No NFL offense has been hotter as of late than that of the San Francisco 49ers, and it's been due in large part to the play of quarterback Brock Purdy and running back Christian McCaffrey.
After a thrilling 42-38 win over the Chicago Bears on Sunday night, the 49ers have now scored a total of 127 points in their last three games. There have been plenty of others making major contributions on offense, while head coach Kyle Shanahan has been getting praise for being in a zone when it comes to play-calling. But Purdy and McCaffrey have been leading the way and have been putting their names in the record books in the process.
Purdy in particular has been on fire for the 49ers as of late, as he has been on one of the best runs of his career in recent weeks. Purdy threw for 295 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions on 23-of-30 passing in a 37-24 win over the Tennessee Titans on December 14, then followed it up with one of his best games as a 49er when he threw for 295 yards, five touchdowns and one interception on 25-of-34 passing in a 48-27 win over the Indianapolis Colts. In the win over the Bears on Sunday, Purdy started off on an ominous note with a pick six on the first play of the game, but he recovered to finish with 303 yards on 24-of-33 passing with three passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns.
Purdy's effort against the Bears made him just the sixth player (per the AP) since the NFL/AFL merger to have back-to-back games with five or more touchdowns (joining Russell Wilson in 2020, Deshaun Watson in 2017, Ben Roethlisberger in 2014, Daunte Culpepper in 2004, and Tom Brady, who had three such games in 2007). He also became the fifth 49ers quarterback since the merger to have consecutive games of four or more touchdowns, while becoming the first 49ers quarterback to have two touchdown passes and two rushing touchdowns since Colin Kaepernick's legendary playoff performance against the Packers in 2012.
"I thought Brock had a hell of a game again," 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said after the win over the Bears. "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."
Shanahan wasn't quite ready on Sunday night to declare that this stretch has been the best of Purdy's NFL career but did say that Purdy doesn't get much better than he's been in December.
"I don't know. I'm not the best historian," Shanahan said. "I feel like he's had some good stretches, especially going back to '23 and '22. But he's playing as good as it gets right now."
The 49ers are now 6-0 since Purdy returned from a foot injury against the Arizona Cardinals on November 16 that cost him eight games earlier in the season. He has a 7-1 record this season overall and has 2,040 passing yards, 20 touchdowns and nine interceptions with 126 rushing yards and three touchdowns over those eight games. Purdy's effort has helped put the 49ers in an improbable position where they need just one more win to earn home field advantage throughout the playoffs, including the Super Bowl, which is being played this year at the 49ers' Levi's Stadium. It's a situation few thought the 49ers would be in at this point given the significant injuries they've sustained on both sides of the ball this year, including season-ending injuries to linebacker Fred Warner and defensive end Nick Bosa in addition to the toe injury Purdy dealt with earlier in the year.
"He's got a different swag rolling right now," wide receiver Ricky Pearsall said Sunday.
Meanwhile, McCaffrey has been on his game recently after a season that has been more of a grind than he usually has. McCaffrey has stayed healthy this season after playing in only four games last year, but he hasn't been making as many big plays as he typically does, cranking out a lot of tough yards on a large amount of touches. But his numbers have looked like the McCaffrey of old the past two games, as he ran for 117 yards on 21 carries against the Colts with two receiving touchdowns and 140 yards on 23 carries against the Bears with one rushing touchdown. He had a season-high 41-yard run against the Bears and has moved his yards-per-carry average up to 3.9 after having it in the 3.5 range for much of the season (McCaffrey has a career average of 4.6).
Still, McCaffrey has been putting up enough numbers this season to put himself in rare company. He likely won't break 1,000 yards rushing and receiving like he was on track to do earlier this season, but with 1,179 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns to go with 96 catches for 890 yards and seven touchdowns, McCaffrey has become the second player in league history to have three years of over 2,000 scrimmage yards and 15 touchdowns, joining LaDainian Tomlinson, and the eighth player to have three seasons with 2,000 or more scrimmage yards (Tomlinson, Eric Dickerson, Marshall Faulk, Tiki Barber, Walter Payton, Priest Holmes, Edgerrin James).
But perhaps the best news for the 49ers has been an improved running game that has rebounded from being at the bottom of the league earlier in the season. The 49ers ran for 200 yards on 34 carries against the Bears, showing that they may be rounding into top form at the right time as the playoffs arrive.
"I think just a collective effort of guys just sticking to the plan, continuing to get better, straining, and you know, there's not like one answer," McCaffrey said Sunday. "I think it's 11 guys just committing to it and O-line's been doing a great job opening up lanes. Brock's been great on the boots (bootlegs), making people pay, putting a lot of pressure on defenses."
The 49ers have a number of concerns on defense, as the game against the Bears demonstrated. But right now their offense is looking good enough to possibly propel this 49ers team deep into the playoffs, despite the issues the team has had elsewhere. If Purdy and McCaffrey carry their current form into the postseason, the rest of the field in the NFC will have their hands full.
"Obviously we're thankful to be in this position," Purdy said Sunday. "But, I've said this before, it's just been one of those kind of years where it's like you have to focus on just the next day, the next man up, finding a way to win each Sunday, and then at the end, you can look up and see where you're at. For us to be in this position's really cool. We're all grateful for it, but at the same time, we have to go do something about it. We've got to watch the film, get better, and go execute and win."
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