Grading the 49ers: Brock Purdy has completely changed the offense

Hints of the revolution already existed last season. The 49ers under coach Kyle Shanahan, a traditionally run-heavy team, called 109 pass plays against only 77 run plays in the playoffs.

That differential, of course, can be heavily determined by game situation. But that particular gap was too big to disregard, especially since the 49ers were essentially balanced between run and pass during their big NFC Championship Game comeback effort against the Detroit Lions. It clearly indicated that Shanahan was unafraid of unleashing his young quarterback, Brock Purdy, at a frequency that could alter the 49ers offense.

After one month of this 2024 season — and especially after Purdy relentlessly aired out deep passes in Sunday’s 30-13 win over the New England Patriots — it’s clear that the 49ers offense has entered a new stylistic reality.

2023 Purdy style stats (league ranking)

2024 Purdy style stats (league ranking)

Numbers courtesy NFL Next Gen Stats (NGS) and Pro Football Focus (PFF).

We already examined many of these trends last week, starting with the severe YAC (yards after the catch) reduction that’s tied to running back Christian McCaffrey’s ongoing absence. That and the surge of eight-man coverages against the 49ers have made Purdy’s tight-window throw rate double.

But he hasn’t seemed to care. Purdy has continued slinging the ball downfield anyway — and to great success. He now ranks No. 2 at 8.3 adjusted net yards per attempt (ANY/A) and seems to be closing in on his torrid 9.0 ANY/A clip from last season — which led the league by a wide margin — even while missing a significant amount of firepower.

Efficiency is the goal and Purdy continues to achieve it. He’s just taking a brand new road to that destination.

Quarterback: Purdy (63 snaps)
Game grade: A

There were two blemishes on Purdy’s performance: an interception to Patriots safety Jabrill Peppers on a throw intended for receiver Brandon Aiyuk, who was double-covered at the time, and a sack during which Purdy fruitlessly tried to escape a clean pocket. Those plays cost Purdy an A+ in this exceptionally dynamic performance.

Running back/fullback: Jordan Mason (47), Isaac Guerendo (5), Kyle Juszczyk (38)
Game grade: B-

The good: Mason has blasted past the century mark in yardage for three of four games. He briefly grabbed the NFL’s lead in rushing yards on Sunday afternoon before Baltimore’s Derrick Henry went berserk during the night game. Still, Mason — an undrafted free agent in 2022 — is performing on par with stars who were drafted high in the first round.

The bad: Mason fumbled twice, but the 49ers recovered both times. They might not be so lucky if that happens again.

Rushing yards over expectation, NFL leaders (NGS)

Wide receiver: Aiyuk (50), Deebo Samuel (48), Jauan Jennings (36), Chris Conley (5), Jacob Cowing (4)
Game grade: B

Jennings leads all NFL receivers — that includes Minnesota superstar Justin Jefferson — in yards per route run (4.0) and expected points added (25.1). His start to the season, down to Sunday’s sublime 45-yard deep connection with Purdy, has been nothing short of remarkable. Samuel also had a full workload in his early return from a calf strain.

Aiyuk had only two catches, although one was an excellent diving grab to move the chains on third down. But he clearly isn’t back to form yet.

Aiyuk’s average separation in yards at time of catch

We shouldn’t read too much into those averages, since they only include plays on which a receiver caught the ball and the season’s sample size still isn’t very big. But Aiyuk’s 2024 dip might be notable since he’d been a model of statistical consistency in years prior.

Tight end: George Kittle (59), Eric Saubert (18), Jake Tonges (5)
Game grade: A+

Kittle said he was surprised by Shanahan’s third-down play call — an aggressive out-and-up — that ultimately yielded his touchdown catch in triple coverage. But he and Purdy executed the play to perfection. Only Kittle, with his 6-4 frame and excellent leaping ability, could grab it amidst a crowd of much shorter defensive backs. Superstars are difference-makers.

Offensive line: Colton McKivitz (63), Dominick Puni (62), Jake Brendel (63), Aaron Banks (63), Trent Williams (63), Spencer Burford (1)
Game grade: B-

Most of New England’s pass-rushing damage came against Banks, the left guard. He allowed four pressures, according to Pro Football Focus. Another pressure didn’t count since it was nullified by an illegal motion penalty. Purdy scrambled to his left and found Juszczyk for what would’ve been a touchdown there. It was a good example of an excellent quarterback covering up a lapse in pass protection.

Williams seems to have played himself into shape. He sprinted to block 30 yards downfield on Mason’s final run of the day, which came in garbage time with just over a minute left. That indicated Williams had gas left in the tank at the end of a hot afternoon.

Defensive line: Maliek Collins (48), Nick Bosa (45), Leonard Floyd (41), Yetur Gross-Matos (35), Kevin Givens (35), Sam Okuayinonu (19), Evan Anderson (19), Jordan Elliott (14), Robert Beal Jr. (5)
Game grade: A

Bosa’s marquee performance, which included an exceptional 0.51-second average get-off time, anchored the unit. But Floyd has quietly been very good on the other side. His pressure rate of 16.5 percent ranks 10th among all NFL pass rushers.

49ers’ D-line pressures vs. Patriots

“I thought Maliek Collins was a stud,” Shanahan said after watching the game tape.

The 49ers’ collection of defensive tackles all delivered rigidly against the run, which was the unit’s primary focus entering the game.

Linebacker: De’Vondre Campbell (64), Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles (46), Fred Warner (28), Dee Winters (7), Tatum Bethune (4)
Game grade: A

The 49ers exhaled on Monday after scans revealed that Warner did not suffer a dreaded high-ankle sprain. Warner is listed as day-to-day, which means there’s a good chance he’s back for the team’s next game against the Arizona Cardinals.

Warner has played in 114 of 115 possible games in his career. The only miss came in 2021 at Seattle.

Defensive back: Ji’Ayir Brown (64), Deommodore Lenoir (64), Charvarius Ward (64), Malik Mustapha (64), Isaac Yiadom (16), Renardo Green (23)
Game grade: A

The 49ers were not displeased with Yiadom, who played a very good first half. But they’ve planned to integrate a number of rookies into game action, and it was Green’s turn in the second half on Sunday. The team used a similar template for Mustapha in Week 2 and he ended starting against New England.

Mustapha missed an early tackle — he said some nerves were at play — but settled down to deliver a very productive game.

“After that, he made a number of plays,” Shanahan said. “He was one of the main reasons Fred scored on that interception return.”

Special teams: Saubert led the way with 20 snaps. Four players — Jaylen Mahoney, Patrick Taylor Jr., Guerendo and Yiadom — logged a special teams tackle.
Game grade: D

Guerendo’s fumble could’ve been catastrophic in a closer game. The 49ers have shouldered severe deficiencies on special teams for three straight weeks now, but Shanahan was happy with some other rookie performers.

The coach acknowledged Mahoney, who learned on Saturday that the 49ers were calling him up from the practice squad and delivered a tackle in special teams coverage.