Brock Purdy leads 49ers’ offensive explosion. What can he do for encore in playoffs?

Eric Williams

NFC West Reporter

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle put it simply — all Brock Purdy does is lead the offense to touchdowns.

“It’s fun — more touchdowns for everybody,” joked Kittle this week. “Our run game has been great. It opens up our pass game. But Brock’s been fantastic in the pass game, really. … He’s been very consistent for us.”

Kittle’s not wrong. Through 11 games, San Francisco’s averaged 22.6 points per contest. However, since Purdy has taken over at quarterback, the 49ers have averaged 33.5 points a contest.

“Whether it’s me, (Brandon) Aiyuk, Deebo (Samuel) or Christian (McCaffrey), he’s just done a fantastic job of getting us the ball in space and giving us an opportunity in space to make a play with our legs,” Kittle said.

The final pick in the seventh round of last year’s draft, Mr. Irrelevant has been efficient as the leader of San Francisco’s offense.

Purdy’s completed 67 percent of his passes for 1,374 yards, with 13 touchdowns and just four interceptions, posting a 5-0 record as a starter since Jimmy Garoppolo went down with a foot injury. He’s thrown for at least two touchdown passes in each of those games.

Purdy has recorded the second-highest passer rating (119.0) of any quarterback through their first five career starts in the Super Bowl era (Kurt Warner, 131.4 in 1999).

And he’s also been impressive in situational football. Purdy has completed 73 percent of his passes for 345 yards, with six touchdowns and no interceptions on third down, posting a 132.4 passer rating.

For his effort, Purdy was named NFC Offensive Rookie of the Month this week. Even though he’s only played in six games, Purdy also is in the conversation for the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award.

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The magic for Purdy has been head coach Kyle Shanahan putting the rookie out of Iowa State in good situations schematically, trusting his ability to make quick decisions and understanding where the ball needs to go.

One of the reasons Purdy fell in the draft is because he did not have ridiculous physical attributes. At the NFL scouting combine, Purdy measured 6-1 and 212 pounds, ran a 4.84-second, 40-yard time and posted a 27-inch vertical jump.

But playing in the NFL on Sundays, Purdy has shown impressive movement inside the pocket, plays with anticipation and proved quick enough to scramble and get extra yards if no one is open down the field.

According to Next Gen Stats, Purdy has left the tackle box on 18.2 percent of his throws this season, compared to 8.6 percent for Garoppolo. The 49ers have also more than doubled their designed roll-out rate from 10.5 percent for Purdy compared to 4.9 percent for Garoppolo.

“When I first got in, I sort of had to tell the guys in the Miami game, that if the play breaks down I could make something happen off schedule,” Purdy told reporters this week. “That has happened over time. We’ve talked about it at practice and meetings, what to do if the play is not there in rhythm and on time.”

Purdy’s dad Shawn Purdy played minor league baseball and he played football in high school. That shows up with Purdy’s ability to make throws from different arm angles to get the ball out, along with a solid, consistent throwing base to deliver the football accurately down the field under pressure. And Purdy balances taking risks while not being reckless with the football — he is addicted to making plays and helps elevate everyone around him.

“He plays with juice, he plays with swagger, and you can see it,” McCaffrey told reporters this week. “And he plays confidently, but calm. He knows he’s a rookie. But I think he knows he can play really good football in this league. And I think that’s exactly how you would your rookie quarterback to act.

San Francisco’s playmakers have done their job of creating chunk plays with the ball in their hands. The 49ers have posted 131 explosive plays (rushers of 12-plus yards or passes of 16-plus yards), No. 5 in the NFL during the regular season.

Purdy will have the added pressure of playing in his first postseason game, looking to become the first rookie quarterback since Russell Wilson led the Seattle Seahawks — this weekend’s opening for San Francisco — over the Washington Football Team to a road victory in the 2012 postseason.

He also has another element to worry about — inclement weather. Heavy rains are expected at Levi’s Stadium on Friday. Purdy did get to practice in the rain this week.

“The pressure is always on,” Shanahan told reporters this week. “I think Brock takes that into every game. This game, if you want to sit and think about all the outside stuff, I’m sure you could psyche yourself out.

“That’s the only thing I would say through the experience of it, is once you get on the field there’s absolutely nothing different. Whether it’s a playoff game, whether it’s the Super Bowl, all you can do is control the athletic sporting event that you’re involved in. Don’t make it more than that.”

Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on Twitter at @eric_d_williams.

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