The San Francisco 49ers are fresh off their bye week, looking to take on the Tennessee Titans on Sunday as they hope to improve to 10-4 in the crowded NFC West picture.
Heading into the weekend, the 49ers are one of the biggest favorites in Week 14, coming in as 12.5-point favorites over the 2-11 Titans at home. It’s a game San Francisco should and must win as they enter a crucial late-season stretch with many playoff implications on the line.
For the 49ers, it all starts with the offensive side of the ball. In a game like Sunday’s, the worst thing that could happen is shooting yourself in the foot. Impressively, the 49ers are one of the least-penalized teams in the NFL this season, ranking second in both penalties and penalty yards allowed.
That means turnovers will be crucial. While Brock Purdy has seen some multi-turnover games this season (three two-turnover games in five starts), he arguably had his best performance of the year in San Francisco’s 26-8 win over the Cleveland Browns two weeks ago.
When you look at the stat sheet, it might seem like Purdy’s worst performance of the season. He threw for the least amount of passing yards in a game this season (168). And he had his lowest completion percentage (55.2 percent). He had his lowest yards per attempt (5.8). But, he did the most important thing, and did so at a high level: taking care of the football.
Playing against an opportunistic defense that routinely makes splash plays, Purdy made the right decision and got the ball out of harm’s way, throwing it away seven times after doing so seven times total in his first four starts of the season. His sneaky athleticism came into play, as he was able to get out of a few situations and keep the drive alive for San Francisco.
In a game like the one two weeks ago, that was enough to secure the win, as the defense made a few splash plays that helped lead to scores and an eventual 26-8 win.
“I thought the Cleveland game was awesome [from Brock],” offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak said. “I mean for him to bounce back from Carolina, where he just missed some throws in that game, whether it was timing or just missed something and ended up throwing three picks.
“But then you bounce back against Cleveland in a really challenging environment against a really good defense that was going to play man, and he was going to have to make throws and stay in the pocket. And he did. And he did what he needed to do to win. So I was super proud of Brock. Every game’s been different. Every defense has presented different challenges, and I’m just proud of how he played against Cleveland. I think he’s playing with confidence now, coming off the week, coming off the Bye week. So expect him to keep playing well.”
Not holding on to the ball was an emphasis for the 49ers coming into the week, and that was executed well by Purdy.
“I think one thing we really emphasized in that game was we can’t hold the ball against that pass rush,” Kubiak continued. “If you’re gonna sit there and take a couple hitches, the ball’s got to go or you got to run or you got to get the ball out of your hands because those guys, that pocket was collapsing. We knew the challenge, so it was a point of emphasis for sure. We just didn’t want him holding the ball and a turnover to cost us in that game.”
The 49ers are facing a much different defense this weekend, which may allow for more playmaking from Purdy, but he’ll need to find a way to limit the turnovers. If Purdy can turn a corner and play more risk-averse football over the last few weeks of the season, the 49ers will be in good shape to make some noise in the playoffs.
Now, it’s all about stacking good games together.
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