Last year's 19-12 win over Dallas in the playoffs is the only time the 49ers have scored fewer than 20 when Brock Purdy has played a full game.
SANTA CLARA — When Brock Purdy led the 49ers to a divisional-round playoff win over Dallas in January, it was above and beyond the call for a rookie seventh-round draft pick.
It’s not as if Purdy is a seasoned veteran, even if he conducts himself like one. He’s gone wire-to-wire in 11 games. But Purdy is expecting more out of himself when the 49ers host the Cowboys Sunday night at Levi’s Stadium.
“They’re a really good defense and there were times where they did a good job of just getting me offset with some little things and just sort of made me rush some things and I feel like I didn’t get in a good rhythm,” Purdy said Thursday.
The 49ers beat the Cowboys 19-12, with Purdy completing 19-of-29 passes for 214 yards and no touchdowns. In nine possessions, the lone touchdown came on a 2-yard run by Christian McCaffrey on the first play of the fourth quarter.
Otherwise, the scoring was up to place kicker Robbie Gould, who converted field goal attempts of 26, 47, 50 and 28 yards. It’s one of the only times the 49ers lacked finishing power with Purdy at quarterback.
Purdy’s passer rating that day was 87.4, the lowest of his career in any regular season or postseason game in which he’s gone from beginning to end. It was also lower than the 88.8 he had against Miami when he came off the bench after Jimmy Garoppolo broke his foot and set in motion Purdy’s ascension.
Currently leading the NFL in completion percentage at 72.3 (81-for-112) and passer rating (115.1) as well as first-down percentage on passes (48.2 percent), Purdy has a dwindling number of naysayers who realize he’s not really a seventh-round draft pick anymore but a full-fledged, quality NFL quarterback.
Critics who remain consider him a fortunate game manager surrounded by a wealth of offensive talent and a system which hides his deficiencies. Coach Kyle Shanahan bristles at the “system quarterback” label.
“That’s pretty ridiculous,” Shanahan said. “You’ve just got to watch the tape. He plays at a high level every time he has been out there. And he’s done it in a lot of different situations versus a lot of different defenses, at home, playoff games, when injured. It’s on tape.”
Roll the tape on the Dallas game and you’ll find Purdy actually was more of a game manager than a game-changer. It just so happened that’s what the 49ers needed that day to win. It’s conceivable that’s more than a coincidence, and that some quarterbacks simply understand what takes to win on a given day.
The biggest thing Purdy did was take care of the ball. While his counterpart Dak Prescott was throwing two costly interceptions, Purdy didn’t turn the ball over in the face of a Dallas defense that kept him off balance.
Yet for whatever reason, Purdy wasn’t the same smooth operator he’d been up to the Dallas game.
“I just remember there was a lot at stake on every single play and you had to be on point, you had to be detailed,” Purdy said. “I think there were some of my progressions where I got off some stuff too quick. Looking back on it, it was, ‘Man, stick to the progressions, don’t overthink things.’
“Those are things I saw on film. There were really good defenses on both sides, so limit turnovers, be smart, and when you get in the red zone, execute and be able to score touchdowns.”
But following a short-field opportunity after Deommodore Lenoir intercepted Prescott, the 49ers made it as far as the 8-yard line before settling for Gould’s 26-yard field goal and a 3-0 lead.
And then in the fourth quarter with a 16-12 lead, the 49ers made it to the 11 after a Purdy 6-yard scramble on third-and-10. That meant another field goal from Gould, this one from 28 yards out.
Settling for three points doesn’t interest Purdy unless it’s absolutely necessary and mandated by the head coach.
“Field goals are great and points are great, but to win those kinds of games we’ve got to score touchdowns,” Purdy said.
The 49ers got their offense on track in the second half not by unleashing Purdy, but by finally making some headway in the running game.
After a first half in which Purdy was 12-for-19 for 129 yards and the 49ers rushed for 27 yards on 11 carries, Shanahan flipped the call sheet with a 9-6 lead. In the second half, the 49ers ran the ball 21 times for 86 yards and had six of their seven rushing first downs. Elijah Mitchell, who carried once for two yards in the first half, carried 13 times for 49 yards in the second half.
Purdy, playing it safe when he did throw, was 7-for-10 for 85 yards in the second half.
“We make so many adjustments it’s hard to remember,” Purdy said. “But I do remember in the second half we were able to get the running game going.”
Besides seeing Purdy first-hand last season, Dallas coach Mike McCarthy has also watched four games of film this season and knows what he’s facing.
“You look at him throughout his career, and so much is made about measurables and things coming out in the draft, but he’s played high-quality football his whole life,” McCarthy said. “This guy was born to play quarterback.”
