The San Francisco 49ers had a nice 26-8 win over the Cleveland Browns this weekend to take them to 9-4 heading into a much-awaited bye week.
It wasn’t the prettiest day. The 49ers were dealing with wind, struggled in the run game on both sides, and were in a 10-8 battle at halftime.
But, behind some quality play from quarterback Brock Purdy and some well-timed turnovers, San Francisco got a nice victory and is in the playoff picture heading into Week 14.
Purdy’s stat line wasn’t the biggest deal. He completed 16 of 29 passes for 168 yards, one touchdown, and zero interceptions. That’s a completion rate of 55.8 percent and an average yards per attempt of 5.8.
But, I wrote after the game that it was actually one of Purdy’s better performances, just given how he maneuvered the pocket and made smart decision after smart decision. Dealing with constant pressure in his face, Purdy’s sack avoidance was very good against the Browns, getting dropped just once (by Myles Garrett, of course). He found ways to get out of harm’s way and did the safe thing by throwing the ball away when necessary.
Of course, that all requires good movement in the pocket, which has been a question for Purdy this season as he’s dealing with a nagging toe injury that prompted him to miss serious time after re-aggravating it back in Week 4.
Earlier this season, head coach Kyle Shanahan acknowledged the toe injury would likely be one that lingered all year long for his quarterback. Now, Purdy is confirming the same, noting that he does feel it on a regular basis.
“I mean, it’s definitely going to just be a thing that I feel, like I said, warming up or waking up in the morning, that kind of thing,” Purdy said on KNBR Tuesday. “But when I’m out there, adrenaline’s going, I’m worried about playing quarterback. I’m not thinking about it as I’m dropping back or throwing or anything like that. But it is what it is.”
Still, the quarterback has found a way to manage through the pain the last two weeks and hasn’t really thought about it when on the field.
“It’s felt great,” Purdy shared. “It’s gotten better, I feel like, every week, and just in general. I’m out there playing, and worrying about my assignment, details, throws, and I’m not even thinking about my toe. It’s more so just warming it up, and then, after games and stuff, treating it up and everything. But it’s in a really good spot right now. I feel confident in it.”
Purdy will likely have to manage the pain the rest of the season, which may mitigate some of his short burst, but if he can maneuver the pocket as he did on Sunday while making hasty decisions, the 49ers are in good shape.
Going forward, Purdy said he’ll be more aware of the foot injuries after learning from this season.
“It’s sort of just open up my eyes in terms of just my health with my ankles and my feet and everything moving forward. It’s something that it sucks going through to experience, but I learned from it, and hopefully, moving forward, I can just continue to make sure my feet are right.”
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