Jimmy Garoppolo suffered what turned out to be a season-ending foot injury with 11:22 left in that same first quarter. Trey Lance had already been lost for the season to a September ankle injury, so it was Purdy or bust. This was a guy who threw eight interceptions to 19 touchdowns in his final season at Iowa State, completed 30 of 49 passes for 346 yards, one touchdown, and one interceptions in the preseason, and completed four of nine passes for 66 yards, no touchdowns, and one interceptions in mop-up duty in San Francisco’s 44-23 Week 7 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

So, if you didn’t expect much in this game, nobody could blame you.

Somehow, Purdy came in against the Dolphins with a reasonable command of one of the NFL’s most complex offenses. He completed 25 pf 37 passes for 210 yards, two touchdowns, one interception, and a passer rating of 88.8. Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa faced a much tougher defense than Purdy did, but Purdy actually outperformed the MVP favorite (18 of 33 for 295 yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions, and a passer rating of 79.7) from a pure passing perspective.

“Brock came in and made some big plays, he’s got some balls out there, forgive me for saying it that way,” 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said it (that way) after the game. “We have to clean some stuff up, obviously, but just throwing him in there in the heat of battle like that, how much zero [Cover-0] that team did too, which you guys could see, that was a big plan of theirs and they had some good adjustments, taking away some of our hot throws, so we were having to change a lot of stuff on the fly. Putting a lot of pressure on him in that way and I thought he did a hell of a job doing it. Protected the ball well and made some big plays that I thought weren’t there always.”

The 49ers signed veteran quarterback Josh Johnson after the game, which means that Johnson now gets his fourth stint with the team since 2012. As Johnson has never thrown a regular-season pass for the 49ers in any of those stints, this is now Purdy’s job to lose, and the pressure in that job is pretty decent. The 49ers went to 8-4 with their 33-17 win, they currently stand with the third seed in the NFC playoff race, and they have everything you want in a Super Bowl contender from a run game and defensive perspective.

The stuff they need to clean up with Purdy was pretty evident on the tape, but it’s not as if the 49ers require a transcendent quarterback to make it to (or near) a Super Bowl. They made it to Super Bowl LIV with Garoppolo, and they were a few plays from beating the Rams in the 2021 NFC Championship game and going back to the Super Bowl with Garoppolo. The advantage the 49ers have is that they’re not built to need a top-10 (or even a top-20) quarterback to succeed. They’ve thrown more than the two touchdown passes Purdy threw just once this season, when Garoppolo scalded the Arizona Cardinals for four touchdowns in Week 11.

Now that Brock Purdy is the guy — at least in the short term — let’s get into the tape and see if he can be more than a one-week, feel-good story.

49ers QB Brock Purdy might be the most relevant Mr. Irrelevant ever

49ers backup QB Brock Purdy was the final player selected in 2022 draft. But in a win against the Dolphins, Purdy proved to be anything but Mr. Irrelevant.

When you are the final player selected in a draft, not much is expected of you. Through pro football history, the list of last-drafted players — known as “Mr. Irrelevant” for decades — isn’t all that distinguished. You could argue that Tyrone McGriff, the guard from Florida A&M selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers with the 333rd pick in the 12th round of the 1980 draft, was the most successful. McGriff played just three NFL seasons, but he was named to the 1980 NFL All-Rookie team, which is nice. The most successful Mr. Irrelevant in recent years has been kicker Ryan Succop, selected out of South Carolina by the Kansas City Chiefs with the 256th pick of the 2009 draft. Succop is still in the NFL, doing well for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and he’s got a Super Bowl ring for his work with the 2020 Bucs.

That said, the most recent Mr. Irrelevant might be the most important to date. San Francisco 49ers backup quarterback Brock Purdy, who the 49ers took with the 262nd pick in the 2022 draft out of Iowa State, had himself quite the game on Sunday against the Miami Dolphins after Jimmy Garoppolo exited the game in the first quarter. Garoppolo was carted off the field after he was sacked by Dolphins edge-rusher Jaelan Phillips with 11:22 left in the first quarter, and Purdy — who had completed four of nine passes for 66 yards, no touchdowns, and one interception in mop-up duty San Francisco’s 44-23 Week 7 loss to the Chiefs in his only regular-season action to date — turned things around pretty decisively.

It didn’t take long for Purdy to prove that he could run the offense. With 4:52 left in the first quarter, he zinged this three-yard touchdown pass to fullback Kyle Juszczyk, allowing Purdy to make a bit of pro football history.

Purdy impressed at least one former 49ers defender with some high quarterback standards.

In the end, and in a crucial 33-17 win that pushed his team to 8-4 on the season, Purdy completed 25 of 37 passes for 210 yards, two touchdowns, one interception, and a passer rating of 88.8.

And with the unfortunate news that Garoppolo’s ankle injury is season-ending, Purdy will become the first Mr. Irrelevant to start a game at quarterback. Next Sunday. Against Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Purdy seems unfazed by the idea.

So… yeah. Go ahead and crown him, NFL.

Jimmie Ward makes diving pick of Tua Tagovailoa pass

The San Francisco 49ers are giving Tua Tagovailoa a lot of trouble

The San Francisco 49ers have lost Jimmy Garoppolo to injury but they keep on playing great football.

Tua Tagovailoa is having a tough game against the Niners’ defense and it continued in the second half on Sunday as Jimmie Ward made a diving pick.

Watch as the Niners’ DB goes over Jeff Wilson Jr. to make the spectacular pick.

Late in the third quarter, the 49ers had doubled up the Dolphins, 20-10.