Brock Purdy showed all the right moves Sunday against the Cleveland Browns.
He dodged and scrambled away from pressure, doing a nice pirouette when necessary to avoid sacks. He correctly read an option play at the goal line and converted it into a 2-yard touchdown run. And then Purdy, a straight arrow if there ever was one, even broke out “The Dougie,” a hip-hop dance move that dates back to rapper Doug E. Fresh in the 1980s.
“God forbid a white guy has a little bit of motion,” tight end George Kittle joked following the 49ers’ 26-8 road win over the Cleveland Browns.
For one afternoon with temperatures in the 30s and wind approaching 40 miles per hour, turf toe was a distant memory and the 49ers finished the last game before their bye with a 9-4 record and four games to play. So Purdy figured a celebration was in order.
“I’ve always been able to Dougie, but haven’t done it publicly,” Purdy said. “My wife, she could tell you. I annoy her in the kitchen. That’s where I got my practice. I told the team, if we’re scoring, we’re going to have some fun and I’m going to hit the Dougie.”
Said wide receiver Jauan Jennings to reporters: “Brock’s the man. He did it for us at practice and told us he was going to do it.”
Left tackle Trent Williams was preoccupied with getting in the way of defensive end Myles Garrett and didn’t see the celebration.
“I did see it in practice, though,” Williams said. “He was pretty vibed out.”
Under heightened scrutiny after throwing three interceptions in his previous start against Carolina, Purdy’s dance moves as well as escapability provided an emphatic answer to more than just the condition of his toe.
Yes, Purdy can play in bad weather. He did it without a glove or any sort of insert to protect his toe. He had enough arm strength to drive the ball in horrible passing conditions.
He wasn’t nearly as worried as the legions of doubters that multiply after a bad game, only to recede into the background when Purdy plays as he did Sunday. As good as Mac Jones was in Purdy’s stead, in terms of mobility he would be ill-equipped to thrive against a Browns defense that was giving up an NFL-low 273.0 yards per game coming in.
The Browns are shaky on offense, but their defense is legit.
As for the weather, Purdy went to Iowa State. It’s not as if every game was played in sunshine or a dome, although Purdy has had some clunkers in poor conditions. One of those came in Cleveland in 2023, when he was 12 for 27 and the 49ers lost 19-17 with the Browns starting a quarterback named P.J. Walker.
Purdy’s statistics weren’t huge. He was 16 of 29 or 168 yards and a 7-yard touchdown strike to Jauan Jennings. At least seven completions were wise throwaways when receivers were covered or the Garrett-led Cleveland defense had him on the run — which was often.
Garrett got him once, beating Williams cleanly or his NFL-best 19th sack. On another, one spin move left Purdy face-to-face with Garrett — and Purdy still managed to throw the ball away.
“I rolled out and he was right there,” Purdy said. “I was like, ‘Oh, man,’ and threw the ball away. He’s like, ‘C’mon, bro,’ and he smiled at me. And I’m like, ‘Sorry.’ . . . he’s really cool, but he’s a monster, so you’ve got to be smart in certain situations.”
Where Purdy was dominant was on third down. He completed 7 of 10 passes on the money down for 72 yards and seven first downs. The 49ers were 11 of 17 on third downs overall. His 2-yard touchdown run was on third-and-goal at the 2. His touchdown pass to Jennings was third-and-goal at the 7.
“When we got here there was snow all over, then yesterday it was snowing late at night,” Purdy said. “So I woke up this morning and I was like, ‘It is what it is.’ We’ve got to find a way to win. It doesn’t matter how or what, just play within our offense, let our defense and special teams do its thing and be smart. It doesn’t matter what it looks like.”
The 49ers played one of their most complementary games of the season, with special teams coming up huge on a 66-yard punt return by Skyy Moore to set up the first touchdown and a fumble recovery by Darrell Luter Jr. on Thomas Morstead’s punt to set up another. They gained only 252 yards and averaged 3.9 yards per snap against one of the more legit defenses they’ll face the rest of the season.
Purdy helped provide a big momentum boost with a 33-yard strike to Kittle directly into the wind with 15 seconds to play that set up a 25-yard field goal by Matt Gay, with the ball hitting the upright and clanging through for three points and a 10-8 halftime lead.
“We call it a Spartan and it’s basically just like a box fade, wide and go,” Kittle said. “I was happy he gave me the (opportunity) on it. Brock threw that into some hard wind. If there was no wind, I think that was a really easy touchdown.”
Cleveland had taken an 8-7 lead on its previous possession on a 34-yard pass from Shedeur Sanders to tight end Harold Fannin Jr., with 39 seconds left in the half as linebacker Luke Gifford fell down in coverage.
“Throwing that go route into the wind like that is a big-time play and a huge catch by George,” Shanahan said.
Purdy correctly straddled the line on the play between being safe and taking a shot.
“We needed some momentum, and obviously we’re trying to be smart,” Purdy said. “I’ve got to be aggressive and go with our matchup when we get it. Even if it’s windy, you’ve got to make it happen at some point. I feel like that drive really got us going, got our confidence going, and it bled into the second half for sure.”
Now the 49ers get a much-needed break, and Purdy’s toe gets another week to heal before a four-game stretch that begins at Levi’s Stadium against Tennessee (1-11) before three brutal final games against Indianapolis (8-4) on the road and against Chicago (9-3) and Seattle (9-3) at home.
Not that Purdy appeared restricted in any way on Sunday. He adroitly ran the offense, stayed away from turnovers, managed the game effectively and converted third downs. He saved the flash for “The Dougie”.