Second-year quarterback Brock Purdy continues to defy his draft position as he helped lead the San Francisco 49ers to its 13th NFL regular season win in a row with victory against the New York Giants on Thursday.
Purdy, who was drafted with the final pick of the 2022 draft, threw for two touchdowns and a career-higher 310 passing yards as the 49ers steamrollered the Giants 30-12 at Levi’s Stadium.
San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel had his own monster evening, finishing with six receptions for 129 yards and a touchdown, whilst rookie wide receiver Ronnie Bell caught his own and Christian McCaffrey ran for another.
The 23-year-old Purdy – who earned the moniker of “Mr. Irrelevant” after being selected with the 262nd pick of last year’s draft – has played a key part in transforming San Francisco’s offense into an NFL juggernaut since getting the starting position midway through last season, although he left Thursday’s game feeling there was still room for improvement.
“It felt like it was a little choppy at first. But once we got into a rhythm, we sort of saw what they were doing, at what point in the game they’re going to start doing stuff, we had a good feel for it a couple of drives into the game,” Purdy told reporters after the victory.
“Once we got rolling, put some drives together and got in the red zone, we’ve just got to score. Obviously, the field goals and putting up points are great, but our standard is we want to score touchdowns when we get in the red zone.”
The win, which was the team’s 13th consecutive victory in regular season games stretching over two seasons, means the 49ers move to 3-0 for the new campaign and delight their fans in its home opener.
What must be satisfying for 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan is that his team gained 215 of their 310 passing yards after the catch, with the skill position players showing the elusiveness and explosiveness they have come to be known for.
It was a complete team performance throughout, with the San Francisco defense restricting the Giants’ offense from start to finish.
Defensive lineman Nick Bosa and Javon Hargrave both recorded sacks of New York’s quarterback Daniel Jones. Safety Talanoa Hufanga also intercepted Jones near the end of the game as he tried to lead an unlikely comeback.
For the Giants, it was another week of disappointment as the team struggles with injuries early in the season.
The offense was without its star running back Saquon Barkley and its starting left tackle Andrew Thomas, and their absences were clear to see as the team failed to maintain drives.
Jones finished with 137 passing yards and one interception, while Matt Breida scored the teams only touchdown early in the second half.
And the 26-year-old quarterback lamented his teams lack of execution coming up against one of the NFL’s elite offenses.
“We just didn’t make enough plays,” Jones told reporters. “Obviously, that’s a good defense going up against them and credit to them they played well, but we’ve got to convert a couple of those opportunities.
“When you play a good team like that you’ve got to be crisp, got to be clean and we didn’t do that.”
The Giants, who slip to 1-2 with Thursday’s defeat, host the Seattle Seahawks on Monday Night Football in Week 4, while the 49ers next welcome the Arizona Cardinals.