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Projecting the rookie statistics for kicker Jake Moody and the rest of the 2023 NFL draft class for the San Francisco 49ers
With the NFL draft over and rookie camps underway, it is a good time to evaluate the draft picks and see what kind of impacts the projected contributors will make.
Let’s take a look at the 49ers draft picks and project some stats for the team’s early draftees:
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy is expected to have surgery to repair the injury suffered in Sunday’s NFC title game
From @NFLTotalAccess: #49ers QB Brock Purdy will have surgery to repair a torn UCL in his throwing elbow, but should be healthy in six months. pic.twitter.com/QQrBp4mQnn
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 30, 2023
The San Francisco 49ers saw their Super Bowl dreams cut short Sunday in Philadelphia, and also lost their star rookie quarterback to an elbow injury.
Brock Purdy suffered a torn UCL in his throwing arm, and will have surgery to repair the injury, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Purdy is expected to be back to full strength in six months, Rapoport Says.
A hit by Eagles pass rusher Haason Reddick from an awkward angle knocked Purdy out of Sunday’s NFC title game early, and though he returned later in the game after fourth-string replacement Josh Johnson suffered a head injury, Purdy was relegated to mostly handoffs.
Hopefully, this injury doesn’t present any long-term ill effects for Purdy, who is coming off one of the most improbable and impressive rookie campaigns we’ve seen from a quarterback in years.
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San Francisco 49ers vs Philadelphia Eagles NFL Playoffs NFC Championship prediction, game preview, odds how to watch: Sunday, January 29
San Francisco 49ers vs Philadelphia Eagles NFL Playoffs NFC Championship prediction, game preview, odds, how to watch, Sunday, January 29
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Date: Sunday, January 29
Game Time: 3:00 ET
Venue: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, PA
How To Watch: FOX
Record: San Francisco 49ers (13-4), Philadelphia Eagles (14-3)
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NFL Expert Picks Playoffs NFC/NFC Championship
Mock Draft: First Round 1-31
NFL Draft Underclassmen Position Rankings
– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak
The system is working.
For everyone waiting for Brock Purdy to become, well, Brock Purdy, that’s not happening.
He has been brilliant, but it’s also because there’s a perfect storm of things happening with the San Francisco style of play.
1) Don’t screw up by throwing 2) very safe, short-to-midrange passes to 3) elite playmakers like Deebo Samuel, Christian McCaffrey, and George Kittle who can crank up yards after the catch. 4) Rely on a solid running game to take the pressure off, and 5) when in doubt, eat it, live to fight another day, and count on the No. 1 defense in the NFL to take care of the rest.
That’s where the “Mr. Irrelevant” aspect to Purdy’s narrative helps. It means all of the other parts have to work, and it takes a quarterback without the ego that needs to be fed a slew of downfield shots.
It also helps that Purdy doesn’t need a ton of time in this style of offense. The Dallas pass rush certainly got to him enough to matter, but that wasn’t always the worst thing. He was able to avoid making the mistakes because he never had to force anything.
San Francisco is just fine playing the long game.
Dallas helped feed right into the San Francisco style with just 16 carries between Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard. The Eagles have to show the patience to keep running even when it’s not working, and that’s not going to be easy as long as San Francisco’s methodical offense is able to control the tempo.
7-of-14 on third down conversions. Almost 33 minutes of possession. Yes, San Francisco couldn’t put the game away and had to settle for way too many field goals, but it put Dallas in a position to have to panic a bit even though it was down just one score throughout the second half.
Yeah, the Eagles beat the Giants three times in the last six games, but ofter than that, Week 6 was the last win over a team that made the playoffs.
There’s a flip side to all of this, though …
– Why Philadelphia Eagles Will Win
– 49ers vs Eagles Prediction, What’s Going to Happen
Dallas Cowboys vs San Francisco 49ers NFL Playoffs NFC Divisional Round game preview and breakdown for the game on Sunday, January 22
Dallas Cowboys vs San Francisco 49ers NFL Playoffs Divisional Round prediction, game preview, odds, how to watch, Sunday, January 22
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Date: Sunday, January 22
Game Time: 6:30 ET
Venue: Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, CA
How To Watch: FOX
Record: Dallas Cowboys (12-5), San Francisco 49ers (13-4)
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NFL Expert Picks Playoffs Divisional Round
Mock Draft: First 23 Picks, Draft Order
NFL Draft Underclassmen Position Rankings
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Dallas’s problem has been that it’s Dallas. It hasn’t found a big moment over the last 27ish years it hasn’t been able to gag away, but …
Dallas is the better team.
Oh sure, the San Francisco defense is No. 1 in the NFL – helped by not beating anyone with an attack like Dallas is bringing – and the offense ripped through Seattle last week like it wasn’t there, but yeah, overall Dallas has the talent, ability, schemes, and upside to really and truly be considered the better team.
It got sort of lost by all those blinded by the idea that Tom Brady is so good he could make up for how bad Tampa Bay was that Dallas might have been the best team in the NFL when everything was rolling.
There was the meltdown at Jacksonville late, but over the second half of the season when this thing was moving, forget it.
Minnesota got annihilated on its home field. Philadelphia gave up 40 points helped by a Cowboy defense that took it away four times. Even when Dak Prescott was banged up the Cowboys managed to find ways to win.
There was the strange opener against Tampa Bay, the strange Week 18 game that no one got up for, a reasonable Sunday night loss at Philadelphia, and two overtime losses that could’ve and should’ve gone the other way. That’s it for the gaffes.
The Cowboys won six times – counting two against the Giants – against teams that made the playoffs, they’ve been tested time and again in the toughest division in football, and it comes into this now as the underdog. That’s a very, very good thing.
San Francisco? Yeah, it blew out Seattle last week. Whoop-dee-doo.
Of course the 49ers are terrific, but again, they haven’t dealt with an offense this good since getting rim-rocked by Kansas City back in Week 7. It tore through a good Washington defense is Week 16, but that’s been about it for the nasty Ds they faced.
However …
– Why San Francisco 49ers Will Win
– Cowboys vs 49ers Prediction, What’s Going to Happen
5 best NFL Playoffs predictions and picks against the spread and point totals for the Divisional Round games.
5 best predictions for the Divisional Round round of the NFL Playoffs. What appear to be the best bets and picks?
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The Wild Card round is the buffet of various carbs and fillers. The Divisional Round has the prime rib and crab legs.
This is it. This is everything to the hardcore NFL types. The Super Bowl … your mom watches the Super Bowl. Championship Sunday is big, but this is the weekend we get the best bulk games. Four of them that all take on a life of their own.
I’ll try to find the five best picks against the spread – and point totals – out of them.
As I mentioned for the Wild Card round, with so few games to choose from, the reasonable goal is to bat .600, and I got that last week going 3-2 thanks to the obvious call of Dallas over Tampa Bay and Jacksonville’s easy-peasy walk in the park win – and the over – against the Chargers (yeeeeeeeeeeeeesh).
I overestimated Buffalo, underestimated San Francisco, and I might just do it again – at least with the latter – starting with …
Click on each game for the game preview
LINE San Francisco -4
ATS PICK Dallas
Warning, I’m going to underestimate the guy yet again – it hasn’t been working well for me.
No, the definition of insanity is NOT doing the same thing over and over again and expecting the same result. However, picking against Brock Purdy hasn’t exactly shown sound judgement so far.
The guy has been absolutely magnificent.
If it was, say, Kenny Pickett, or Sam Howell, or even Trey Lance, he’d be hailed as the next big NFL thing. But because he’s Brock Purdy, and because he’s a third-string option, and because he was Mr. Irrelevant – that whole tag and bit annoys me for some reason; does that mean Travon Walker was Mr. Relevant? – it’s hard to fully buy in.
Every NFL quarterback has a clunker at some point, but seriously? 67%, 13 touchdown passes, four picks, unbeaten as a starter in these big games?
This is more about Dallas.
[lawrence-related id=557017]
Going along with the name recognition thing, if this wasn’t Dallas, and if it wasn’t carrying all this baggage and all of these expectation, it might be favored.
The one giant worry I have is time. San Francisco played on Saturday morning, Dallas played on Monday night, and Dallas had to travel. The 49ers are getting close to two days of extra time off. That’s a problem, but I’m going with talent.
Dallas has the combination of offensive firepower and defensive playmaking that the 49ers – and Purdy – haven’t had to deal with yet. I’d like to be getting a little more than four, but I’ll take it.
And I’ll probably pick against Purdy in the NFL Championship, too.
Speaking of digging the underdog on the road …
CFN Experts Picks: Cowboys at 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers have won 11 straight, thanks to another impressive performance from their unlikely quarterback
There were a lot of questions surrounding San Francisco 49ers rookie quarterback Brock Purdy going into his first playoff game.
One of them was his ability to go into a high-pressure environment against a team that has played him before, and still play at the high level he has shown previously, now with existing tape on him.
Needless to say, he silenced those doubts Saturday evening.
Purdy played moderately well in the first half, as he and the 49ers trailed by one point going into halftime. He had limited mistakes, and allowed the play-calling to naturally flow with him. Once the second half hit, however, the gloves were off, and Purdy exploded. San Francisco rolled to a blowout win, scoring 41 points, with Purdy throwing for over 300 yards and scoring four total touchdowns.
While Seattle’s defense is not exactly a top-tier unit, the fact that Purdy made some impressive throws and carved them up all afternoon says something about the rookie quarterback’s skill set, and how he’s developing at an absurd pace into a high-level signal-caller in just his first season. He was accurate, decisive, and made impressive play after impressive play.
While sometimes it’s clear that he’s asked to be more of a game manager within a system filled with playmakers, it’s been proven multiple times over now that if the 49ers need to lean on Purdy’s playmaking ability, and ask him to play at a high level, they can very much do so.
The 49ers have to be considered Super Bowl favorites at this point, and “Mr. Irrelevant” is a big reason why.
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Seattle Seahawks vs San Francisco 49ers NFL Playoffs Wild Card game preview and breakdown for the game on Saturday, December 14
Seattle Seahawks vs San Francisco 49ers NFL Playoffs Wild Card prediction, game preview, odds, how to watch, Saturday, January 14
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Date: Saturday, January 14
Game Time: 4:30 ET
Venue: Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, CA
How To Watch: FOX
Record: Seattle Seahawks (9-8), San Francisco 49ers (13-4)
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NFL Expert Picks Playoffs Wild Card
Ranking all Bowls | Bowl Grades For Every Team
Takeaways, takeaways, takeaways.
That, and the guy on the other side is still a rookie.
The Legion of Boom era might be long, long gone, and the Seattle D can’t do much of anything against the decent running teams – more on that in a moment – but what it can do is force mistakes. Lots and lots of mistakes.
There haven’t been any crazy 5-takeaway games or anything like that, but the production has been steady with two or more in 11 of the 17 games. In the 13 games Seattle has come up with a takeaway it’s 9-4, and 0-4 when it doesn’t.
San Francisco has yet to give the ball up in the two games against the Seahawks. However, it’s 0-4 when it turns the ball over multiple times, and that’s where the rookie QB comes into play.
Yes, San Francisco will run and run some more, and then it’ll rely on its great defense. But to sound like a total cliché, these are the NFL Playoffs, and Brock Purdy is Brock Purdy. He has been terrific so far, but again on the lazy narrative, it’s a whole different ball game now.
He was solid the first time against Seattle – 217 yards, two touchdowns, no picks – but he’s going to have to make plays under pressure, and all the pressure in this is on his shoulders.
There’s no pressure on Seattle. It’s supposed to lose. It’s supposed to go 0-3 against the 49ers this year. It’s supposed to …
– Why San Francisco will win
– What’s Going to Happen, Prediction
The last pick in the 2022 NFL draft, rookie quarterback Brock Purdy is enjoying a storybook run for the San Francisco 49ers
It almost seems like an unbelievable Hollywood movie when you talk about Brock Purdy’s story this season.
Going from the last pick in the 2022 NFL draft as “Mr. Irrelevant,” to suddenly being the most successful rookie quarterback this season and a potential future star that just might save the season for the San Francisco 49ers, seems just a little too good to be true.
On the season, Purdy has proven to be a legitimate starter, with six touchdowns to just two interceptions in his three-game undefeated run as the 49ers’ signal caller. He and Aaron Rodgers are the only two quarterbacks in NFL history to have a passer rating of over 115 in their first two starts, with Brock hitting an amazing 134.0 rating against a tough Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense in his first start.
Purdy has played like a savvy veteran within a complicated Kyle Shanahan system, and while it’s known to be a somewhat quarterback-friendly scheme, the tape and production tell us that this is so much more than a system-dependent quarterback managing games. Purdy has made multiple plays in clutch moments, with laser throws and quality decision-making.
If Purdy continues this rocket-level ascension, and can limit the natural mistakes that come with being a rookie, it would be hard to imagine the 49ers not making a deep playoff run with him at the helm. With a ton of playmakers on offense, and a dominant defense to lead the way, Purdy will be anything but irrelevant the rest of this season, and perhaps longer.
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San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks game preview, prediction, and breakdown for the game on Sunday, December 18
San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks prediction, game preview, odds, how to watch, Sunday, December 18
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Expert Picks: Bowl Games Dec 20-27
NFL Week 15 Expert Picks |
Bowl Schedule, Predictions
Ranking all 41 Bowls | Quick Analysis on Every Bowl
Date: Sunday, December 18
Game Time: 1:00 ET
Venue: Lumen Field, Seattle, WA
How To Watch: Prime Video
Record: San Francisco 49ers (9-4), Seattle Seahawks (7-6)
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Can Brock Purdy go? The unsung starting quarterback was terrific in the blowout win over Tampa Bay, but he’s pushing through rib and oblique injury issues. However, even if he’s struggling – he’s expected to start – the defense should be able to pick up most of the slack.
The 49ers are No. 1 in the NFL in both scoring and total defense, doing a particularly amazing job against the pass. It leads the NFL in pass D, is second against the run … it’s doing everything right.
Seattle is having a bit of a turnover problem with two in each of the last three games and at least one in every game. The San Francisco defense has forced 11 takeaways in the last four games.
However …
CFN Bowl Expert Picks: Dec 16-19 | Dec 20-27
NFL Expert Picks Week 15
San Francisco got beaten up against Tampa Bay.
Purdy is questionable at very best. Christian McCaffrey has a knee problem, and Deebo Samuel is out for a few weeks with an ankle injury. Josh Johnson might be a veteran quarterback, but now the team is potentially down to its No. 4 option.
Seattle should be getting its star back with Kenneth Walker expected to give it a go with an ankle injury, and now comes the offensive balance. The team couldn’t get the O going in the first meeting – a 27-7 loss in Week 2 – but this might be about the defense.
It hasn’t been good. The Seahawks are 30th in the NFL in total defense and can’t stop the run, but it’s 6-0 when allowing fewer than 150 rushing yards. With all of the injuries, getting to 150 isn’t a given no matter how the 49ers are able to mix up the carries.
The San Francisco defense should be able to take over at times to overcome the problems on offense, but the short week is a killer.
Everything works great for the 49ers at home – it’s 6-1 with the only loss coming to Kansas City – and it’s 3-3 on the road.
Seattle has lost three of its last four – and there’s a problem when you lose at home to Carolina – but its defense will crank it up on a home Thursday night to keep it close until the end.
That D on the other side, though, will be too good.
CFN Prediction: San Francisco 20, Seattle 16
Line: San Francisco -3, o/u: 43
ATS Confidence out of 5: 2
San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks Must See Rating: 3.5
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Expert Picks: Bowl Games Dec 20-27
Ranking all 41 Bowls | Quick Analysis on Every Bowl
NFL predictions, schedule, game previews, lines, how to watch, and TV listings for Week 14 of the 2022 season
NFL predictions, schedule, lines, how to watch, and TV listings for Week 14 of the 2022 season highlighted by Dolphins at Chargers, Eagles at Giants, Vikings at Lions, Jets at Bills
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Results So Far
SU: 65-36-1, ATS: 53-46-3, Point Total: 63-38-1
Prediction: Los Angeles 24, Las Vegas 23
Line: Raiders -6.5, o/u: 42.5
Final Score: Los Angeles Rams 17, Las Vegas 16
Expert Picks Week 14 NFL | Bowls 16-19
Prediction: Buffalo 24, New York Jets 17
Line: Buffalo -10, o/u: 43.5
Final Score: Buffalo 20, New York Jets 12
Prediction: Cincinnati 26, Cleveland 20
Line: Cincinnati -5.5, o/u: 46.5
Final Score: Cincinnati 23, Cleveland 10
Prediction: Dallas 30, Houston 16
Line: Dallas -17, o/u: 44
Final Score: Dallas 27, Houston 23
Prediction: Minnesota 27, Detroit 24
Line: Detroit -2, o/u: 51.5
Final Score: Detroit 43, Minnesota 23
Prediction: Tennessee 24, Jacksonville 17
Line: Tennessee -3.5, o/u: 41
Final Score: Jacksonville 36, Tennessee 22
Prediction: Philadelphia 26, New York Giants 20
Line: Philadelphia -7, o/u: 45
Final Score: Philadelphia 48, New York Giants 22
Prediction: Baltimore 16, Pittsburgh 13
Line: Pittsburgh -1.5, o/u: 36.5
Final Score: Baltimore 16, Pittsburgh 14
Prediction: Kansas City 27, Denver 16
Line: Kansas City -9.5, o/u: 43.5
Final Score: Kansas City 34, Denver 28
Prediction: San Francisco 23, Tampa Bay 16
Line: San Francisco -3.5, o/u: 37
Final Score: San Francisco 35, Tampa Bay 7
Prediction: Seattle 26, Carolina 20
Line: Seattle -3.5, o/u: 44.5
Final Score: Carolina 30, Seattle 24
Prediction: Miami 30, Los Angeles 27
Line: Miami -3.5, o/u: 53.5
Final Score: Los Angeles Chargers 23, Miami 17
8:15 ESPN
Line: New England -1.5, o/u: 43.5
Final Score: COMING
NFL Teams on Bye: Atlanta, Chicago, Green Bay, Indianapolis, New Orleans, Washington
Expert Picks Week 14 NFL | Bowls 16-19
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