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Nick Wagoner
GLENDALE, Ariz. — After a frustrating six-week wait to return from injury, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy didn’t take long to get back into a rhythm Sunday.
In his first game back from the right big toe injury he initially suffered in Week 1 and aggravated in Week 4, Purdy misfired on his first throw but then completed his next three, including a 30-yard strike to tight end George Kittle for a touchdown on a play Purdy checked into at the line of scrimmage.
It was the first of three scores Purdy would throw as San Francisco cruised to a 41-22 win against the Arizona Cardinals. The Niners improved to 7-4 overall and 4-1 in the NFC West as Purdy finished 19-of-26 for 200 yards with no interceptions for a quarterback rating of 133.5.
«Brock’s presence in the huddle is just so elite,» Kittle said. «He plays the game with this joy that’s so infectious and it’s just so much fun to play football with him … He was definitely feeling it. I think he’s got the confidence; he’s got his swagger.»
Christian McCaffrey, sparked by Skyy Moore’s 98-yard kickoff return. As Purdy and the offense got to work on their next possession, he threw an incompletion meant for McCaffrey on his first pass attempt but went on to connect on his next seven.
Facing first-and-10 at Arizona’s 30 early in the first quarter, Purdy walked to the line, surveyed the Cardinals defense and pointed to his head, checking from the initial play call into the other one the Niners had called. He went into shotgun, got Kittle isolated on the right side and dropped the throw into Kittle’s hands for a touchdown.
«He was vintage Brock,» McCaffrey said. «And that’s a huge compliment. He was poised, made some great plays, made some huge third down throws, kept us in the game, was smart the whole game … It’s really hard to come back in the middle of the year and I think people kind of just watch like, ‘Oh, he had a good game, whatever.’ But to be out that long and to come in and do what he did today is extremely impressive.»
The touchdown to Kittle was the beginning of a day in which Purdy was largely unfazed by whatever Arizona threw at him and said he «didn’t even think about» aggravating the toe injury again.
Purdy was 7-of-9 for 69 yards with two touchdowns when the Cardinals dialed up the blitz, and though he was pressured on 30% of his dropbacks, he was still able to drive the ball outside the numbers and down the field. Purdy finished 10-of-13 for 137 yards with three scores on throws outside the numbers, tied for his most touchdowns on such throws in a game in his career.
He also went 13-of-15 for 133 yards and three scores when targeting running backs and tight ends as he threw at least three touchdowns with no interceptions for the ninth time in his career, tied with Jeff Garcia for the fourth most in franchise history.
While Purdy has played in many big games, including a Super Bowl, he acknowledged how excited he was to finally be back under center as the Niners aim to make a postseason push. Coach Kyle Shanahan said Purdy felt «more normal again» this week after finally returning to his usual routine on the heels of missing so much time.
Purdy said it was «pretty special» to not only be back but to do it with so many family members and friends in the stands.
«It’s my first time missing that much time in a season and for me it was new,» Purdy said. «How do I handle it? … It was frustrating. I had to learn how to deal with it and mentally just take it one day at a time, one week at a time, and trust that there’s a process to this … But overall, it felt good… I feel great now.»
As has been the case many times this season, Sunday’s win came with an injury cost. Kicker Eddy Piñeiro suffered a right hamstring injury in the second half and did not return, and starting middle linebacker Tatum Bethune also left early in the second quarter with a right ankle injury and did not return.
Shanahan didn’t have any immediate update on the status of either but said the team «thinks» Piñeiro pulled the hamstring. Bethune will be evaluated to see if he has a high ankle sprain. Both players are set for further testing Monday morning.
