Niners: Wrong audible, right quarterback
One play into the game and Brock Purdy was down, sacked. Not quite the way saviors are supposed to begin.
“Wrong audible,” was the brief, unemotional explanation from 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan.
But in time, the right quarterback.
No, Purdy, the acclaimed Mr. Irrelevant, did not by himself beat the Bucs and Tom Brady, called the GOAT or greatest of all time. Football is a team sport.
But on Sunday at Levi’s Stadium, the rookie Purdy, utilizing his talents and a game plan brilliantly created by Shanahan and his staff, was better.
Because, as has been the situation since the loss to Kansas City, the 49ers’ defense is better.
Sure, much of the pre-game material was about the two QBs — the Niners’ rookie, who took over from the injured Jimmy Garoppolo, and the Bucs’ star, who grew up in San Mateo, some 25 miles from Levi’s.
Yet as we have been instructed over the years, it’s the other people, the linesmen, the defenders, who make the difference. Brady only had thrown two interceptions all season. He threw two alone against San Francisco. Two more than Purdy.
“I was really happy for him,” said Shanahan. “He’s tough. It looked like he would be our No. 2. Then Jimmy signed. He works hard.”
After the game, Purdy was as humble as a man taken last in the draft figured to be.
“He’s very poised, but he plays with energy at the same time,” running back Christian McCaffrey said. “And I think those are two great traits to have as a quarterback.”
If Purdy had game-opening, first-NFL-start jitters, they were probably knocked out of him by safety Keanu Neal on that first play — a sack that was negated by an unnecessary roughness penalty.
Said Purdy, “Honestly it just felt good to get hit and just feel like I was in the game.”
He knows the system and his teammates after weeks of practice. What he didn’t know was that the two men ahead of him would get hurt.
What we don’t know is how he’ll respond in a road game where the crowd is hooting and jeering, but we will learn quickly enough. The Niners play at Seattle on Thursday night.
“We got turnovers in this game,” said Shanahan, about the offense. They also had 404 yards rushing and passing, And the Niners, once 1-2, are 9-4 after a sixth straight win.
Deebo Samuel is injured, a high ankle sprain, which could be a big loss in this run-oriented system. Then again, that’s why the 49ers signed McCaffrey. He is not Deebo, but he is very close.
The theory in the NFL is “next man up.” If the next man is Brock Purdy, the idea would seem to have some merit.