SANTA CLARA – Quarterback Brock Purdy had a lot to process in a short amount of time, from 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan's play call to quickly identifying the Seattle defense.
But before he decided where to throw the football, he noticed Seahawks safety Jamal Adams' feet.
Adams was stuck between cover wide receiver Jauan Jennings in front of him and Deebo Samuel, who was sliding diagonally down the field behind him.
“He was kind of on the wrong foot,” Purdy said of Adams, “and I thought, 'Okay, if Deebo's moving, we can make it here.'”
So instead of throwing to Jennings, who was the first target open, Purdy decided to make the throw from distance.
Samuel admitted that he didn't run fast because he didn't think the ball would come to him. He shifted gears when he saw the ball flying towards him.
The result was a 54-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter that gave the 49ers a 14-10 lead in their Week 14 game at Levi's Stadium.
“For Brock to be able to see that, it's definitely next level and it's really good quarterback play,” 49ers backup quarterback Sam Darnold told NBC Sports Bay Area. “But it’s also the way we are trained.
“How it’s talked about in the quarterback meeting has an impact on Brock and what he looks at. Brock’s eyes were in the right place and he saw the right thing.”
This long touchdown is just one example of how Purdy was able to take his game to the highest level.
It's no coincidence that Purdy leads the NFL in many of the most important statistical categories, including passer rating (116.9), completion percentage (70.2) and yards per pass attempt (9.9). Purdy has vaulted himself into the league's MVP conversation with four games left in the regular season.
His best quality might be that he makes the incredibly complex look so simple.
“These are things he does naturally,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said. “I think that’s Brock’s talent, which you can’t always judge.
“It's a big deal how your eyes see things. I think Brock recognizes things and the speed of things, and he knows the gap and the defenders and what they should be defending.”
Darnold, in his sixth NFL season after entering the NFL as the No. 3 overall pick by the New York Jets, said there were times early in the game when Seahawks safeties Adams and Quandre Diggs were running the bottom routes would have played according to similar concepts.
“As we saw earlier, Brock is really good at that – he's really good at understanding how players play in games and when things like that come up, he can take advantage of certain looks,” Darnold said.
“There are certain plays and coverages where guys (defensive players) get in trouble,” Darnold said. “In that respect, Brock is a fast processor. He can understand what the defense is doing, of course based on our concepts.
“He’s really good at reading defenses and making his progress really quickly.”
Darnold also pointed to Purdy's preparation and ability to translate Shanahan and quarterbacks coach Brian Griese's talking points from the quarterback room into game situations. Darnold said the discussion was about how the defense might try to disguise coverages. A team can try to trick Purdy into thinking they are playing one defense and then switch to another when they have the ball.
Purdy has the ability to recognize these changes and respond accordingly.
Darnold said he knew Purdy was a very good player when he decided to sign with the 49ers as a free agent. Darnold said he was impressed to see Purdy play late last season after he opened the season as the 49ers' No. 3 quarterback.
And he said he saw a young player continue to improve in all areas this season.
“I think the thing with Brock is he just gets better as the season goes on,” Darnold said. “That's what's important: getting better and better and taking the right step at the right time. As long as he can do that, we’ll be in good shape.”
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