Brock Purdy is leveling up and saving the 49ers

I was confused san francisco 49ersThe 2024 NFL season started 2-3 because of one simple fact.

Quarterback Brock Purdy was starting to cook.

Participate in Thursday night's match seattle seahawksPurdy was one of the league leaders. Many statistical categoriesadjusted net yards per attempt, net yards per attempt, expected points added per dropback, and more. Additionally, Purdy was doing this averaging 10.3 air yards per attemptHe is second in the league behind Anthony Richardson.

Here we take a look at how Purdy stacked up in “quarterback efficiency.” This is a composite value that measures his EPA/play and percentage above expectations. Courtesy of RBSDM:

The upper right corner is where you want it on this diagram.

Of course, one of the things that bothers Purdy comes from his surroundings. There's a lot of talent in the 49ers' offensive huddle, and Purdy, whose plays were dictated by Kyle Shanahan, is more of a “paint-by-numbers” type of quarterback, as opposed to a quarterback who runs the offense by following a checklist. It was called. Creates big plays outside the pocket and off structure.

But with Christian McCaffrey sidelined this season with a calf injury, Purdy was tasked with producing more, which led to not only those numbers, but the results we saw in the game. thursday night footballPurdy completed 18 of 28 passes for 255 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions, and the 49ers defeated the Seahawks with a final score of 36–24.

After the game, Deebo Samuel was asked what worked for the 49ers and he defended his thoughts. Reaction to two words.

“Brock Purdy”

His performance not only drew praise from his teammates, but also prompted analysts to say: ESPN”Mina Kimes tried to focus on her playmaking skills during the game. Purdy was able to get deep into his progressions and at times create space in the pocket to extend plays and create opportunities downfield.

Give this early finished product to Jauan Jennings.

Purdy wants to move the two-receiver concept to the right, but he also sees creases in the pocket and is thinking about picking up these two-and-five situations with his feet. But as he began to climb into the pocket, the big Leonard Willams appeared in front of him, so Purdy changed course, retreated into the pocket, and bought enough time to throw to Jennings on the backside of the concept. .

Purdy completed his second touchdown pass of the night, a 10-yard throw on an out route to George Kittle.

As Jennings begins to move to the right and the play begins, Purdy first wants to read a small “follow” concept. There, Deebo Samuel runs diagonally and Jennings tries to find space to work behind him on that route pass. However, when the Seahawks are in zone coverage, three defenders will focus on those two receivers. Purdy then moves away from the pair, resets, and looks to Kittle's out route. Kittle ran against the safety, Purdy hit a perfectly placed throw toward the front corner of the end zone, and Kittle ran for a touchdown.

After the Seahawks cut San Francisco's lead to 23-17 early in the fourth quarter, the 49ers faced 1-and-15 in their own territory. Again, Purdy wants to use a two-receiver concept, this time on the right side, but the combination of pocket collapse and tight coverage forces him to work on the backside, forcing Kyle Juszczyk on checkdown routes. Pick up the backside.

Or take the final touchdown of the night, a 9-yard connection to Kittle.

Purdy wants to move to the right again on this play, and starts by focusing on Brandon Aiyuk's inside slant route out of the slot. But when the middle linebacker jumps that route, Purdy makes a great “north throw” decision, pulling the football down and turning his eyes back. Linebacker Tyrell Dodson's decision to jump diagonally from Aiyuk created space for Kittle to cut in, and after resetting his feet and slipping a bit in the pocket, Purdy sent this pitch to Kittle. He hit it and made his third TD pass of the night.

Of course, Purdy still carries that “in structure” club on his back, and there may be no better example for Aiyuk when it comes to the “drift” concept. Aiyuk runs an in-break route, and Purdy also has an option underneath Aiyuk, this time running back Patrick Taylor Jr. on an out-of-the-backfield route. Notice the timing of this throw as Purdy separates the two under defenders with his finish to Aiyuk.

This is a perfect example of throwing a receiver open in space against a defender down the zone. To understand the point, look at the state of play just before Purdy releases this pass.

This is a textbook expected pitch.

The 49ers now have 3 wins and 3 losses. Purdy has played well and hopes McCaffrey returns for the stretch run. It wasn't the start to the season that San Francisco was hoping for, but given the way Purdy has played, this season could end up being better.