He sure seemed happy to be back in action.
Granted, the San Francisco 49ers gifted quarterback Brock Purdy a golden opportunity on his first offensive snap since re-injuring his turf toe way back in Week 4.
After an electric 98-yard kickoff return by wide receiver Skyy Moore on the opening kickoff against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 11, all Purdy had to do on the following snap was to hand the ball off to running back Christian McCaffrey for a quick Niners touchdown with a mere 16 seconds into the game clock.
But Purdy kept responding in his home state, particularly on San Francisco’s ensuing two possessions, each of which resulted in touchdown passes.
The first, of course, a beautifully thrown pass to tight end George Kittle in stride:
Embed X: https://twitter.com/49ers/status/1990168728194203673
And then to a wide-open running back in the flat, Christian McCaffrey, which was easy as could be:
Embed X: https://twitter.com/49ers/status/1990176406014152765
Purdy and the 49ers managed three touchdown-scoring drives on their opening three possessions, and it wasn’t until well into the second quarter before the Niners had to punt.
Not bad for the franchise quarterback who had given way to backup signal-caller Mac Jones in Weeks 5 through 10 and had also missed Weeks 2 and 3 because of that toe injury.
And Purdy even got Arizona to jump on a hard count just before the two-minute warning of the first half.
Brock Purdy was on fire in 49ers’ resurgent win over Cardinals
The Niners pulled of a decisive 41-XX victory over their NFC West rivals to improve to 7-4 on the season, keeping pace with the first-place Los Angeles Rams and gaining a game on the Seattle Seahawks, whom LA beat the same week.
Purdy, meanwhile, went 19-of-26 on the game, throwing for 200 yards with three touchdowns against zero interceptions, all for a 133.5 passer rating.
And for anyone thinking he’d be hampered by his turf-toe injury, there were no visible signs of it hindering him whatsoever, even though the injury will probably linger for the rest of the season.
Heck, Purdy was even capable of evading pressure within the pocket and extending plays, as per his usual self.
Perhaps QB1’s return to action reinvigorated the rest of San Francisco’s offense, as it seemed to be functioning on all levels and helping carry the defense, too.
Now, Purdy and Co. merely need to maintain that momentum.
