After throwing him off his game in the playoffs last season, the Dallas Cowboys saw a decidedly different version of quarterback Brock Purdy when they faced the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday night -- one that will have them searching for answers in the days ahead.
Purdy put on an elite performance for the 49ers on Sunday night, throwing for 252 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions in a 42-10 victory. The performance came less than nine months after Purdy and the 49ers slugged out a 19-12 win over the Cowboys in the NFC Divisional Playoffs -- a game that saw Purdy throw for 214 yards with zero touchdowns on 19-of-29 passing.
Purdy wasn't exactly terrible in that playoff win against the Cowboys, but it was certainly a game where he showed room for improvement.
"That was probably his worst game," 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said after Sunday night's win. "Not to be confused with bad, but just comparing it to all the others, versus Dallas last year and they stopped us on a number of big plays."
In his second go-round against the Cowboys, just six starts after facing them for the first time, Purdy looked more like an MVP candidate than the third-string rookie who unexpectedly helped the 49ers advance to the NFC Championship last season. Studying last year's game helped put Purdy in a better position heading into the rematch, and it certainly showed with what he was able to do on Sunday night.
"I think it did help, for sure," Purdy told reporters on Sunday. "Just watching the film and just our scheme going into this game, the mindset going into this game, I just felt like it was just better overall for myself.
"The last game, just the pass rush, where we were at in the season, and it was a great defense, they were solid in what they did. I don't know if that maybe got me off edge a little bit or what. But this game, just the mindset going into it, knowing what I'm looking at, I've played this defense before. It helped for sure, but the play calls were great, guys made plays all around me, defense did great. So it wasn't just me."
There was already plenty of motivation for Purdy heading into Sunday's game, which was billed as a potential playoff preview between two teams that had been among the league's best through the first four games of the season. But it also didn't hurt that he was able to get an extra motivational boost from his desire to improve on last year's game.
"Obviously watching the film from last year, it's like, man, I want to be better," Purdy said. "That's really every game. But going back to last year, it's like, all right, I'm going to play a lot of the same guys on defense, really the same scheme. And so for myself, it's another challenge for me. With this scheme, I want to be better than I was last time. But was that my only motivation and my only goal this week? No, I was just doing what I was asked. I knew that the game would come to me over time."
Purdy entered the season with his share of doubters given the fact he was the final player selected in the 2022 NFL Draft and only had a few NFL starts under his belt. He's been one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL so far this season, however, and with a national audience watching Sunday night, Purdy put together a performance that probably silenced many of his remaining critics.
"I mean, he was really good," Shanahan said. "Everybody was pretty good, but I thought he missed one throw throughout the day. From what it seemed like, just a little behind BA (wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk) in the first quarter on one, and everything else seemed pretty flawless. He did a great job versus real good pass rush, some tight coverages. Guys gave him some time. And also the guys made a lot of plays, too."
Purdy now has 1,271 yards with nine touchdowns, zero interceptions, and a passer rating of 123.1 on the season. The 49ers still have yet to lose (12-0) when Purdy has started and finished the entire game, while Sunday night's game marked their 15th regular season victory in a row. With the way Purdy and the offense are playing right now, it's quite possible that streak could go on for a while.
"I don't know if I've ever felt like feeling this good, just with the offense and everything as a whole," Purdy said. "I can't really think of a time. There's some good games -- we played back to back to back games in college -- but right now, yeah, it feels like everyone's just on a mission, man. Like, the mindset is right where it needs to. Everyone's so detailed in what they do.
"The play calls are great, so it's like, all I got to do is go out there, do my job, and that's it, and just play ball. So obviously we feel good where we're at, but there's still areas we can still get better at."
