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GLENDALE, Ariz. — Perhaps nothing encapsulates the 49ers’ possibilities for the rest of this season more than the aggressive belief that they had in Brock Purdy ahead of the quarterback’s return on Sunday.
The 49ers are counting on Purdy to drive elite offensive production to mask their glaring defensive deficiencies. Purdy did just that in a 41-22 win over the Arizona Cardinals, and he took it a huge step further, demonstrating expert-level proficiency on just his sixth snap after a seven-week hiatus.
Purdy, seeing that the Cardinals would employ man coverage with a safety against 49ers tight end George Kittle, checked the offense into a spread-formation, deep-shot play. The 30-yard touchdown dime he delivered to Kittle was downright electric — especially for a 49ers’ offense that had been starved of explosive plays in Purdy’s absence.
“What a smooth transition it was,” 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk glowed in the locker room. “We didn’t come out here and have an easy, basic game plan for Brock to get his feet wet. We had all sorts of different cans and audibles. And he did such a good job of managing that and getting us into the right plays.”
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The 49ers played the long game with Purdy, who hadn’t seen action since aggravating his turf toe injury against Jacksonville on Sept. 28. They want to maximize the chances of keeping Purdy available for the rest of this season, and Sunday highlighted why: The mix of efficiency and explosiveness that he infused into the 49ers’ offense is the central part of this team’s formula for contention moving forward.
“We’re positioned right where we want to be,” Kittle said. “Our offense is basically healthy — right where we want to be at. If we can just keep rolling, keep making plays. … I think it’s just a very lethal offense.”
Fittingly, it took just one Purdy snap back for the 49ers to score a touchdown. The assist came from special teams, a unit that’s threatening to go from worst (the 49ers ranked No. 32 in 2024) to first in the NFL this season. Skyy Moore’s 98-yard kick return to open the game set up a one-yard Christian McCaffrey touchdown run.
“It was wide open,” Moore said in the locker room. “All of those guys dominated their blocks. All season, I feel like we’ve been one block away. Everything played out perfectly for this one today.”
Then, after a 49ers’ defensive stop, Purdy quickly reassumed his role as master and commander of a powerful offense. That’s when he delivered his canned strike of lightning to Kittle.
“He was vintage Brock, and that’s a huge compliment,” McCaffrey said. “He was poised, made some great plays, made some huge third-down throws, kept us in the game, was smart the whole game. To miss games like that is really hard. To be out that long and come in and do what he did today is extremely impressive.”
Purdy led five touchdown drives and completed 19-of-26 passes for 200 yards and three touchdown passes. The 49ers’ 41 points were the most they’ve scored since a 45-19 win at Arizona in 2023.
Christian McCaffrey said the 49ers’ starting quarterback was “vintage Brock” on Sunday. | Source: Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press
The mistake-prone Cardinals, who committed a franchise-record 17 penalties (the most by any team in the NFL this season), certainly widened the 49ers’ margin for error. But coach Kyle Shanahan’s team also did enough with its beleaguered defense to ensure that this would be a blowout.
The 49ers snagged a pair of interceptions off Arizona quarterback Jacoby Brissett, including one from star cornerback Deommodore Lenoir that featured a zig-zagging 64-yard return. Rookie Upton Stout, the strongest cornerback in the 2025 draft class (measured by bench press reps), then ripped a ball out from Cardinals tight end Elijah Higgins at the goal line.
The opportunistic takeaways meant that the 49ers, even though they gave up a 452 yards on an NFL-record 47 completions to Brissett, never lost control of the game. It should be noted that a huge component of their success came thanks to the return of smothering run defense after a one-week hiatus: Arizona only managed 36 yards on 14 carries.
“It starts with making the other team one-dimensional,” Lenoir said. “We can just play pass, pin our ears back, and let the D-line eat. With tight coverage, that can force them into bad throws.”
Purdy, meanwhile, made plenty of good ones. He threw another touchdown to Kittle later in the game, who’s now in very elite company. Kittle joined Jerry Rice and Terrell Owens as the only players in 49ers history with at least 500 career receptions and 50 touchdown.
Still, the battle-scarred 49ers encountered yet more adversity on Sunday.
Kicker Eddy Piñeiro, who’s spearheaded the remarkable special teams turnaround, injured his right hamstring on the extra-point attempt following Kittle’s second touchdown. He’ll undergo an MRI Monday. Linebacker Tatum Bethune, Fred Warner’s replacement, was in a walking boot in the locker room after the game and will be evaluated for a possible high ankle sprain.
Brock Purdy shakes Jacoby Brissett’s hand after the Cardinals quarterback completed 47 passes on Sunday. | Source: Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press
The 49ers will have an extra day to regroup before their next game, a Monday Night Football showdown at home against the Carolina Panthers. That’ll present its own set of challenges, but the 49ers know they’ll be armed with one of the game’s best quarterbacks to tackle them.
Ever since entering the league in 2022, Purdy has been the NFL’s most efficient passer. Yes, even Buffalo’s Josh Allen and Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes trail Purdy in expected points added (EPA) per play — and Sunday provided a clear reminder as to how Purdy has managed to top those charts.
He’s really damn good, and it’s no accident that the 49ers notched a season-high 35 points before three quarters had even passed in this game.
It’s also clear that the 49ers’ offense left some meat on the bone. Perhaps Shanahan can run more frequently on some third downs. This would give the 49ers potentially manageable fourth-down tries instead of putting Purdy into difficult passing situations, a problem which scuttled three promising drives.
But it stands to reason that the 49ers’ offense will only get better as Purdy and receiver Ricky Pearsall, who also played Sunday for the first time since Sept. 28, knock off rust.
Sunday was a hell of a start — and a reminder that the 49ers have a boatload of offensive firepower to make a true run.
“You’ve just got to look at Brock’s numbers since he’s started playing — not many people have done it better than him,” Shanahan said. “He’s been as efficient as anyone. He’s made as many big plays as anyone. And he’s led us to a lot of wins.”
Tally one more from the desert for Purdy.
