Brock Purdy's turf toe problem may not fully go away until he's able to rest it in the coming offseason, but it certainly didn't appear to be much of an issue in his return to the field for the San Francisco 49ers against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.
Purdy played in his first game Sunday since aggravating his toe injury in a loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 4 (September 28). It was just the third game of the season for Purdy, who also missed Weeks 2 and 3 after playing in a season-opening win over the Seattle Seahawks in Week 1. Purdy didn't make any highlights with his legs against the Cardinals, but there wasn't any sign of rust in his passing on Sunday as he completed 19-of-26 passes for 200 yards and three touchdowns in a 41-22 win at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
"He was vintage Brock," said running back Christian McCaffrey, who caught five of Purdy's passes for 40 yards and one touchdown. "And that's a huge compliment."
The Cardinals may have handed the 49ers a few opportunities on a silver platter on Sunday, having committed a franchise-record 17 penalties along with three turnovers. But Purdy and the offense made them pay with eight scoring possessions while not doing anything that let the Cardinals up off the mat after they surrendered an early 13-0 lead.
"I thought he did a good job," head coach Kyle Shanahan said. "Made some good plays in there, ran the offense real well. A real good first game back."
The game opened in unexpected fashion, as Skyy Moore returned the opening kickoff to the Cardinals' 1-yard line, which allowed the 49ers to go up 7-0 after just one running play by McCaffrey. But Purdy got his chance to find his stride on the next drive, which saw him complete passes to wide receivers Jauan Jennings and Demarcus Robinson of 25 and 13 yards before finding tight end George Kittle for a 30-yard touchdown. The pass to Kittle was the moment when Purdy felt comfortable, and from there it was smooth sailing.
"It felt good just getting into a rhythm, for sure, (hitting) the guys and (having) some big gains and then to hit that one, it was like, 'Yeah, we're playing. We're in an NFL game.' ...It just felt good for my confidence and everything," Purdy said. "But outside of that, man, it's football. I've been here before and I was just trying to settle back into who I am and and how I play quarterback."
Along the way, Purdy didn't spend any time worrying about his toe, which didn't enter into his mind at all.
"No, I didn't even think about it, honestly, in the game or anything," Purdy said. "At practice and everything, that's where I tested it all out. I'm like, at practice, rolling out, 'All right, do I feel it, do I not?' No, I don't, I feel great. And then come game(time) when I warmed up and everything, I didn't even think about it. It felt great. Throughout the game and stuff, I was able to do everything -- scramble, keepers, roll-outs, step up in the pocket. I played quarterback."
Purdy seemed close at times to returning to action in recent weeks, but the 49ers stuck with Mac Jones for the past six games before handing the keys over to Purdy for Sunday's game. He told Shanahan in the days leading up to the game that he was ready to go, and as long as there are no setbacks, Purdy could be back in the starting lineup to stay.
"I was pretty good going into the game," Purdy told reporters Sunday. "I mean, this is the reason why I told Kyle, 'It's time. It's ready, because I feel great.' You know, at practice, running around, all the things. So, coming into it, I didn't want to think about it at all, and I didn't. I just went out and played quarterback how I've always played. That's how I went about it. It feels great now and onto the next one."
The timing was appropriate for Purdy as well, considering he was playing in his home state. The fact that he made his return in front of his friends and family provided an extra spark to his comeback.
"I would just say a lot of excitement," Purdy said. "I'm always excited every Sunday, but to come back, I missed six weeks and then my comeback game is here in Arizona where I grew up, I just thought it was pretty special. But outside of that, all that mattered was playing together as a team, getting a team dub."
Purdy's return was a welcome one for the entire offense as well. Jones performed admirably in Purdy's absence, racking up a 5-3 record while gaining the respect of players and fans alike. But Purdy is a clear leader on offense, and it sounds like his teammates were happy to see him on the field Sunday.
"I think I've only said this about two quarterbacks," Kittle said. "Brock's presence in the huddle is just so elite. And how he talks to the players... He plays the game with this joy that's so infectious. And it's just so much fun to play football with him. And, especially like, what, five plays into the game, he hits me 30 yards down the field on a perfect pass. He was definitely feeling it. I think he's got the confidence, he's got his swagger. I mean, more people were celebrating with Brock after his touchdown pass than with me. I was a little jealous."
Purdy has dealt with his share of injuries in the past, but this one caused him to miss more time in the middle of a season than he has in his career. That added to the challenge he's faced in recent weeks, but he cleared all the hurdles that were placed in his path and now seems set to proceed with the remainder of the schedule.
"Obviously it's my first time missing that much time in a season, and for me it was it was new," Purdy said. "How do I handle it? I'm the starter and we put in all this work from OTAs to camp and then we go into Seattle, big win, and then I'm just dealing with this toe thing for all these weeks. So it was frustrating. I had to learn how to deal with it and mentally just take it one day at a time, one week at a time, and trust that there's a process to this and the trainers, the strength staff, everybody, they do this, this is their profession. So, trusting in them, our plan that we put together, and all to when I do come back, mentally, I'm ready to roll. I'm going to drop back with confidence, rip it with confidence, play quarterback, go through my reads. So, it was getting to that point, and that was all new for me, but overall it felt good and I loved our plan, and I feel great now. I'm glad we won and now it's onto the next."
Purdy's toe will surely continue to be a hot topic the rest of the way, but Sunday was a step in the right direction. His return was a big moment for an injury-riddled 49ers team trying to get as healthy as possible for the stretch run, and it felt for at least one day like things on offense were starting to get back to normal.
"He was poised, made some great plays, made some huge third-down throws," McCaffrey said. "He kept us in the game, was smart the whole game. To miss games like that is really hard. And to come back in the middle of the year, and I think people kind of just watch and like, 'Oh, you know, he had a good game, whatever,' but to be out that long and to come in and do what he did today is extremely impressive."
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