Brock Purdy has the San Francisco 49ers looking like legitimate Super Bowl contenders. They’ve outscored opponents by 48 points in just under eight quarters with Purdy under center. And while we’ve seen unlikely QB performances before, Purdy’s performance feels more sustainable than others, even though the situation surrounding his success hasn’t necessarily been an uphill battle.
If there’s one concrete takeaway from Purdy’s play thus far, it’s that the offense is certainly different than it looks when Jimmy Garoppolo is playing. Nobody will mistake Purdy for Lamar Jackson, but he’s no late-stage Ben Roethlisberger, either. In fact, “Purdy The Creator” might be a go-to nickname for the passer, at least from this writer’s desk.
But what parts of Purdy’s game make his production feel more stable than Mike White’s? And how does Deebo Samuel’s injury affect that?
Brock Purdy The Creator
Brock Purdy’s Combine performance won’t wow anybody. He posted a 4.52 Relative Athletic Score and came in just over 6’0″ and just 212 pounds. He ran a 4.82 40-yard dash, a poor vertical, and poor agilities.
But that doesn’t stop him from making rushers miss and manipulating the pocket to create an extra split second to deliver passes. But what may be most impressive is his calm demeanor while pressured.
In the above video, Purdy remains unfazed while staring down a free rusher. He never drops his eyes and sees that he’ll have an outlet to Deebo Samuel stopping his route. Purdy calmly slides right, steps up, and delivers a pass to the receiver. There are veteran quarterbacks who wouldn’t keep that kind of composure.
Purdy doesn’t have elite arm strength, but he has the ability to maintain velocity from multiple platforms. But again, Purdy makes this play happen with creative feet, making Joe Tryon-Shoyinka miss.
Things aren’t always on schedule with Purdy. He doesn’t have the experience of Garoppolo, who can operate Shanahan’s offense in his sleep. But Purdy’s ability to extend plays while keeping his eyes downfield in the face of pressure is admirable and brings another element that the 49ers’ offense didn’t previously possess.
Quite honestly, Purdy looked completely in command against the Buccaneers, and Shanahan toyed with formations to create good looks against a middle-of-field-closed defense.
San Francisco’s run game has improved drastically since Christian McCaffrey’s arrival as well. It took a bit for the new pieces on the offensive line to mesh, but they dominated Tampa Bay on the ground, which helped keep them ahead of the sticks.
Sustainability Without Deebo Samuel
Thursday Night Football games are always a complete crapshoot, but there’s a good chance Purdy can maintain a level of play that helps San Francisco win most of their final four games, even without Samuel on the field.
The 49ers only face one defense that lands inside the top 20 in defensive DVOA. Two of their opponents — the Raiders and Cardinals — fall outside of the top 25. Facing bad defenses will help Purdy continue at his pace, but that’s not the only thing that helps with his sustainability.
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San Francisco has the fifth-best starting field position on average, and that’s due to an outstanding defense and solid special-teams unit. The 49ers have the sixth-best defense at turning the ball over on a per-drive basis, according to Football Outsiders.
Losing one of the most explosive weapons in football is a bad thing in every universe, but the 49ers are uniquely built to absorb the blow.
John Lynch, Kyle Shanahan QB-Proofed the Offense
John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan have built a roster that perfectly marries their scheme offensively. It’s an offense of YAC monsters, complete with an elite tight end, dynamic running back, and one of the most underrated route runners in the NFL in Brandon Aiyuk.
Paired with one of the best offensive minds in the league who has built an offense that efficiently attacks the middle of the field, and you’re asking very little of your quarterback. But they have to be a confident processor, and Purdy was more confident in his first start.
Against the Buccaneers, who run Cover 3 nearly 43% of the time in non-screen, non-red-zone opportunities, Shanahan spread them wide and attacked the weak spots of the coverage. Purdy still had to deliver the ball in a timely manner, even if the windows were larger than we’re used to seeing.
And if teams want to play passively and run a bunch of soft quarters, the 49ers pass catchers will make them look silly post-catch. In most cases, a low aDOT would be a cautionary tale, but Purdy (6.2) is just shy of Garoppolo’s mark (6.9).
Maybe the league will figure him out. Maybe Purdy will crash and burn like so many other QBs who have tried to replace Garoppolo. But this feels different, and playing against bad defenses will help him wade the waters of the NFL as Mr. Irreleveant.