Brock Purdy, 49ers left thinking about blowout that could have been after Week 2 win
It's often said that great teams find a way to win when they don't play their best. In several areas, the 49ers were a long way from their best in Week 2, but they still managed to find a way to defeat the Rams for the ninth straight time in the regular season. The first […]
It's often said that great teams find a way to win when they don't play their best.
In several areas, the 49ers were a long way from their best in Week 2, but they still managed to find a way to defeat the Rams for the ninth straight time in the regular season.
The first half saw San Francisco's defense struggle to contain Puka Nacua, while up front the 49ers' vaunted pass rush failed to lay a finger on Matthew Stafford. The Niners also had significant issues with penalties that allowed the Rams to somewhat negate the talent disparity between the two teams. However, the defense turned things around with a two-turnover performance in the second half, and the most inconsistent factor of the 49ers' display was arguably their quarterback.
Brock Purdy's numbers from the game — 17 of 25 for 206 yards — were respectable, but they certainly do not tell the full story
The 49ers scored 30 points for the second successive week, but the sense of a missed opportunity to put a lot more on the board and make the margin of this latest victory substantially more emphatic was palpable when those on the offensive side of the ball spoke to the media.
Purdy missed a series of deep shots, all of which could have resulted in a touchdown.
The first came in the second quarter after Brandon Aiyuk had come wide open on a double move. Purdy overthrew Aiyuk and did the same to Deebo Samuel and Jauan Jennings in the third quarter.
While Kyle Shanahan indicated the first miss to Aiyuk was one that irritated him the most and downplayed the significance of the final two overthrows, Purdy accepted the blame of the 49ers not putting up yet more points.
"In my eyes, there's a couple opportunities out there that I missed," said Purdy. "In terms of the deep ball and whatnot. But we found a way to win. I just overthrew them. Those are on me, I've got to be better, hit them in stride and not overthrow them. I take that on myself."
Purdy's honesty and willingness to shoulder responsibility is admirable and reflective of the kind of leader he has become in such a short time.
Yet for as frustrating as his miscues were, the fact the 49ers were still able to score 30 points, with none from their defense, even with a somewhat misfiring quarterback should greatly excite San Francisco.
The Niners still averaged a gaudy 6.8 yards per play in a balanced offensive display that was significantly more efficient than that of the Rams (4.9).
But the failures in execution, from botched snaps and illegal formation penalties to Purdy's misses help to illustrate a harsh truth the rest of the NFL will have to face about the 49ers' ceiling.
San Francisco can execute in a much slicker manner and Purdy will not always miss on downfield shots he has been more than happy to keep taking every week. In essence, while it may be easy and even comforting for rivals to think the 49ers are operating close to their ceiling with 60 points in two games, the fact is they are nowhere close to reaching the heights of which they are capable.
Asked if there is more to come from this offense, Samuel replied: "100 percent, I feel like we left four touchdowns out there."
Purdy's success when he has pushed the ball downfield in his still relatively limited time on the field in the pros suggest games like Sunday's in which he is off-target consistently on deep shots will be be few and far between.
The 49ers put up 30 points with little difficulty on a day when Purdy and several areas of the team fell short of the extremely high standards the Niners set for themselves. Despite being unable to reach those desired levels, the 49ers are now 2-0 heading into a Thursday Night Football matchup with the Giants for which they are heavy favorites. The fast start Shanahan wanted after regularly seeing his team stumble out of the gate is materializing.
Great teams win when they aren't at their best. The 49ers have already established themselves as a great team during the Shanahan era and, while Purdy's imprecise deep ball radar and their first-half defensive failings meant the Niners had to do it tougher than they would have liked in Los Angeles, the overwhelming likelihood is the rest of the NFL will have to prepare itself for more domineering demonstrations of that greatness in 2023.
Kyle Shanahan not concerned by Brandon Aiyuk shoulder injury in 49ers’ Week 2 win
The wide receiver had a quieter Week 2 because of the issue.
Featured Image Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
