After a dominant 30-7 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 1, the San Francisco 49ers improved to 2-0 with a win over their division rivals, the Los Angeles Rams, pulling away in the second half to come out ahead 30-23.
Offensively, the 49ers saw a strong performance on the ground from running back Christian McCaffrey, who rushed for 116 yards and a touchdown, while the passing game featured a more collective effort, with receiver Deebo Samuel leading the way, catching six passes for 63 yards.
After a strong first half propelled the 49ers to an early 20-0 lead against Pittsburgh, quarterback Brock Purdy was efficient, completing 68% of his passes in Week 2, but missed three key downfield passes via overthrows, while also failing to move the chains on a slant route to Deebo Samuel on another opportunity.
Still, the 49ers were able to put up 30 points on the Rams, securing themselves a victory.
Did Purdy's Week 2 performance change perceptions about him on a national level? Slightly, but not significantly.
Releasing his weekly quarterback rankings, the 33rd Team's Derrik Klassen ranked Purdy just inside his top 20, bumping him up four spots to No. 19 from his Week 1 ranking of No. 23.
All 32 starting QBs ranked heading into Week 3, via @QBKlass 📊
Who do you think should be higher or lower? https://t.co/YTSFZ4zg58 pic.twitter.com/ou0ezBd4zh
— The 33rd Team (@The33rdTeamFB) September 20, 2023
Here's what Klassen had to say on Purdy's Week 2 performance.
"Brock Purdy continues to play well for the San Francisco 49ers. While he missed badly on a few deep throws against the Los Angeles Rams, Purdy was mostly lights out when throwing elsewhere," Klassen said.
"Purdy's willingness to stare down the barrel of the gun and make tough throws over the middle is his calling card. It's a necessary trait in Kyle Shanahan's offense, and Purdy has it in spades. We saw that against the Rams. Purdy fired a handful of tough throws over the middle, including a laser under pressure to a covered Brandon Aiyuk near the left hash."
"Shanahan and the All-Pro caliber skill players are the main reason the offense goes, but Purdy continues to prove his worth. If Purdy can find any sort of deep ball accuracy, maybe he'll have a chance to climb higher on this list."
At No. 19, Purdy ranks behind Green Bay's Jordan Love, New Orleans's Derek Carr, and Denver's Russell Wilson, who fill in the spots just ahead of him, respectively.
Is Purdy's ranking a fair assessment of where he stands after Week 2?