SANTA CLARA – Winning his first career start against Tom Brady, and doing so with a broken rib, will make for a heck of an opening scene in the “Mr. Irrelevant” movie that someday will be made about Brock Purdy.
“Looking back, it’s always sort of fun to see where I was as a backup trying to find my way in the NFL and sort of making a name for myself,” Purdy recalled Thursday. “It’s a good memory, for sure.”
Purdy, rather than downplay its significance, appreciates that confidence-instilling debut as the 49ers’ starter. Memories – and echoes of “Pur-dy! Pur-dy” chants from a crowd including his teary-eyed family – are being stirred up this week because he and the 49ers (6-3) are preparing for Sunday’s rematch against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-5) at Levi’s Stadium.
“He showed he was capable of being our starting quarterback,” coach Kyle Shanahan said, “and I don’t think anything’s been different this year so far.”
But there will be differences from that 35-7 rout on Dec. 11. Brady, for one, is retired, so Baker Mayfield is Sunday’s counterpart. Two, Purdy expects a more daunting Bucs defense with “their generals” in Vita Vea of Milpitas and Antoine Winfield Jr. And don’t forget about the experience factor, with Purdy having 17 starts (essentially a full season) to his credit.
The inner-drive to prove himself remains lodged inside that No. 13 jersey.
“The spark, the energy, the chip on the shoulder I played with in that game, I feel like in a sense it is the same,” Purdy said. “I’m still trying to prove myself I belong in this league and on this team.”
Purdy, the NFL’s leader in passing efficiency, is coming off a three-touchdown win in Jacksonville that ended a three-game losing streak.
Last time the Bucs came to town, the 49ers had just won their fifth straight game, courtesy of Purdy’s ability to succeed an injured Jimmy Garoppolo and counter the Miami Dolphins’ blitzes in a 33-17 win.
“The confidence that came from that (first start), just knowing I can play in this league,” Purdy said in retrospect. “We were on a roll too. We had our sights set on finishing our season strong.
“I was more excited to show my teammates and the guys in this building, you know, that I could be the guy to help do that.”
Against the Bucs, Purdy messed up on the first snap and got sacked, but an unnecessary-roughness penalty bailed him out, and now both he and Shanahan jokingly refer to it as an “explosive,” positive play.
A truer explosion came on the second series. Purdy scrambled toward the sideline, dove toward the first-down marker, and … “when I extended my body, it twisted against itself on the ground and I felt a pop.”
And that meant playing through a fractured rib (which he rallied up to do four days later in Seattle, where he and the 49ers return again on four days rest this coming Thanksgiving Night).
“I had so much adrenaline, so, ‘I’m fine, I’ll keep playing,’ ” Purdy recalled of last year’s Bucs game. “Every drive it got more painful. In the second half, it was killing me.”
By halftime, however, the 49ers were up 28-0, including a 2-yard touchdown run from Purdy and, with the rib pain getting more intense, he threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Aiyuk with 15 seconds left in the half.
“I mean, any time you’re up 28-0 on Tom Brady, I assume that’s a pretty incredible thing,” tight end George Kittle said. “… It was kind of unbelievable, and the more you play with Brock, the more you realize, this is just going to be consistent, which is pretty awesome.”
Left tackle Trent Williams concurred: “I mean, it’s like hitting the lottery, you get a player like that with the last pick in the draft. Literally like playing the lottery and hitting the Powerball when it’s at $2 billion.”
That’s not to say Purdy simply is living a charmed life
“Obviously I know him better, so I can understand why he’s had success and it makes sense once you understand the guy he is,” Williams said. “But you’re right, it doesn’t happen like that very often.”
Bucs coach Todd Bowles’ recollection of last year’s win did not come with as enjoyable memories as Purdy’s. “He beat us pretty good last year,” Bowles said. “I learned he’s a good quarterback, a smart football player. Kyle plays smart football players. He takes care of the ball, he knows where to go with the ball and he can use his feet when he needs to.”
KITTLE’S CATCH
Kittle, in replaying Sunday’s 66-yard touchdown catch, said he “didn’t realize how awesome a throw that was by Brock and the strain by the offensive line to get him to do that. … The bionic arm, there’s something about it.”
Because Kittle beat a linebacker’s man coverage and had no safety to beat, he strutted toward the end zone and walked across the goal line, a move that didn’t draw the ire of Shanahan. Instead, his coach teased him and said he thought Kittle would take a knee at the 1-yard line, to allow Christian McCaffrey to score and set a NFL record with a touchdown in 18 straight games.
PRACTICE OBSERVATIONS
Offensive tackles Williams (ankle) and Colton McKivitz (ankle, knee) practiced and look on track to start Sunday. Left guard Aaron Banks (toe) rehabilitated on the side, but is slated to miss a second straight game while Jon Feliciano starts in his place.
The only Buccaneers player who did not practice was safety Ryan Neal (thumb). Limited were linebacker Devin White (foot) and guard Luke Goedeke (foot).
SALUTE TO SERVICE WEEK
This week’s game-day theme will honor the NFL’s Salute to Service program. The U.S. Navy’s Leap Frogs will parachute in before kickoff while the Third Marine Aircraft Wing Band performs. Natalie Angst, an A1C out of Travis Air Force Base, will sing the national anthem, and the American Military Spouses Choir will perform at halftime. Recognized as the game’s Frontline Hero will be 2nd Lt. Leonard Levy, a 101-year-old Army veteran who served in Germany in World War II with the 19th Field Artillery Battalion.
Source: www.mercurynews.com