Lost in Sunday’s 49ers loss to the Rams was a big silver lining.
Yes, the Niners might have choked away a game they should have won nine times out of 10, but the good news is they also wasted a downright brilliant performance from their quarterback, Brock Purdy.
And if this season turns out to be the long, drawn-out ordeal that looks inevitable at 1-2, that’s very good news.
With their top three offensive playmakers sidelined, with an offensive line that can’t protect him, and a defense that is keen to give up yards in bunches (unless Fred Warner cleans up three messes at the same time), Sunday’s game was a referendum on the young quarterback who is set to re-set the quarterback pay market next offseason.
Conditions would be far from perfect — how would he fare?
Exceptionally well, it turned out. He played in a kind of game that should end any line of questioning like that being posed again.
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It was also the kind of game that proves, once again, that noting a quarterback’s win-loss record is a rudimentary analysis.
Jimmy Garoppolo won games for the 49ers. Brock Purdy is out here winning games, even in a loss.
There’s a difference.
Purdy’s box score performance was strong — 22-of-30 (six dropped passes), 292 yards, three touchdowns, and one turnover — but you need the full-field game-film to fully understand just how outstanding the Iowa State product was Sunday.
All of the things we thought would work against him going into the game — poor weaponry, poor offensive line play, and a defense that provided no breaks — came to pass, in spades.
Ronnie Bell had two egregious drops, including one on a pass that would have effectively ended the game with a 49ers win had it not bounced off both hands in front of his facemask.
But Brandon Aiyuk turned in another lax performance — he’s not moving at his 2023 speed — and the offensive line, particularly the right side of tackle Colton McKivitz and rookie guard Dom Puni, turned in disastrous performances.
In all, Purdy had a team that, in three-wide receiver sets, featured Bell, a slow Aiyuk, Jauan Jennings, a second-string, journeyman tight end in Eric Saubert, and Jordan Mason, all behind a line that was getting worked over by an unimpressive Rams’ front again and again.
Still, Purdy put three touchdowns on the board with that offense.
And he not only repeatedly delivered tight-window throws on the money, but he did a great job extending plays with his legs, creating opportunities from nothing, and allowing his receivers to separate.
I wrote a column in January calling Purdy the second coming of prime Seattle Seahawk quarterback Russell Wilson.
I know Niners fans spent a decade cursing Wilson’s name, but that only tells you just how good No. 3 was in his heyday.
Year after year, behind bad offensive lines, Wilson found ways to make magic. This made Seattle the worst team to play against and the most entertaining team in the NFL. The joke around the Pacific Northwest was that Seattle never played a normal game with Wilson at quarterback.
That spirit has clearly come south. Purdy is the new Wilson, and I refuse to hear any other comparisons.
What Purdy did Sunday was nothing new, except for the less-than-stellar supporting cast.
But it was the most Wilson-esque game he’s had as a pro. And it is up there as one of the best games he’s played as the 49ers’ starting quarterback.
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This is the guy. If there was any doubt, small or large, before Sunday’s game, let it be silenced now, even after a loss. The cost of competency is through the roof in the NFL these days, but Purdy is far more than just competent — he’s a special player. The Niners would be fools not to lock him into whatever deal he’s willing to sign this upcoming offseason.
Of course, health permitting, there will be at least 14 more tests for Purdy this season. And he’ll need to ace nearly every one of them if the 49ers are going to make this a season worth remembering.
But whatever happens from now on, don’t forget what he did Sunday.
That was Purdy at his best, and his best is top of the line.
