It was a perfect day for the quarterback, a good day for the defense, a bad day in terms of an injury and a day that ended in a win.
The San Francisco 49ers beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 27-14, and improved to 7-3, taking sole ownership of the NFC West, at least until they head to Seattle on Thursday for some Thanksgiving football. The 49ers next three games are the aforementioned Seattle Seahawks, the Philadelphia Eagles and then the Seahawks again. So, beating the Bucs was most definitely a good thing.
Let’s start at quarterback, as Brock Purdy had a day. The 49ers QB1 was 21-of-25 for 333 yards with three touchdowns and a perfect rating of 158.3. The touchdowns were a four-yarder to Christian McCaffrey, a three-yarder to George Kittle and a 76-yarder to wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk. In his last two games, Purdy has thrown six touchdowns and zero interceptions. That sound you hear is that of the naysayers quieting down.
Brock Purdy just became the first 49er with a perfect QB rating in a full game since Joe Montana and Steve Young each did it back in 1989.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) November 20, 2023
“System quarterback, right?,” Kittle joked. “It’s crazy…Someone asked him about his mindset, like how he can be so aggressive and protect the football. He talked about being a surgeon. He talked about having zero fear and just that quote from him shows his maturity level, how he understands the game and what it means to play quarterback at a high level while being aggressive at taking care of the football…He doesn’t surprise me. He does that every single week and every single day.”
It has been said that Purdy is only a product of Kyle Shanahan’s play-calling and the various offensive weapons at his disposal. McCaffrey vehemently disagrees.
“That’s a horrendous statement,” McCaffrey said. “That’s never been the case. You could make that argument with any quarterback. I can show you the tape. If we really sit down and watch all the amazing throws, amazing plays, off schedule plays, and the checks that he’s getting to. It starts with him.”
Purdy’s 76-yard touchdown pass to Aiyuk is the longest touchdown the NFL has seen this season, and it highlighted Aiyuk’s five reception, 156-yard day. The ball placement was, again, perfect, and Aiyuk made a heck of a catch on it.
That’s a dime 😮💨@THE2ERA#TBvsSF on FOX
NFL+ // https://t.co/KTh0i4oaLh#FTTB pic.twitter.com/YsJKVZDsFE— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) November 19, 2023
The 49ers defense had 11 pass breakups. Nick Bosa and Fred Warner shared a sack on Baker Mayfield that Warner turned into a forced fumble and Clelin Ferrell recovered.
Rookie safety Ji’Ayir Brown intercepted Mayfield in the end zone with 3:42 left in the fourth quarter and Tampa Bay driving. It was an impressive day for Brown, who came in after Talanoa Hufanga was carted off with a knee injury. Shanahan said it’s “most likely” an ACL injury, but the team will know more on Monday.
On the drive before the interception, Brown broke up a pass intended for wide receiver Mike Evans in the end zone on 4th-and-4. He had three passes defended in total.
“I thought he did a hell of a job,” Shanahan said. “I mean to lose a player like Huf in the game and for him to come in and step it up big, make two huge plays. The pick was huge and then the fourth down, where you got an all-out blitz, and they just throw it up. Sometimes it’s your biggest fear when they throw it up…[I]t’s so hard not to get a PI and for him to not PI the guy and to get back in from what I saw, it looked like he knocked it down. That was a hell of a play.”
Have a day, @_Tiig2!#TBvsSF on FOX
NFL+ // https://t.co/KTh0i4oaLh pic.twitter.com/WVtw04W0s5— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) November 19, 2023
The 2023 third-round pick had played a total of 31 defensive snaps coming into Sunday’s game, making his ability to step up even more impressive.
“The biggest thing you can ask for is for a young guy to be ready,” Brown said. “Every week, I’ve been preparing for that day. I never knew when that day was going to come, but I was just preparing consistently every day. We were working hard, meeting for extra time with the coach. And, when my number was called today, I was fortunate enough to go out there and execute the job.”
Also, kicker Jake Moody had a perfect day, with field goals of 37 and 28 yards, as well as three extra points.
It’s a short week for the 49ers, and the gauntlet of a schedule starts now.
