San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy could have his finest probability to show to his detractors that he’s greater than only a sport official if he can get on the sphere this week.
The 49ers are already coping with a slew of accidents, with Christian McCaffrey (calf, Achilles), Deebo Samuel (calf) and George Kittle (hamstring) lacking the workforce’s Week 3 highway loss to the Los Angeles Rams. The Niners additionally misplaced Javon Hargrave, their high inside cross rusher, for the season with {a partially} torn triceps.
Purdy could possibly be added to the checklist. San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan instructed reporters this week that the third-year QB is day-to-day after experiencing again discomfort. However, his MRI got here again clear, and Shanahan hopes to apply Wednesday.
While Purdy has performed at a excessive degree since taking on because the beginning quarterback halfway by the 2022 season, doubters argue that he has been supported by proficient playmakers on offense.
But on Sunday, with three of his finest playmakers out, Purdy had top-of-the-line video games of his brief NFL profession. He accomplished 22 of 30 passes for 292 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions, posting a 137.1 passer score. He additionally rushed 10 instances for 41 yards.
“It regarded like Brock was going wild from what I noticed,” Shanahan mentioned. “He made a number of massive performs. He made some good throws down the sphere. … When the stuff wasn’t there, he did an awesome job of choosing up the slack, making some off-the-charts performs. He was going wild.”
Last season, with a few of his finest gamers out, Purdy had the worst three-game streak of his younger profession. Playing with out the injured Samuel and left deal with Trent Williams to start out the 2023 season, Purdy accomplished 55 of 88 passes (77.9%) for 762 yards, with three touchdowns and 5 interceptions for a 77.7 passer score. San Francisco went 0-3.
Purdy now has an opportunity to show he can take over because the lead playmaker for this offense when others aren’t obtainable. And that’s particularly vital as a result of San Francisco will seemingly should do one thing on the finish of this season: pay him. Purdy is within the third 12 months of a four-year rookie deal that pays him $985,000 in base wage this season. And he’s eligible for a brand new deal on the finish of the 12 months.
With McCaffrey, Samuel and Kittle out Sunday, the 49ers had 61.4 % of the workforce’s manufacturing final season within the apply room. Running again Jordan Mason, who did an admirable job filling in for McCaffrey, had 19 carries for 77 yards. And with out Samuel, Purdy linked with WR3 John Jennings on 11 receptions for 175 yards and three touchdowns on 12 targets. Jennings was simply the second participant in franchise historical past to report 10 or extra receptions, 150 or extra receiving yards and three or extra receiving touchdowns in a single sport.
Overall, nevertheless, San Francisco receivers are averaging the second-fewest yards of separation (2.9) within the NFL this season, in line with Next Gen Stats. Purdy has focused open receivers on simply 32.4 % of his targets this season, a profession low for the signal-caller.
Yet Purdy remains to be placing up good numbers, even with out Samuel and Kittle. The QB is second in passing yards (842) and yards per cross this season (8.9), sixth in passer score (109.2) and seventh in completion share (72.6%). He has 4 touchdowns in opposition to only one interception.
Purdy wants others to step up like Jennings has, particularly Brandon Aiyuk. Just earlier than the season, the 49ers made Aiyuk one of many league’s highest-paid receivers, signing him to a $30 million-per-year deal. But Aiyuk has simply 11 catches for 119 yards on 20 targets and has but to get into the tip zone. He additionally has 4 drops. The 49ers want extra from one of many league’s most proficient receivers.
Purdy is 18-6 as a starter for San Francisco, however is beneath .500 for the primary time in his NFL profession. If he can bodily reply the decision, he may have an opportunity to make amends when the 49ers (1-2) host the New England Patriots (1-2) on Sunday.
Despite final week’s loss, Purdy has proven he can deal with the burden. The subsequent few video games will give us an thought of whether or not he can deal with it in the long term.
“I’m not stunned (by how he performed),” linebacker Fred Warner mentioned of Purdy on Sunday. “I assumed he had an awesome sport. And Jauan did, too. Even although I’m centered on protection, I’m nonetheless on the bench watching the offense and watching him battle for each little piece on the market.
“It is exactly due to this efficiency that he’s the one main us into that place.”
