So I went and rewatched the game. Perpective changes when you watch the game without the emotions of real time outcomes.

The prevailing narrative around Purdy’s performance is the 2 INTs. But in all this we’ve somehow completely dismissed everything else in the game.

Purdy had 57 yrds on the ground…most of those were on 3rd down and helped sustain drives. He made some really massive throws downfield ( e.g Kittle 40 yrd gain in 2 min drill to end the half).

He made some great throws to Aiyuk whilst escaping pressure from inside the pocket. At the end of the game Kittle had 149 Yards and Aiyuk had 109 yards most of which was off of Purdy buying time from collapsing pockets…so in way their production was helped by Purdy’s scrambling ability.

The prevailing narrative for most of Purdy’s SF tenure so far has been that he’s exclusively a product of Shanahan’s system and “Anyone can do it” but for most of that game on Sunday he was doing elite QB things to keep the chains moving.

Purdy has 5 INTs this season, 4 of those have been inside the pocket…Of his 12 TD passes…5 have come from outside the pocket. He’s been excellent inside the pocket but IMO, the Purdy we saw vs Cincinatti CAN be an elite QB. He matched everything Burrow was doing without the 2 bad picks.

Purdy’s mobility and improvisation causes some risky situations but it needs to be encouraged and incorporated into practice and the offensive scheme as a Plan B because it’s a useful part of his skillset when things aren’t going our way in terms of pass protection.

Yes, Purdy HAS to learn that NFL defensive players are super athletic and have some type of leash on what NOT to throw ( and he’s been mostly good at that so far). He has to throw less INTs but in the end he’s a 23 yr old 16 games into his career.

Purdy has shown he can PLAY from behind in terms of moving the ball downfield and extending plays…now he just needs to WIN from behind. Developing a franchise QB isn’t without bumps. Purdy showed he can carry the team on occasion…but isn’t yet consistent enough to do it for 60 minutes. Hopefully that comes soon enough.