Brock Purdy's first pass went awry Sunday night against the Chicago Bears. From there, the San Francisco 49ers quarterback was lights out, accounting for five touchdowns in the Niners' thrilling 42-38 win.
Purdy completed 24 of 33 passes for 303 yards, three TD tosses and the interception. He added six rushes for 28 yards and two rushing scores. He became the sixth player in the Super Bowl era with five-plus offensive TDs in consecutive games and the first since Russell Wilson in 2020. Purdy is the first player in 49ers history with 300-plus passing yards, three pass TDs and two-plus rush TDs in a game, per NFL Research.
"I thought Brock had a hell of a game, again," head coach Kyle Shanahan said, via the team's official transcript. "Brock's been playing his ass off, made some huge plays in this game, kept some drives alive with his legs, made some off-schedule plays, and was an assassin out there throughout the whole day."
Since returning from injury in Week 11, Purdy has been dominant, leading the Niners to six consecutive wins. In his last three games, the Niners QB has accounted for 13 touchdowns with two interceptions.
On the first snap from scrimmage Sunday night, Purdy's pass was deflected and taken back by Bears linebacker T.J. Edwards for a touchdown. As he does, the QB brushed it off and led the Niners up and down the field, generating six touchdown drives on their next nine possessions.
"It was early in the game, so you do have to flush it and be ready to play a whole game after that," Purdy said.
In a back-and-forth affair, the Niners generated 496 total yards with 32 first downs. They were money on big downs, going 7-of-10 on third downs, 1-of-1 on fourth downs and 5-of-5 in the red zone.
The biggest highlight came in the third quarter, when Purdy bought time rolling right, eluding multiple pass rushers and flipping a TD to fullback Kyle Juszczyk on a play that lasted more than eight seconds.
"I was just hoping he was going to throw it away, and we can have a couple more downs," Shanahan quipped of the play. "And then I just started watching him, probably like every other fan does. He made me extremely nervous, and then he made me extremely happy, which happens sometimes."
If not for an early-season toe injury that knocked Purdy out eight games, he'd be squarely in the MVP discussion, as his return has vaulted the Niners into a chance to earn the No. 1 seed.
Shanahan was asked if Purdy's hot streak is the best he's seen him play.
"I don't know. I'm not the best historian," he said. "I feel like he's had some good stretches. I mean, especially going back to '23 and '22. But I mean, he's playing as good as it gets right now."
With Purdy excelling and Christian McCaffrey (181 scrimmage yards, TD) dominating, the Niners' offense has proven it can overcome the defensive shortcomings.
Following a 6-11 season in 2024, Shanahan's club has a chance to complete the season flip. Saturday night's Week 18 matchup versus the Seattle Seahawks is for the No. 1 seed in the NFC.
"It's huge," Shanahan said. "So proud of the guys throughout the whole year, proud of today. It's a hell of a deal being able to have the opportunity to play for the (No.) 1 seed, and these guys have earned it."
