PHILADELPHIA — Overjoyed 49ers fans basked in Sunday night’s win by lingering at Lincoln Financial Field and serenading Brock Purdy off that conquered ground: “PUR-DY! PUR-DY!”
Darting toward the tunnel came the 49ers’ quarterback. “LET’S GO!!!!” he fired back at the red-clad crooners.
The 49ers (9-3) are closing in on their fourth playoff run in five seasons, and they’ve got an MVP-caliber quarterback emerging in the best of times.
Now, a 42-19 Week 13 beatdown in enemy territory does not cancel out last season’s 31-7 NFC Championship Game defeat here, and the 49ers acknowledged they may need to return in eight Sundays for a shot at the Super Bowl title.
It’s reminiscent of the 2010 San Francisco Giants’ path. They stunned the host Phillies in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series, with Cody Ross hitting two home runs and Tim Lincecum laughing at ornery fans’ wolf whistles. A week later, the Giants returned to clinch a World Series berth.
Purdy and the 49ers are channeling that same championship mojo.
One year ago to this day, Purdy entered the 49ers’ star-filled galaxy, taking over for an injured-again Jimmy Garoppolo and leading an offense to new scoring heights over the next 365 days.
“I’ve never had this much confidence in the offense,” said Nick Bosa, who is paid more money than anyone in the NFL to wreck other teams’ offenses.
That is no knock on the Garoppolo-era 49ers, which ground out wins with a run game and suffocating defense.
Purdy is at the helm of this yacht, racing it into America’s Cup contention – which might be a jinx-free way of describing their pursuit for the 22-inch silver prize awarded Feb. 11 in Las Vegas.
Coach Kyle Shanahan looked postgame Sunday like a mad scientist fresh out of the lab. His face was flushed, he asked for a water bottle and ordered a door closed so he could hear reporters’ incoming questions. Each win, each week, those questions aren’t so much inquiries as confirmations as to why so-and-so is playing so great.
Watch the video replay of Shanahan’s sideline view of Sunday’s first touchdown, as he pointed where the ball should go, and celebrated before the play was finished.
The 49ers are feeling The Joy of Six, as in six points for each touchdown. Doing so on six straight series Sunday was absurd. It last happened by the 49ers in 1992, when Tom Rathman, Ricky Watters, Jerry Rice and Steve Young were their six-shooters.
The 49ers score with a fun flair, especially since Purdy took over at quarterback a year ago. He has endeared himself to teammates, coaches and fans along the way by not only his play but his attitude. He’s not compelled to steal the spotlight from others. He’s happy to let others dress up for games in fancy outfits, while he exits in an Adidas windbreaker (it did have a Gucci patch, which earned him a respectful nod from Trent Williams).
Take a moment and realize the mental and physical hurdles Purdy cleared Sunday: He’s back at the scene of a career-threatening elbow injury, and he opens the game 0-for-4 passing while getting sacked again by the same culprit who hurt him in the NFC title game.
Then came the 49ers’ third series. It officially went down as an 85-yard drive toward their first touchdown. In reality, Spencer Burford’s false-start penalty backed them up to their own 10-yard line (hence a 90-yard drive, unofficially). On second-and-15, Purdy came alive, connecting with Brandon Aiyuk for a 12-yard gain, then converting on third down to George Kittle. That was the first of three third-down conversions on the drive, the final one being a scoring strike to a diving Aiyuk.
Float like a butterfly, sting like a BA @THE2ERA#SFvsPHI on FOX#ProBowlVote https://t.co/bosbZYCB7K pic.twitter.com/bMsKbnLQ5N
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) December 3, 2023
“Those third downs were huge. I am very proud of our guys,” Purdy said. “Everyone was where they needed to be. The O-line did a great job of handling everything with their front. They had a really good front. We all felt good about it, the third downs.”
This offense is a joy to watch, more so than any version since those Super Bowl-winning days with Young – a generational gap of 29 years. Because:
— Shanahan is dialing up and setting up winning play calls.
— Christian McCaffrey needed only 12 games to become their first 1,000-yard rusher since Frank Gore in 2014. McCaffrey could lead the NFL rushing stakes wire-to-wire this season, and he has scored in 23 of 24 games since entering the starting lineup after last year’s trade from chaotic Carolina.
— Deebo Samuel showed he can back up his words and blow up an exhausted defense.
— Aiyuk. Kittle. All others. They can be touchdown makers, chain movers, tone setters or open-field blockers.
— Even the offensive line is worth focusing on with binoculars, beyond just Williams’ Hall of Fame-level dominance on the left flank. Sunday’s collective blocking effort was this season’s best, maybe even the best under Shanahan and offensive line coach Chris Foerster.
— Purdy is in the company of Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers, for having at least four games in a season with three-plus touchdowns and a 140-plus passer rating.
The 49ers are averaging 29 points per game. Their franchise record in a season: 31.6 points per game, by their most recent Super Bowl winner, from the ’94 season.
When they don’t put up points on a series, it’s pandemonium on social media, spawning criticism such as these lines after Sunday’s opening two series:
“Not one touch to CMC. Talk about outsmarting yourself!!!” @MarcDMontgomery
“Kyle’s play calling is in ‘Super Bowl’ mode” — @49erm1ke
“Lol knew they were frauds” — @freedadams17
“How can a team that claims to be a Super Bowl contender be THIS unprepared on offense for the biggest game of the regular season? Shanahan is such a choke artist when it matters most. Good lord. Dude will never win anything.” — @Luso_Lou
In the end, the 49ers left town without committing fraud. The true end, however, might not be for another two months. Enjoy the ride.