SANTA CLARA – What started as a “choppy” performance ended with 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy carving up the New York Giants’ blitz packages on Thursday night.
In the 49ers’ 30-12 victory over the Giants, Purdy completed 25 of 37 pass attempts for a career-high 310 yards and two touchdowns with a passer rating of 111.3.
“I thought he got a lot better as the game went on,” 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey said. “I’m not a quarterback coach, so I don’t always like to comment on a quarterback’s play, but I know he got rolling when he started seeing things.
“We’re lucky he’s our quarterback, that’s for sure.”
In the 49ers’ home opener at Levi’s Stadium, Purdy seemed incapable in the early going.
But as the game progressed, he figured things out and beat the Giants’ blitz with key throws to Deebo Samuel, George Kittle and others.
“I felt like it was a little unsettling at first,” Purdy said. “And then once we got into a rhythm, we kind of saw what they were doing and at what point in the game they would start doing things.”
Purdy faced a steady diet of blitzes that were nearly three times the league average. According to Pro Football Focus, the Giants beat Purdy on 37 of his 43 dropbacks, including plays that were negated by penalties.
On plays where the Giants’ defense blitzed, Purdy was 19 of 31 for 252 yards with two touchdowns and a passer rating of 108.5.
“That’s their plan. That’s what they did,” Purdy said. “They’re pretty good at it, so at the start of the game we had an idea of what we were going to get, just film-wise and so on. They stuck to it and yes, it was a four-quarter game.”
Purdy and Samuel provided the decisive attack in the fourth quarter when the defense held well enough to hold off another blitz from New York defensive coordinator Don Martindale for a 27-yard back-shoulder touchdown.
The 49ers appear to have the playmakers on offense to take advantage of teams applying pressure and weakening their coverage.
Purdy is adept at making pre-snap reads and getting rid of the ball quickly. Samuel, Kittle, Brandon Aiyuk and Christian McCaffrey are masters at taking short passes and turning them into big gains.
“I feel like in their blitz we were able to make a few plays here and there and take advantage of it,” Purdy said. “We have to watch the film and learn from it. When another defense starts pressuring and doing things like that, I feel like big plays are needed.”
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