Brock Purdy’s NFL-leading accuracy on deep passes a 49ers key vs. Cardinals

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – One subtle telling by Seattle Seahawks safety Jamal Adams was enough for quarterback Brock Purdy to skip the shorter throw, waste one deep and neatly showcase a powerful new dimension to this San Francisco 49ers offense.

Receiver Jauan Jennings, the primary read, was open underneath during the second quarter Sunday, but Purdy noticed a more significant detail.

“I saw Jamal Adams, he didn’t go down like really, really hard, but I kind of saw his feet go down,” Purdy said. “He was kind of flat-footed, and I was like, ‘Okay, with Deebo (Samuel) moving, me, we can get over here’.”

Purdy threw a perfect 54-yard touchdown strike to Samuel, who was last on the play’s roll, and the 49ers never looked back in the win over Seattle.

🤫 @19problemz#SEAvsSF on a FOX #ProBowlVote 🗳 https://t.co/bosbZYCB7K pic.twitter.com/QDRZVsTxyJ

— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) December 10, 2023

They now move on to Arizona, where Purdy grew up in the Phoenix area, to face the Cardinals in another divisional matchup. The 49ers can clinch the NFC West with a Los Angeles Rams win or loss, but with a long injury list on the defense, they can count on Purdy and the offense to deliver another explosive effort.

That hasn’t been a problem for this offense so far. According to TruMedia, the 49ers lead the NFL with an explosive pass of 22.3 percent, the highest clip in a database that goes back to 2000. The “Greatest Show on Turf” St. Louis Rams that season delivered a 21 percent explosive pass percentage. .

To be fair, the 49ers have generated a healthy share of explosive pass plays — measured as those that gain at least 20 yards — for most of coach Kyle Shanahan’s tenure. They also led the NFL (at 18.9 percent) in 2021 when Jimmy Garoppolo was the starting QB. But until this season, the 49ers haven’t recorded nearly as many of those gains with the deep ball. Purdy connected on 7-of-13 throws that traveled at least 30 yards in the air. That’s an NFL-best 53.8 percent completion rate. Garoppolo hit only six such passes during his six seasons with the team.

Purdy has also completed 27-of-41 passes that traveled at least 20 yards this season, good for a completion rate of 65.9 percent. That is, by far, the highest number Pro Football Focus has ever recorded among qualifying quarterbacks. The PFF database stretches back to 2006. In most years, the NFL leader has not hit 50 percent on throws of 20-plus yards. The second-best completion percentage on record belongs to Tua Tagovailoa of the Miami Dolphins, who posted a 54.5 percent completion percentage in 2022.

Remarkably, Purdy’s deep-pass completion percentage would be 14th best in the league. general completion percentage among qualifying quarterbacks.

“I feel like right now, out of all my years playing football, this is my best as far as pushing the ball downfield and being effective in that area,” Purdy said Thursday. “Not just throwing it up in the hope that someone catches it, but being efficient when I take my shots. I feel like it’s probably the best I’ve been throwing the deep ball right now.”

Purdy’s mastery of the nuances that go into playing the QB position may be the main ingredient to his success. The 49ers don’t throw deep at a particularly heavy volume — Purdy’s 41 attempts of 20-plus yards rank No. 19 — but Shanahan will certainly bake in calculated downfield opportunities that are instrumental in maximizing the offense’s efficiency. Seizing those opportunities depends on Purdy’s recognition of them – as was the case when he caught Adams flat-footed and pivoted his attention to Samuel.

“I think those are things he does very naturally,” Shanahan said Wednesday. “I think that’s the talent in Brock that you can’t always judge. … It is a great matter how your eyes see things. I think Brock recognizes things and the speed of things and levels and he knows the hole and the defenders and what they should be defending.”

There is also a mechanical component behind these longer throws. Purdy actually missed three of them in a Week 2 win over the Rams. Since then, he’s a staggering 23-of-30 (76.7 percent) on throws of 20-plus yards.

“I was hard on myself after that Rams game, missing those two deep shots and then just being real with myself at practice and stuff, working on my mechanics and little things and timing with receivers and being on the same page as them, “Purdy. said “I think all those little things helped and they paid off. But I feel there are still some areas I can improve on with it.”

Entering this season, Purdy clearly needed to develop more comfort throwing downfield after rolling to the left. He was ineffective in such attempts as a rookie last season but successfully reversed course. A crowning example came against Seattle when Purdy shuffled left and threw receiver Brandon Aiyuk open with an arcing pass that traveled well over 30 yards in the air.

Brock to BA 🎯#SEAvsSF on a FOX #ProBowlVote 🗳 https://t.co/bosbZYD8Xi pic.twitter.com/R0aFsqMer1

— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) December 10, 2023

On Thursday, tight end George Kittle said Purdy developed that kind of rapport with his receivers at practice.

“I definitely saw the consistency,” Kittle said. “You have to remember that Brock was on a pitch count in training camp. He didn’t pitch at all that entire offseason. He was coming off that operation and it just gets reps and gets reps, and then you find your confidence. And you get used to the guys you throw it to because throwing a deep ball to Deebo is a lot different than throwing a deep ball to Aiyuk, which is a lot different than throwing a deep ball to me or Christian (McCaffrey).

“He’s just getting used to us running those routes, and then the more opportunities we get in practice, I think he’s found his rhythm. You can see it on game day: We take a lot of shots and we execute them.

The next opportunity comes against an Arizona team that ranks #31 in pass defense DVOA. Purdy has already seen tremendous success against this unit. In Week 4, he completed 21-of-22 passes (95.4 percent)—good for the 49ers’ franchise record in completion percentage—against the Cardinals in a 35–16 victory. Arizona has since seen star safety Budda Baker return from injury, so the challenge will be different for the 49ers this time around, but their offense is still confident.

This will be Purdy’s first NFL game back on his home turf. He visited State Farm Stadium in 2018 after being named Arizona’s Gatorade State Player of the Year and he played there as a college QB in January 2021, helping lead Iowa State over Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl.

This time, Purdy expects to have a crowd of supporters in attendance. He only arranged tickets for his family but heard that many more familiar faces would also be attending.

“I’m glad to have my family, my friends, just people in my life growing up to be there,” Purdy said. “So, it should be fun.”

Matt Barrows: The middle of the 49ers defense appears vulnerable with Arik Armstead, Javon Kinlaw and Dre Greenlaw — none of whom practiced Wednesday or Thursday — knocked out. That seems like an invitation for the Cardinals to hammer away at San Francisco’s underbelly with James Conner. But an injury-heavy game could help sharpen the 49ers’ focus. Reserves will get a chance to show their skills and the rest of the starters will know they have to make up for it. That, plus the fact that the 49ers offense is near full strength, points to another win.

David Lombardi: The Cardinals defense offered almost no credible resistance to Purdy and company in Week 4, so it’s hard to believe Arizona can position itself to take full advantage of the 49ers’ defensive injuries. That said, the Cardinals are coming off a bye week and are playing better football than earlier in the season. Maybe attrition dictates this will be a shootout — like the 49ers’ Week 17 win in Las Vegas last season.

(Photo: Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images)

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