49ers Brock Purdy’s mobility will come in handy against the Vikings in Week 2

The NFL is evolving. Quarterbacks with cement feet are falling behind the 8-ball. If you can’t move, you can’t play. San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy was San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy was under pressure on one-third of his dropbacks against the Jets. He went 4-for-9 for only 45 yards. Robert Saleh and the New York Jets blitzed Purdy on eight of those plays.

Those numbers sum Purdy up. He’s looking to push the ball down the field when he’s under fire. Now, he was sacked twice — one on a third down where he did not force the action once the game was in hand — which is something the offense wants to avoid, but he also threw a perfectly placed pass to Brandon Aiyuk in the end zone that would have made these numbers look significantly better.

The 49ers’ plan was clear: We are going to run the ball, set up play-action passes off that, and throw a bunch of quick hitters to control the ball so Aaron Rodgers stays on the sidelines. It’s a plan that worked, as the Niners controlled the ball for 17 more minutes than the Jets and ran 21 more plays.

When pressured, Purdy did not put the ball in harm’s way against the Jets. Even better, he had a scramble that led to a first down. That was a theme for quarterbacks around the NFL in Week 1. There were only two 300-yard passers in Week 1. Eleven quarterbacks threw for 200 yards or fewer. But quarterbacks were running more than ever:

Purdy’s mobility will come in handy against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 2, who blitzed New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones on 38 percent of his dropbacks.

Against the Jets, Purdy was only blitzed 24 percent of the time, but Vikes defensive coordinator Brian Flores came after Brock on a whopping 63 percent of the time in Week 7 last year. Purdy had two scrambles in that game, both against the blitz, for 18 yards, including two first downs.

One of the few strengths Jones has is his legs. Jones scrambled twice in Week 1 against the Vikings for a pair of first downs. So, the opportunity is for Purdy to continue moving the chains on the ground.

Pass Pro was close to perfect

Kyle Shanahan and Purdy hope that the pass protection from Week 1 carries over into Week 2. Without a training camp, Trent Williams did not have a blown block in 68 snaps, per Sports Info Solutions. Per their metrics, Williams was the fourth-best offensive lineman in the league through the first week. I hope fans do not take for granted the specimen that Williams is.

The bigger surprise? Puni was eighth among all linemen, with a clean sheet in the run, pass, and no penalties. That’s right, the rookie third-rounder played a game against a premier defense and wasn’t beaten once.

Center Jake Brendel had one bad rep early in the game, but that was his lone blown block in 69 snaps. Acting like a lineman had a poor game after one play puts into context how difficult that position is.

Aaron Banks only had one blown block in 55 snaps, so his 1.8 blown-block percentage is slightly higher than Brendel’s 1.4. For reference, anything under 2.2 is above average. Banks’ backup, Spencer Burford, earned as many points under Sports Info Solutions in 14 snaps as Banks did his 55—a promising development for a player who could very well start on Sunday.

That leaves right tackle Colton McKivitz, who had a couple of whiffs in pass protection as well as a holding and false start penalty. I thought it was telling that Quinnen Williams lined up over McKivitz on the first obvious passing down of the game on Monday night. So there are areas for McKivitz to clean up his 2.9-blown block percentage, but after one week, he appears to be the only weak link along the offensive line.