49ers news: 5 highlight throws from Brock Purdy against the Rams

Now that those of us on the outside have more access than ever, we can play Monday morning/armchair quarterback. We have the ability to slow the game down, rewind it, and critique everything that happened, from missed tackles to blocks to throws.

Today, we’ll focus on two throws that Purdy might want to have back and three throws that make Brock, Brock.

Pushing it past the sticks

On the second play of the game, it’s 2nd & 3. Kyle Shanahan does an outstanding job of focusing on his quarterback’s strengths. Shanahan has a 24-year-old who is unfazed by his surroundings, as seen in the play below.

Purdy’s backfoot hits the top of his drop; as he gears up to throw it to Jauan Jennings, he notices a linebacker in the throwing window. Purdy recoils and, in one motion, pivots to his second read, which happens to be a cross-field curl route 15 yards down the field at the bottom of the numbers:

That’s excellent quarterbacking. At every level of football, you’ll see play-callers call concepts near or at the sticks. Shanahan doesn’t do that because he knows his quarterback isn’t thinking in those terms.

Evolving to more RPO with the PG

In the red zone on the first drive, the 49ers ran multiple “Run-pass options.” Purdy didn’t find anybody open on the first play until he scrambled and saw Jordan Mason, who used his athleticism to avoid a tackle and pick up a first down.

On the next play, Shanahan went right back to another RPO and was rewarded with a touchdown. The defense’s looks made the creative design work to perfection.

The Rams come out with five defensive linemen. Purdy sees that and acknowledges no underneath-hang defender can take away the quick slant to Brandon Aiyuk at the top of the screen. Purdy elects to go with the now slant to Aiyuk instead of the toss play to Jordan Mason.

If you have a 1-on-1 with a receiver, you take it. However, Aiyuk didn’t win, and the Rams post-safety sprinted in Aiyuk’s direction as if the game depended on it. Purdy gave Aiyuk an opportunity to win but knew he had Jauan Jennings, who bluffed like he was blocking and then ran down the seam for a walk-in touchdown.

It’s a gorgeous design that gives Purdy multiple outs. He exhausted each one, and the result was a touchdown.

Purdy good timing

The 49ers are among the top five in passing yards per game and EPA per pass and just outside the top five in passing success rate despite missing three of their five best offensive players.

That’s because the quarterback has an innate ability to get and put the ball where it needs to be in a timely fashion. The Purdy to Jennings connection was a prime example, but none were more impressive than this touchdown throw:

Before Jennings could get both shoulders turned upfield, Purdy released the ball.

That’s understanding the offense and what the defense is presenting, and it shows Purdy’s football smarts to put enough air under the throw to let Jennings run under it. There were a few options to choose from, and there were mainly to Jennings, but this throw is a beaut.

Trent saw it first

The 49ers are up 24-17 with just over four minutes to play. It’s 1st & 20, and the Rams have a coverage bust, leaving Aiyuk wide open:

From the end zone angle, you can see Trent Williams point to Aiyuk running wide open down the field:

Teams are on the other end of the spectrum this season. A year after Purdy torched the league against the blitz, he’s seen the most passing attempts in the NFL when defenses have rushed three or fewer. In fact, Purdy has seven more attempts than the next quarterback. That’s why Williams had time to see No. 11.

Here’s Shanahan’s full answer as to why Purdy didn’t throw the ball deep:

“They busted a coverage, and B.A. had a deep curl route. They busted a coverage, so B.A. did the right thing and just took off and went to that hole. It kind of caught Brock by surprise because B.A. was number two in the progression, and when he looked to him, B.A. wasn’t in the right spot because they busted a coverage, and he went down the field, and Brock thought about it. He just wasn’t sure where the rest of the safety was or anything since he wasn’t anticipating that to happen. It would’ve worked, obviously, if he let it go, but that happens sometimes. Defense busts a coverage and if you’re not looking at the guy the whole time, all of a sudden it turns it into a go route, you can’t always just let it rip.”

No excuses for this one

OK, so one play after Ronnie Bell’s disastrous drop down the field, the offense had an opportunity for a first down. It was 3rd & 10 with 1:02 to play, and the score was tied at 24.

From the looks of it, Purdy has his mind made up that he’s going to Jennings, the No. 2 receiver to the trips formation at the bottom of the screen. Jennings runs a curl route. Aiyuk, the wideout to Jennings’s right, creates a rub route, which leaves tight end Eric Saubert wide open for an easy first down.

Brock doesn’t see Saubert, feels phantom pressure, and the Niners have to punt. The punt was returned long enough to all but end the game. And I say phantom because, if you look at a handful of throws, including the first clip in this article, Purdy was not bothered by the opposite colored jersey. But he was here, and perhaps that was aided by a predetermined decision, but it was a costly mistake and one of the only ones Brock made all afternoon.