There's still much to discuss after the 49ers' blowout win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, and we're going to dive into some of it in this version of 49ers Notebook.
49ers rookie quarterback Brock Purdy put together a strong showing in his first NFL start (16-of-21, 185 yards, two touchdowns, one rushing touchdown), all while his family and friends were looking on. And he wasn't the only quarterback with family in the stands, although that quarterback was left wishing he could have put on a better show for his special guests than the one they wound up getting on Sunday.
We'll talk about that plus where things went wrong for Purdy on the game's first play, as well as what the 49ers said about getting some Panther-style help on Sunday and much more. Let's get into it...
Family man
Sunday was a memorable day on many levels for Purdy, and he was able to experience it with his family in attendance at Levi's Stadium.
Purdy's family being in the stands for the 49ers' 35-7 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in his first NFL start led for some stirring scenes, in particular a shot of Purdy's father tearing up after watching one of his son's touchdown drives. Purdy visited with his family immediately after the game, then spoke about what they have meant to him throughout his career.
Brock Purdy ran into the stands postgame to embrace his friends &family #49ers pic.twitter.com/tLDbfqjQMv
— Bridget Condon (@BridgetCondon_) December 12, 2022
"I saw them right after the game and just the emotions on their face and the way they looked down on me from up on the railing, man, it just means a lot," Purdy said. "Throughout my whole life, the ups and downs of playing quarterback in general, in high school, in college, the people at home just believe at you and they always see the best in you. They believed in me, and I was the last draft pick and all that kind of stuff. They've always been telling me 'You're good enough and we know that you can do it.' To see them after that performance meant a lot to me, and I'm very blessed to have them as my family."
Brady's homecoming
Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady was hoping he'd be able to leave more of a mark in his visit to Levi's Stadium Sunday, which was a rare chance for him to play in the area where he grew up (San Mateo). He had a rough outing in the loss to the 49ers (34-of-55, 253 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions) and lamented the fact he and the Buccaneers couldn't perform better for the guests he had in attendance.
"I love having everyone here," Brady told reporters after the game. "It's nice for my family to come close. I think a lot of people from the neighborhood came. That's not going to change the outcome of the game unfortunately because you have a cheering section, but it's sweet to have everyone come and support our team. They come back to the East Coast in Tampa and support us. They came out here, which was great. I wish we could have done obviously a much better job."
Brady's chances of satisfying his family and friends weren't helped by the 49ers' defense, who hit him seven times on the day and showed why they are regarded as one of the elite units in the league.
"They were good," Brady said. "They've got a good rush. They've got great players. They've got a good rush, they've got great linebackers. They've got a good scheme. I can see why they're the number one defense."
Keeping cool
Purdy's poise was on display early in Sunday's game after he took a hit on the first play from safety Keanu Neal. The hit resulted in Neal getting flagged for roughing the passer, but it was a wakeup call for Purdy, who audibled into the wrong play and took a beating as a result.
"It was a hard hit. I was in the wrong play actually. That was on me," Purdy said.
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan summed it up by saying, "Um, wrong audible."
But after his inauspicious beginning, Purdy gathered himself to lead the 49ers on a touchdown drive to open the game, the first of four in the first half that put the Buccaneers in a 28-0 halftime hole. Maybe Neal's hit helped Purdy more than it hurt.
"Honestly it felt good to sort of just get hit and feel like I was in the game. I was like, 'Okay.' It sort of turned out to be a good thing," Purdy said.
Purdy's reaction to the play impressed running back Christian McCaffrey, who said, "He didn't blink. I think he has a lot of confidence in himself, and I think that's because of the work that he's put in. You can kind of see it in his eyes that he knows what he wants to do. And obviously he's going to grow and continue to get better."
Thanks guys:
Speaking of McCaffrey, his former team, the Carolina Panthers, did the 49ers a huge favor on Sunday by knocking off the Seahawks 30-24 in Seattle. It was the latest success in an unlikely rebound for the Panthers, who looked dead in the water earlier in the season after a 1-5 start that led to them trading McCaffrey. The Panthers are now 5-8 on the year and are just one game back of the Buccaneers in the NFC South after Sunday, while the Seahawks (7-6) fell two games back of the 49ers with their loss. Tight end George Kittle declared the Panthers beat the Seahawks "for the boys," while McCaffrey was clearly happy with the result.
"It's awesome," McCaffrey said. "I had a lot of good years. I really enjoyed my time in Carolina. I know we didn't have the results, but obviously they're killing it, man. I'm happy for those guys. Obviously beating Seattle's big for us. Us beating Tampa -- big for them. Hats off to those guys, man. I'm proud of them and I love everyone in that locker room."
Not about to let up
The Buccaneers looked fairly lifeless for much of their loss to the 49ers, while Tom Brady clearly wasn't at the top of his game. But even though the 49ers were in clear control of the game at 35-0, they knew they couldn't give Brady any life.
"For me, I just kept telling myself this thing ain't over with that guy on the other side of the field," Purdy said. "I just wanted to keep putting up points on the board, however many times as we could, knowing this dude's made all these crazy comebacks in his career. I didn't want that to happen in my first game as a starter."
No one knows the potential of Brady to rally a team more than Shanahan, who was on the other end of Brady's biggest comeback when he rallied the Patriots from a 28-3 deficit to beat the Falcons in Super Bowl LI when Shanahan was Atlanta's offensive coordinator.
"Anytime that you're up a lot, you go back to any scars you have," Shanahan said. "So I do the math a lot. I know he came back on us when we were up 25 going into the fourth. I also know versus Detroit in Week 1 last year we were up 41-17 with 1:58 left and they had the ball 41-33 with 20 seconds left on the 25-yard line going into score. So I always do the math right to that to feel fully comfortable. I felt the 41-17 one was kind of an anomaly, but I definitely didn't feel good with Brady."
Say his name
In addition to winning his first NFL start and becoming the first player to earn a win over Tom Brady while starting his first NFL game, Purdy experienced something else that may have been a first -- an entire stadium chanting his name.
49ers fans were fired up about what they saw from Purdy, and they let him know about it on more than one occasion by chanting his last name. Purdy heard the fans loud and clear, and he appreciated it.
"There might have been some chants (in the past)," Purdy said, "but I think today, that was wild, to hear the whole stadium saying it like that. We've got some great fans out here, man. They love this team, and they were right behind us all the way through, so I'm very thankful for them."
More runs from Purdy in the future?
Purdy showed the ability to make plays with his legs on Sunday, which might lead to the 49ers deciding to use that aspect of his game more in the weeks ahead.
"With Brock's skill set and what he does, we don't have a ton of designed quarterback runs and stuff but maybe we need to. He moved pretty well today," Shanahan said.
Purdy's rushing touchdown against the Buccaneers was the first of his NFL career. He ran for over 1,100 yards and 19 touchdowns in his four collegiate seasons at Iowa State.