Brock Purdy led the 49ers to a convincing 30-12 win over the New York Giants on Thursday night at Levi’s Stadium, shattering his regular-season career high for passing yards and earning the praise of his coach in the process.
Kyle Shanahan understood the level of duress the Giants placed on his quarterback and acknowledged Purdy’s efforts in handling a blitz-heavy night.
“I thought it was just a huge challenge,” Shanahan told reporters immediately after Thursday's game. “One of the biggest ones Brock's been in … they had six guys on the line of scrimmage throughout the game. There's not a comfortable play throughout a game from a play call standpoint and from the quarterback just because there's a lot of plays that don't work versus that.”
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Purdy faced an unprecedented amount of blitzes, with Giants coach Brian Daboll sending heat on 85 percent of snaps.
Purdy was shaky to start the game, making questionable decisions while turning George Kittle into a defensive back on one pass. But he elevated his play when it mattered most – in the face of much pressure.
Shanahan acknowledged that Purdy played well enough for the 49ers to improve to 3-0, and although he knows the second-year pro has had better performances, he was overall pleased with what he saw.
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“It definitely wasn't his best game but I think Brock played well, definitely wasn't perfect, missed a couple throws but he also made a couple plays that I didn't think were there,” Shanahan said Thursday night. “So I was definitely happy with him.”
Mr. Irrelevant finished the win 20-for-31 on passes when facing the blitz, which was good enough for 247 yards and two touchdown passes. Overall, he threw for 310 total yards, surpassing his previous career high of 284 yards against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 17 last season.
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Purdy capped off his night with a perfect back-shoulder fourth-quarter touchdown pass to Deebo Samuel in the corner of the end zone, which was the icing on the cake for a successful 49ers home opener.
Now Purdy, Samuel, Shanahan and the 49ers get an extended break to rest and recover ahead of their Week 4 game against the Arizona Cardinals on Oct. 1 at Levi’s Stadium.
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