SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Kyle Shanahan speaks more clearly and more deeply with his calls and game plans. The heart, soul and conscience of the 49ers offense is on display right there, every weekend, through their headsets and on the field. There’s no hiding from that, and Shanahan doesn’t want to hide from that.
And what happened Saturday in the 49ers’ first playoff game against a Seattle defense clearly geared toward stopping the run? Many things happened. Everything that’s important has happened if you want to understand what’s going on with this team as it heads into next weekend’s divisional round and beyond.
Shanahan asked rookie Brock Purdy to throw a pass on the first play (wild incompletion on a wet ball), the second play (19-yard completion) and the fourth play (incompletion), asked Purdy to throw a long lateral to the band fifth play (7-yard gain) and threw a sixth-play pass (incompletion) on the 49ers’ way to a field goal for the game’s first points. Shanahan then continued to rack up passing plays — 19 in the first half alone, compared to just nine rushing.
It wasn’t dominant right away, but the tone of that 41-23 wild-card round win at Levi’s Stadium was set. The evidence was inescapable. That’s the way for the 49ers right now, in this postseason and maybe for much longer than that. They will face either the Vikings (if they win on Sunday) or the winner of Monday night’s Tampa Bay–Dallas game (if the Vikings lose). And whoever it is, the team playing the 49ers will know they have to figure out how to beat Brock Purdy.
Not that Shanahan ever gives up on the run, and in fact, things evened out pretty quickly in the second half (the 49ers finished with 33 rushing and 30 passing). But now the 49ers can go on a full-tilt air raid if they want to. And they want to do it.
In Purdy’s first playoff game and just his sixth NFL start (and it became the first playoff win for a rookie QB since Russell Wilson in 2012), Shanahan put the game in his hands. hands and was very happy to stay there for a long time. Because it was working, especially against a Seahawks defense that was stacking the line of scrimmage.
“I think they were trying to get the run out, but we came out firing,” fullback Kyle Juszczyk said. “And he’s definitely got some meat left on his bone, but he just plays explosively all day. I understand what their plan is, we’ve got a rookie quarterback and we’ve got a running game. I’m sure they’re trying to get him to throw the ball I’m sure that’s everyone’s plan.
“But I think he’s shown he’s OK. We can make some big plays in the passing game.”
The Purdy family 🙌 @brockpurdy13 pic.twitter.com/sjVGrVGG4p
— NFL (@NFL) January 15, 2023
That’s the way it is now for the 49ers because Shanahan has a lot of faith in Purdy, who missed a few throws early (in a light rain) but continued to hit plays all game long, including seven 15+ yard passes . On the day, Purdy was 18-for-30 for 332 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions for a 131.5 passer rating; also rushed four times for 16 yards and a TD.
“It would be easy for (Shanahan) to say, ‘OK, let’s keep trying to run the ball, get 3 or 4 yards and handle this,'” Juszczyk said. “I think he has that confidence in Brock that he can make plays himself.”
Of course, Shanahan allowed Jimmy Garoppolo to throw him just eight times in the 49ers’ NFC Championship Game win over the Packers in January 2020. Before that, Garoppolo threw him just 19 times in the divisional-round win over the Vikings .
That’s not a knock on Garoppolo; the 49ers won those games, that’s what mattered. But the point is that here is something completely new. Purdy has shown he can handle more responsibility than Shanahan has trusted any 49ers QB in six seasons, and it’s only building.
“I felt that way early on, once it got into that game against Miami, when we didn’t have the luxury of sitting there and worrying about things the way the game was going,” Shanahan said. “We just had to call plays to try to win the game, and he did a great job. And he’s done it every time since. We have a lot of confidence in him and he gives us more and more confidence every week.”
And Purdy continues to do a little more every week. He’s shown impressive breakout in the six games he’s played since coming in after Garoppolo’s injury in that Miami game. But on Saturday, the performance expanded exponentially: Purdy zig-zagged and got away from pressure a handful of times, resulting in big plays, a pair of TDs and, most importantly, zero turnovers or terrible losses.
“A couple of those touchdowns, I think that’s something I’ve done my whole life in terms of finding a way when it’s not there,” Purdy said.
Purdy’s best improvisation actually came on an incompletion in the fourth quarter, when he ran almost to the left sideline and then ran the width of the field, faked a Seahawks defensive player and then lasered a Brandon Aiyuk in the end zone. . Aiyuk couldn’t close the ball, but it was quite an exclamation point.
Yes, his colleagues have noticed.
“It’s cool to see the things he does back there, his little slider coming off things,” wide receiver Deebo Samuel said. “It makes us a little tired; we also have to run, try to open up. But it works.”
Last week, in a game against the Cardinals, Shanahan saw Purdy run in for a 17-yard sack that put the 49ers out of field goal range and said he was yelling at him almost immediately about it.
Kyle, you just saw it actually work in this game, are Purdy’s extended bends ok now?
“No,” Shanahan said with a shake of his head.
But…
“He was great in some,” Shanahan said. “That last one was very close, the throw he made to BA in the corner was incredible. I know he just missed it. But he has an idea. It definitely makes me nervous in some. But he did a great job of getting away. Know your body… try to never give up on a play. And he’s been very smart on the ball so far.”
It was all enough to catch the attention of one rather notable NFL fan.
PURDY GOT GAME!!!!!!!!!
— LeBron James (@KingJames) January 14, 2023
“Did LeBron say that?” Purdy said when told about the tweet, sounding genuinely excited. “Oh, that’s great.”
Offensive tackle Trent Williams said, “I love the fact that Brock is getting the attention he deserves. He’s a good player, man. And I think anybody who watches football can see that. I’m not saying he’s next Aaron Rodgers or Pat Mahomes, but he does everything we need him to do and more. I think we can continue to win with him, obviously.”
Not everything went perfectly. But the veteran 49ers liked everything they saw from Purdy, when things were wet and a little disappointing early on and then when they scored 25 straight points to start the second half.
Typically, Purdy was mostly blamed for the 49ers finding themselves down 17-16 at the half despite outscoring the Seahawks 249-176 to that point. That happened because the 49ers had to settle for two short field goals in the red zone, and a few defensive breakdowns suddenly gave Seattle a lot of life.
“Coming into the half, Kyle was straight up, he said, ‘Hey man, the plays are there, the opportunities are there; We just have to keep it simple and get it to the guys,” Purdy said.
The answer: The 49ers went on 13 TD plays immediately after getting the second-half kickoff, which Purdy himself concluded with a 1-yard run. Charles Omenihu then stripped Seattle quarterback Geno Smith of the ball on the next possession and Nick Bosa recovered. And the defeat began suddenly.
In the midst of that spree, Purdy maneuvered and found Elijah Mitchell wide open in the right flat for a 7-yard touchdown. Purdy’s first read was Aiyuk to his left, but Aiyuk was covered. Then Purdy got some pressure, rolled to his left, felt more pressure, so he went back to the middle and flipped to Mitchell in the right flat. easy TD
Then came this:
341 total yards. 4 total TDs.
Playoff Purdy in full effect. #SuperWildCard #NFLPlayoffspic.twitter.com/IQVcd9TAJS
— NFL (@NFL) January 15, 2023
At that point, it almost looked like Purdy started throwing it at Mitchell before he even turned to face him. Which Purdy basically confirmed. Instinct, both ways. That’s why he said he was celebrating with such vigor.
“Just a broken play,” Purdy said. “I was trying to go left to BA and make my progressions from there. It just broke. Elijah did his job in terms of staying protected, and if he had time he could get out. He be my last reading. The front just broke. When I turned around, Elijah was where he was supposed to be.
“And that’s why I was excited. I had this confidence in him to be here, and the same with him in myself. Just a big part of the game, to build momentum, just a big play for everybody and a big time for everybody.”
The moments keep getting bigger for the 49ers. Their rookie QB sure isn’t slowing down. If anything, it’s getting better. It’s right there in the field. It’s happening
GO FURTHER
Thompson: The Seahawks hit first, but Deebo Samuel hit harder
(Photo: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)