The 49ers' two-week break from the gridiron won’t affect Brock Purdy’s game against the Green Bay Packers.
While dynamic Packers quarterback Jordan Love threw for 272 yards and racked up an impressive three touchdowns against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, Purdy was putting in his shifts, going from the practice field to the meeting room and back during San Francisco's regular-season finale and through its first-round playoff bye.
In other words, the 49ers quarterback hasn’t had two free weeks, assuring coach Kyle Shanahan that a fresh and prepared Purdy will take the field at Levi’s Stadium on Saturday against the Packers.
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“It’s not on my mind really much at all because he hasn’t been on a bye week. We push the heck out of Brock [with] meetings, practice,” Shanahan told reporters after practice Tuesday. “I mean, we knew that Sam [Darnold] was playing that whole game [against the Los Angeles Rams], and Brock was still splitting reps with him.
“Brock got a good weekend. We just don’t want to put him out there in the first half of that game. He did miss the first half versus the Rams, but he got that whole weekend. And he came back, he’s been here. He’s worked on his days off. We had two bigger practices last week that we do on a normal week.
“And Brock went out with the guys on Monday, did a bunch of stuff with them and now we are going to get two practices in again. In terms of time off, he did have two quarters off. It’s what we could have done with him, but we definitely think that was worth it and I don’t worry that affecting Brock at all for Saturday.”
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Earlier this season, the 49ers’ bye week had a bit of a reinvigorating effect on the team, with Purdy coming back from inactivity with three touchdowns in a one-sided 34-3 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The 49ers overcame a three-game losing streak and would go on to win eight of their last nine regular-season games.
And although Purdy didn’t suit up for the 49ers’ season finale against the Rams, the Pro Bowl quarterback made it to Levi’s Stadium early – 4 1/2 hours early – and clocked in a full workout before kickoff.
It has been a record-setting season for Purdy after all, which, in addition to his work ethic and undeniable talent, might be one of the reasons why Shanahan sees no danger in his quarterback’s two-week on-field halt.