Amidst the offseason quarterback turbulence in San Francisco, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan rarely broke stride in terms of the team’s stance. Each quarterback would be given a chance to compete, but when healthy, second-year quarterback Brock Purdy demonstrated that he displays the mind and skillset to lead San Francisco to great heights.
Despite donning the label of “Mr. Irrelevant” as the last pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, Purdy is an unbelievable 10-1 as an NFL starter, with his lone loss in the 2022 NFC Championship game, a contest in which he only took six snaps.
While no savvy viewer confuses Purdy for Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen, especially given the multiple missed opportunities the quarterback left on the field this past Sunday in Los Angeles, it is quite interesting to analyze the success he has demonstrated while teamed up with Shanahan in the NFL.
Breaking down the San Francisco offense this season, albeit in just two road contests, presents a strong case for two potential claims: 1) Purdy gives Shanahan exactly what he wants on the field – an extension of himself as play creator AND ball distributor and 2) Even though there might be somewhat of learning curve with the defense’s third coordinator in four seasons, the 2023 49ers offense, if healthy, looks to be Kyle Shanahan’s best unit in his tenure with San Francisco.
After two road contests, San Francisco is averaging 378 yards and 30 points per game, both ranking in the top echelon in the sport. Looking closer at those numbers and the play designs allows one to see Shanahan, the puppet master, behind the scenes and his effect on the outcome of the contents. That effect, which has been masterful so far in the 2023 sample size, looks nothing like the Rams’ Greatest Show on Turf or the Vikings’ aerial assault with Randy Moss and Chris Carter.
The Purdy – Shanahan combination flourishes and carves up opposing defenses to a tune of 33 points per game in the regular season over the eight games due to two reasons- diversity and efficiency.
49ers RB Christian McCaffrey (23) – Gary A. Vasquez/ USA TODAY Sports
49ers strong run game
On the ground, San Francisco, with all-pro workhorse Christian McCaffrey, is going to pound the rock and control the pace of the game. In 2023, Shanahan has demonstrated that with McCaffrey, he will poke and prod opposing defenses, in addition to throwing a myriad of formations and motions at them, until the offense can break a seam wide open. If the 49ers have developed a reputation as a physical, hard-hitting defensive unit over the past five seasons, one can argue that that same mentality has bled its way onto the offensive side of the ball.
McCaffrey, despite how unlikely, is on pace to nearly topple 2,300 yards on the ground this season. His 286 rushing yards, against two respectable defenses, lead the league by a large margin, but do not be confused as Barry Sanders he is not. Shanahan uses CMAC to powerfully attack over and over until an angle, seam, or block can be reached, allowing the high-speed sports back to shift to another gear in the open field.
What has allowed McCaffrey to dominate the season so far, en route to an eye-popping and NFL-leading 6.4 yards per carry, is not just the presence of All-Pro and future Hall of Fame left tackle Trent Williams. Yes, San Francisco has rushed for more yards to just Williams’ left side than a quarter of the league has using the entire field, but the truth of the matter is that the majority of San Francisco’s rushing attempts have come between the tackles.
While avoiding dominant edge TJ Watt in Week 1 and penetrating 3-tech Aaron Donald in Week 2, Shanhan is inundating opposing defenses with a superb mixture of runs to all gaps across the line…all this while trotting out one of the most uneven units in terms of talent. The success and consistency in which the 49ers run the ball take so much pressure off Purdy and the passing game.
This mixture of power running, perimeter screens, and play-action success gives San Francisco the ability to truly take advantage of any mismatch they can across the 53.3-yard width of the field. Behind Purdy so far, the 49ers offense ranks second in the league in yards per play and third in points per play. With this current personnel, the offense has methodically picked apart two teams. Again, they are playing a quarterback that not one other team felt was worthy of a seventh-round pick, a quarterback who is throwing for fewer yards than half the league.
49ers HC Kyle Shanahan – Stan Szeto/USA TODAY Sports
Brock Purdy
At first glance, the second-year gunslinger has looked to have somewhat of a pedestrian return from offseason elbow surgery. He’s averaging 18 completions, 213 yards, and one touchdown a game…not exactly worth a fantasy roster spot, let alone start in most leagues. Despite this, Purdy’s tied for the league lead in QBR, the leading metric to rate modern quarterback performances. Upon closer examination, it’s the manner in which the passing game has clicked that intimidates opposing defenses and would sicken Bruce Arians.
Through two games and not including throwaway plays, Purdy has completed 11 passes to his left, 12 down the middle of the field, and 13 to the right, all to four or five different outlets on every play. Shanahan’s balanced sideline-to-sideline passing attack has pierced through defenses, allowing Purdy to garner top 5 rankings in yards per completion and yards per attempt. His efficiency is staggering, considering Purdy has only ONE completion of more than 20 yards through the air; he’s only attempted six passes on the season of that same distance.
In comparison, Miami’s Tua Tagovailoa, the NFL’s passing leader, had 11 completions of 15+ yards in Week 1 alone.
Shanahan and Purdy, armed with all-pro talent throughout the offensive starting unit, are picking on league defenses with nearly unmatched efficiency. And if Sunday was any indicator, if Purdy is able to actually land one or two of his shot plays in the future, the ceiling on this unit is only going to increase. Will it be enough to take the 49ers back to the Super Bowl? It just might be…
