Brock Purdy is leveling up and saving the 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers pulled even with the Seattle Seahawks and in the standings and Brock Purdy is cooking

Lost in the San Francisco 49ers’ lackluster 2-3 start to the 2024 NFL season was one simple fact.

Quarterback Brock Purdy was starting to cook.

Entering Thursday night’s game against the Seattle Seahawks, Purdy was among the league leaders in many statistical categories, including Adjusted Net Yards per Attempt, Net Yards per Attempt, Expected Points Added per Dropback, and more. Plus, Purdy was doing this averaging 10.3 air yards per attempt, second only in the league to Anthony Richardson.

Here is a look at how Purdy stacked up in “quarterback efficiency,” a composite measuring his EPA/Play as well as his Completion Percentage Over Expectation, courtesy of RBSDM:

Up and to the right is exactly where you want to be on this graphic.

Of course, one of the knocks on Purdy comes from the situation around him. With so much talent in the 49ers’ offensive huddle, and Kyle Shanahan calling the plays, Purdy was dubbed a “paint-by-numbers” type of quarterback, someone going down the checklist and running the offense, in contrast to a quarterback who can create big plays outside the pocket and off structure.

However, with Christian McCaffrey sidelined with a calf injury this season, Purdy has been tasked with creating more, and the result has not only led to those numbers above but results as we saw on Thursday Night Football, as Purdy connected on 18-of-28 passes for 255 yards and a trio of touchdowns, without an interception, as the 49ers defeated the Seahawks by a final score of 36-24.

After the game Deebo Samuel was asked what was working for the 49ers, and he kept his response to two words.

“Brock Purdy.”

His performance not only drew praise from his teammates but prompted analysts such as ESPN’s Mina Kimes to focus on his play-making skill during the game, as Purdy was able to create opportunities by getting deep into his progressions, and sometimes creating space in the pocket to extend plays and create opportunities downfield:

Take this early completion to Jauan Jennings:

Purdy wants to work the two-receiver concept to the right, but he also sees a crease form in the pocket, which has him thinking of picking up this 2nd-and-5 situation with his legs. But as he starts to climb the pocket big Leonard Willams flashes in front of his eyes, so Purdy changes course, retreating in the pocket to buy enough time to make this throw to Jennings on the backside of the concept.

Take Purdy’s second touchdown pass of the night, a 10-yard throw on an out route to George Kittle:

Jennings comes in motion to the right, and when the play begins Purdy first wants to read out a little “follow” concept, where Deebo Samuel runs a slant and Jennings tries to find space working behind him on that route path. But with the Seahawks in zone coverage, three defenders end up converging on that pair of receivers. Purdy then comes off that pair, resets, and gets his eyes to Kittle’s out route. Kittle is working against the safety, and Purdy fires in a perfectly-placed throw towards the front corner of the end zone that Kittle snares for the touchdown.

Early in the fourth quarter, after the Seahawks cut San Francisco’s lead to just 23-17, the 49ers faced a 1st and 15 in their own territory. Again Purdy wants to work a two-receiver concept, this time to the right, but a combination of a collapsing pocket and tight coverage force him to work backside, where he picks up Kyle Juszczyk backside on a check-down route:

Or we can look at his final touchdown of the night, this nine-yard connection to Kittle:

Purdy again wants to work to the right on this play, looking first at the inside slant route from Brandon Aiyuk out of the slot. But when the middle linebacker jumps that route Purdy makes a great “no throw” decision, pulling the football down and getting his eyes backside. Linebacker Tyrel Dodson’s decision to jump the slant from Aiyuk has created space for Kittle’s in-cut, and after resetting his feet and sliding a bit in the pocket, Purdy puts this throw on Kittle for his third TD pass of the night.

Of course, Purdy still has that “in structure” club in his back, and there might not be a better example than this completion to Aiyuk on a “drift” concept. Aiyuk runs an in-breaking route, and Purdy also has an option below Aiyuk, this time running back Patrick Taylor Jr. on a route out of the backfield. Watch the timing on this throw as Purdy splits a pair of underneath defenders on a completion to Aiyuk:

This is a perfect example of throwing a receiver open in space against underneath zone defenders. To bring the point home, look at the state of play just before Purdy releases this pass:

This is a textbook anticipation throw.

Now, the 49ers are 3-3. Purdy is playing well, and they hope to have McCaffrey back for the stretch run. It was not the start to the season San Francisco was hoping for, but with the way Purdy is playing, this season might have a better finish.